WINNEBAGO COUNTY BAR ASSOCIATION
STRATEGIC PLANNING COMMITTEE
RECOMMENDED STRATEGIC PLAN: 2010-2015

MISSION STATEMENT

The Winnebago County Bar Association will promote and support the
practice of law and the administration of justice according to the highest standards while also serving its members through education, collegiality and opportunities for public service.

PURPOSE OF THE ASSOCIATION

This Association shall have as its purposes:

1.To foster and provide continuing legal education for its members;
2.To facilitate the administration of justice;
3.To promote high standards of integrity, honor, and courtesy in the
legal profession;
4.To provide leadership and encourage participation in all
governmental and civic activities, contributing to the general welfare
of our community and nation;
5.To utilize any income earned by the Association for the good of its
general membership, and not for the personal benefit of any member
or individual;
6. To refrain from participating in, or intervening in, any political
campaign on behalf of or in opposition to any candidate for public
office, or legislation other than to promote its educational purpose;
7. To increase the spirit of collegiality and camaraderie among its
members.

Article II WCBA By-laws, revised, 2005.

FIVE YEAR GOALS

1.  Continue and expand WCBA’s efforts to efficiently deliver very high
quality continuing legal education programs, which qualify for any State required
CLE credit, and establish the WCBA as a leading provider of such programs.

2. Attract all new lawyers practicing law in Winnebago County to
membership in the WCBA. Maintain current members. Recruit existing lawyers
who are not currently WCBA members to join. Provide new and existing members (i) opportunities to meet a wide variety of members, (ii) programs acquainting them with local practice and (iii) opportunities to engage in public service.
3. Establish a stable income and adequate reserve for the WCBA, based
primarily upon dues but also upon other activities, such as CLE programs, to
enable the WCBA to carry out its goals.
4. Reorganize the WCBA committee structure to more efficiently
provide the professional services, collegiality and information distribution
intended to be provided by the present committee structure.
5. Become a center for information regarding and facilitating the
practice of law in Winnebago County.
6. Foster collegiality among WCBA members.
7. Continue to maintain a full-time professional staff, compensated on a
basis commensurate with other bar associations and not for profit groups of similar size and provided with competitive benefits.
IMPLEMENTATION STRATEGIES

GOAL 1: Continue and expand WCBA’s efforts to efficiently deliver very high
quality continuing legal education programs, which qualify for any State required
CLE credit, and establish the WCBA as a leading provider of such programs.

a) Charge the Continuing Legal Education Committee with responsibility for overall initiation, development, coordination and delivery of high quality CLE seminars. The committee would be responsible for soliciting
from and suggesting to WCBA Practice Sections CLE topics regarding current
issues of interest and more basic educational topics. The sections would not have

an absolute obligation to provide a CLE program each year if an appropriate topic
could not be developed. The emphasis should be on quality rather than quantity.
Non-WCBA members should be should used as speakers when appropriate.

b) The CLE Committee will act as a gatekeeper /quality control point to
screen and develop CLE seminars and also as a liaison between WCBA staff and
the Sections to ensure scheduling and technical requirements.

c) The CLE Committee is responsible for continuing and maintaining
the WCBA as a certified, pre-approved CLE provider of programs receiving CLE
credit pursuant to any required CLE in Illinois.

d) The CLE Committee should consider all appropriate and efficient
methods of delivering legal education, including recording using any appropriate
technology.

GOAL 2: Attract all new lawyers practicing law in Winnebago County to
membership in the WCBA. Maintain current members. Recruit existing lawyers
who are not currently WCBA members to join. Provide new and existing members (i) opportunities to meet a wide variety of members, (ii) programs acquainting them with local practice and (iii) opportunities to engage in public service.
a) Attract new members by identifying new lawyers in the County and
providing them with specific information regarding the WCBA, its Sections and
Committees. Provide opportunities to meet other WCBA members in a social
setting. Create an obligation for a sponsor of a new member to convey Association information and opportunities to the sponsored new member.

b) Consider expanding membership benefits through coordination with
third party vendors.

c) Consider methods to identify and attract existing lawyers who are not
members.

