ABA President Michelle Behnke aims to bring lawyers together in ‘unprecedented times’
At the ABA Annual Meeting in August, Michelle Behnke commended the association for remaining steadfast in its protection of the rule of law and the legal profession, despite unprecedented challenges by President Donald Trump’s administration.
Behnke promised, as president of the ABA, to redouble efforts to defend liberty and pursue justice.
“I am clear-eyed about the challenges ahead, and I am prepared to work for the good of this association,” Behnke said in remarks to the House of Delegates.
Behnke, senior counsel at Boardman Clark in Madison, Wisconsin, brings extensive experience to the job. She has been the ABA’s treasurer and chair of its Commission on Racial and Ethnic Diversity in the Profession. Her other leadership roles include serving as a longtime member of the House.
In a recent conversation with the ABA Journal, Behnke spoke more about what members can expect in the year ahead. It has been edited for length and clarity.
It’s been a couple months since you became the ABA president. What have you been focusing on?
Thus far, it’s really about connecting. At this moment, lots of people have watched what the ABA has said. They support our three pillars: defending the judiciary, defending the independence of the legal profession and standing for the rule of law. And people want to know how they can help, what they can do. I’ve had the opportunity to meet with and talk to people who are all very anxious to do work that is consistent with and supports the work the ABA is doing.
When you spoke to the House of Delegates in August, you mentioned unprecedented challenges to the rule of law and the profession. What do you see as some of the greatest challenges, and how do you think we can help overcome them?
Challenges to the independence of the judiciary and challenges to the independence of the legal profession—we haven’t seen those kinds of things. So because we haven’t seen those kinds of things, finding ways to communicate about them, finding ways to bring people together to find solutions, those are challenges as well. People don’t have ready-made, “Oh, this is what we do in this situation.” People are trying to think about it carefully to figure out how they can best adhere to important principles and do it effectively.
You said in August that the ABA remains committed to advancing diversity, equity and inclusion in the legal profession. Why do you think that’s still so important?
It’s important for a number of reasons. When the general public sees people who are involved that look like them, they have greater confidence that different perspectives are all being taken into account, and that the system is fair and equitable. Fundamentally, that’s why I think a diverse legal profession is important. And eliminating bias and enhancing diversity—it’s one of the ABA’s four goals.
But at this moment, the rhetoric doesn’t dig deep enough into the real reasons that diversity is important. There is this false equivalence that diversity means you’re giving up on meritocracy, that you can’t have excellence and have diversity. That’s the furthest thing from the truth. Part of what I’m hoping to do is really engage people in the discussion. When you talk about diversity in what I call the fundamental way—equal access for people, things of that nature—the public responds very positively. When you use three little letters, DEI, you can get a different result. I want to make sure we’re focused on talking about what diversity really means and not just buzzwords that are loaded in their meaning.
In the past, we’ve talked about the ABA’s strategic plan. How are you helping to implement it now that you are president?
The beauty is that we’ve not only adopted the strategic plan, but we have launched into implementation. That implementation is really focused on picking our short-term goals and then executing on those. Many of those projects and programs are targeted at serving our members, finding out what our members need and want to be good lawyers, to be engaged in their community. And then we’re working to find effective ways to deliver those. And as I said in the House, my theory is if you have strong lawyers, then strong lawyers are in a position to not only contribute to their communities but to also defend the rule of law.
What are some of your other priorities for your term?
I’m a people person. In these unprecedented times, and I would say even outside of the unprecedented nature of the things we’re seeing, life is just very different. Everything is digital. Everybody is communicating at such a fast pace. Connecting with people and making sure they don’t feel isolated, that they can be connected in their community, in their profession—that’s really important. Isolation can be really challenging from a mental health perspective, and the law is already a very challenging profession. And so I am trying to make sure I reach out and connect with lawyers, with bar associations, so that we understand we are actually very connected. We can interact with and count on each other.
Thinking over your experience in the ABA, what are some past roles that have been most helpful to you?
I’ve had the good fortune of working with what is now [the Standing Committee on] Bar Leadership, which is working on training leaders in state and local bars all across the country. That was a really important experience that I had, because again, you learn there are other people who are all trying to do this same thing, and we’re in it together.
I also think my work with the Commission on Racial and Ethnic Diversity in the Profession is really important. Hearing what challenges diverse lawyers face in joining the profession and staying in the profession—so I can think about ways in which we can make the profession more welcoming, and do things that will increase retention of diverse lawyers, as well as open doors for diverse lawyers—has been really important.
I will also say that work in the commission was super meaningful to me and really spurred me to think about how I could remain engaged and active in substantive work in the ABA. And so, but for that, I might not be sitting where I’m sitting today.
I know it hasn’t been that long yet, but what has been the most fun?
Connecting with law students. They are so excited to be heading into the profession. They want desperately to make a difference. They want to serve their clients well. They really feel a passion for the profession. And when I get a chance to talk to them, it touches me. It gives me lots of excitement and hope that our profession is strong and will be strong going forward. I know the next crop, and the next crop of lawyers are as committed to these fundamental principles as we are today, and that’s super rewarding to see.
OK, last question. We always ask each ABA president: What is something most people don’t know about you?
Most people probably wouldn’t know that public speaking is not my favorite thing, which seems absolutely insane for somebody [in this position]. I love talking to people one-on-one, but in big public settings, it takes a lot of energy. I always want to do well for the association, and I’m always concerned about being really prepared.
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