Young Lawyers Division 2000-2001
NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 1999
Vegas AOP
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 | Members of the Wisconsin Bar Young Lawyers enjoyed the sights and sounds of Las Vegas. |
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On a beautiful October weekend, over 300 young lawyers met at the Rio Hotel, Casino and Convention Center in Las Vegas, Nevada, for the Fall 1999 Affiliate Outreach Project (AOP) National Conference. By all accounts, the meeting was one of the best, and best attended, in recent memory. Thursday evening, the ABA YLD, the ABA Commission on Women in the Profession, and the ABA Commission on Domestic Violence hosted a gala dinner honoring the First 100 Women admitted to the bar in Nevada. That event, held at Wolfgang Puck's Chinois Restaurant, drew over 200 people and, in addition to honoring pioneers in the legal profession, raised over $20,000 for SafeNest, a Las Vegas shelter for battered women. The AOP Conference officially kicked off with opening ceremonies on Friday, October 22, 1999. AOP attendees were welcomed by YLD Chair Rachelle DesVaux Bedke along with AOP Director Paul Carmona, and National Conferences Team Chair Ken Turkel. Sherwin P. Simmons, chair of the ABA Commission on Multidisciplinary Practice, then gave a short presentation on multidisciplinary practice (MDP), trying to explain this complicated and controversial matter in a brief period of time. Mr. Simmons distributed more detailed reports prepared by the Commission in order that young lawyers might read more about this issue and thus be better equipped to form opinions on it. After Mr. Simmons' presentation, the AOP attendees participated in a series of workshops, covering such diverse topics as Your Day in Court: An Interactive Trial Practice Seminar for Young Lawyers, the Child Support Enforcement Program, Legal Assistance for Persons of Modest Means, and stand-by favorites such as Long Range Planning and Member Recruitment and Retention. Guests had a few hours of free time to sightsee or try their luck in the casinos before the evening's social event-a dinner dance in the hotel ballroom. While the dance was officially over around midnight, many young lawyers took advantage of the fact that Las Vegas never sleeps and continued the fun well into the wee hours. Don't think, however, that a late night kept folks away from the Saturday morning workshops. In fact, quite the opposite was true. Saturday morning's plenary session was packed as young lawyers turned out to hear U.S. Senator Richard Bryan (D-Nev.) speak about the pro bono responsibility of lawyers. More workshops were offered on Saturday and some of the more popular ones from the day before were repeated to give everyone with an opportunity to attend. And then, of course, we were treated to the closing ceremonies. In the true spirit of Las Vegas, there was a visit from "The King," followed by spotlight karaoke performances by randomly picked young lawyer teams who displayed varying degrees of talent. The ceremonies ended with the audience dancing in the aisles and having a ball! If you missed this, you missed a great time. (And . . . if you ever need a Garth Brooks impersonator, have we got the guy for you!) If you missed all the great workshops and fun in Vegas, there's always Washington, D.C., to look forward to. Look for details on the Spring AOP, scheduled for May 11 through 14, 2000, in the near future. |
 United States Senator Richard Bryan of Nevada commented on the pro bono responsibility of lawyers during the closing ceremonies Saturday Afternoon. |
 
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