GOAL 3. Establish a stable income and adequate reserve for the WCBA, based
primarily upon dues but also upon other activities, such as CLE programs, to
enable the WCBA to carry out its goals.

a) The WCBA should continue to receive the bulk of its income from members’ dues and should not view related activities, such as CLE as primarily a means of income generation. Modest dues increases to support basic WCBA goals
should be considered. Additional revenues that may be generated through
increased advertising in “The Lawyer”, increased CLE fees due to mandatory CLE
or other programs can be used to establish an operating reserve and support basic programs.

GOAL 4: Reorganize the WCBA committee structure to more efficiently provide
the professional services, collegiality and information distribution intended to be
provided by the present committee structure.

a) The WCBA committee structure should be reorganized. There should
be five standing committees, referred to, for lack of better names, as the (i) the
Communications Committee, (ii) the Community Relations Committee, (iii) the CLE Committee, (iv) the Membership Committee and (v) the Community Service
Committee. These committees report to the Board of Directors.

b) The Communications Committee would be responsible for staffing
the editorial board of “The Lawyer”, overseeing the operation of the website and
overseeing holding of the general membership meetings, although the Second
Vice President should retain ultimate responsibility for such programs. The goal is
to coordinate delivery of information to our members.

c) The Community Relations Committee would oversee those tasks now
handled on an episodic basis by several various committees such as: Availability
of Legal Services, Fee Disputes, Judicial Liaison, Legal/Realtor, Legal/Medical,
Law Library and Public Relations. Law Day responsibilities would also be under
the purview of the committee. It is contemplated that subcommittees of this
committee would be constituted from time to time to deal with the issues
previously delegated to standing committees.

d) The Membership Committee would be responsible for contacting

lawyers new to Winnebago County and lawyers not currently members of WCBA,
in order to provide them with information about the WCBA and its benefits, to
solicit them as members, and coordinate their introduction to the WCBA. The
Membership Committee would work with a new member and his or her sponsor
over the course of a year to provide opportunities for participation in WCBA
events. This committee would also establish such social events as it determines to be appropriate. This committee would also be responsible for organizing the
annual memorial service.

e) The Community Service Committee would continue to function as a
separate committee. It should explore the possibility of working with the Young
Lawyers Division on an annual Young Lawyers’ service project.

f) The CLE Committee would function as described in the comments as
Goal 1.
g) There are three other groups that also need to be addressed: (i) the

Young Lawyers Division, the Clambake Committee and The Lawyer Editorial
Board. We recommend that these two groups remain as presently constituted. The
Clambake should continue as a premier social event of WCBA. However, it must
remain financially self-sufficient and subject to ultimate oversight and control by
the Board of Directors. The Lawyer Editorial Board will remain responsible for
providing the editorial content of “The Lawyer.”

h) The Young Lawyers Division should consider adopting a strategic
plan of its own, with consideration of its purpose. It should consider engaging in
an annual public service project.

GOAL 5: Become a center for information regarding and facilitating the practice
of law in Winnebago County.

a) Continue to improve the existing WCBA website to provide current
and expanded content, including forms, archived verdict reports, links to other
relevant sites, listings of attorney addresses, phone numbers and e-mail addresses.

b) Place continued priority on production of “The Lawyer” as a high
quality monthly newsletter.

c) Provide for delivery of “ The Lawyer” through e-mail.

d) Provide relevant, high-quality CLE programs.

e) Provide the staff such equipment, such as T -1 lines and computers, as
will enable the information to be processed and disseminated in a first-class
fashion.

f) Establish the WCBA’s presence on other relevant and appropriate
internet locations.

g) Review the WCBA’s current list of sections, and the sections’
practices and procedures so that the sections can keep members interested in the sections’ activities, and so that the sections have the continuity necessity for
section projects to succeed.

GOAL 6: Foster collegiality among WCBA members.

a) Continue the Clambake as a premier WCBA annual social event,
provided it is financially self-supporting and subject to ultimate WCBA control.

b) Continue membership meetings with speakers of general interest
to members.

c) Consider other social events.

GOAL 7: Continue to maintain a full-time professional staff, compensated on a
basis commensurate with other bar associations and not for profit groups of similar size and provided with competitive benefits.

a) The Board of Directors should review staff compensation and
benefits on a regular basis. The President should form a committee of the Board to perform this function.