The illustration on the cover of the new Marquette Lawyer magazine shows people entering a large door shaped like the letter Q—or a comment bubble.

Consider the door a symbol for big questions—or the information that we might get from others to help answer them. It has been a goal of the public policy initiative of Marquette Law School for more than a decade to engage people in considering many of the major issues that face Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and the world beyond. The Law School does not purport itself to provide the answers, but offers a platform for furthering awareness and knowledge about the questions and ways different people answer them.

A recent $5.5 million gift from Milwaukee philanthropists Sheldon and Marianne Lubar is “opening the door to much more” for the initiative, as the magazine cover says. Now named the Lubar Center for Public Policy Research and Civic Education, the initiative is expanding its scope and offerings. This gift, added to a gift the Lubars made in 2010, has created a $7 million endowment to support the work.

In one article, which can be read by clicking here, the magazine describes the development of the public policy initiative and looks at what lies ahead. A second article, which can be read by clicking here, profiles the Lubars, who have had great impact on the Milwaukee area as business and civic leaders.

Both articles provide perspective on the goals are for the Lubar Center: Focus on big questions, invite people to engage with those questions, and promote knowledge and discussion in serious, even-handed ways.

The new Marquette Lawyer also offers in-depth discussions of two major matters facing the legal profession.

Howard Shelanski, a Georgetown law professor and former “regulatory czar” in the Obama administration, delivered Marquette Law School’s 2016 Robert F. Boden Lecture. That led to a piece on the impact of current politics on federal regulation. “Will Today’s Politics Upend Sounds Regulation?” may be read by clicking here.

“Hardly Trying: The Declining Use of Civil Trials in Wisconsin” gives both facts and perspective on the major decline in civil trials in recent decades in Wisconsin and beyond. Work on the piece was supported by the Law School’s Adrian P. Schoone Fund for the Study of Wisconsin Law and Legal Institutions. The piece, by Milwaukee journalist Larry Sandler, may be read by clicking here.

In the “From the Podium” section of the magazine, Wisconsin Supreme Court Chief Justice Patience Roggensack addresses critics of the judicial system who she says are going too far. “Tough Talk and the Institutional Legitimacy of Our Courts” is an edited text of her 2017 E. Harold Hallows Lecture at the Law School. It may be read by clicking here.

Also in the Podium section, we offer the texts of remarks at two judicial investitures: that of the Hon. Timothy Dugan as a judge of the Wisconsin Court of Appeals (remarks by Dean Joseph D. Kearney) and the ceremony for the Hon. Jean Kies as a Milwaukee County Circuit Court judge (remarks by Ted Chisholm). They may be read by clicking (respectively) here and here.

The Law School News section of the magazine, which may be read by clicking here,  includes a set of facts and perspectives on the Law School’s Public Service program, which involves a very large number of students in pro bono work; a story on Professor Andrea Schneider’s being honored by the American Bar Association Section of Dispute Resolution; a welcome for a new professor at the Law School, Alex Lemann, and a piece on a book, Wisconsin and the Shaping of American Law, by Madison attorney Joseph Ranney. Ranney did much of his work on the book as the Adrian P. Schoone Visiting Fellow in Wisconsin Law at the Law School.

Dean Kearney discusses facets of the Law School’s work in a column, which may be read by clicking here.

The Class Notes section, which may be read by clicking here, includes a profile of Jeff Norman, L’02, who is now a Milwaukee Police Department captain, and a profile of Julie Flessas, L’88, who has combined her work as a lawyer with her continuing commitment to her prior career as a nurse. The section also features Alumni Award winners and recent accomplishments of many Marquette lawyers.

The new Marquette Lawyer magazine maybe viewed in its entirety by clicking here. We hope that it will give you some insights into our community.