Behnke was the first African American to lead WisBar. Behnke is almost relieved, in many ways, that she will not be the “first” no matter how you look at it when she becomes ABA president.

“There is an extra pressure or focus when you are the first,” Behnke observed. “I am happy not to be that in this instance. The first person to serve from Wisconsin was a person by the name of Carl Ricks from Milwaukee. That was back in 1946. I am happy to say that I am not the first African American to head the ABA. Dennis Archer was the first African American to serve as president of the ABA. And Robert Gray immediately followed him. And then Paulette Brown was the first African American woman and she was in 2014. And then Deborah Enix-Ross was the second. She was president a year ago. So I am not even in the first handful.”

The ABA has a strong governance structure for it is the preeminent legal association in the United States. With approximately 200,000 members, it has offices in Chicago and Washington, D.C. It offers everything from continuing education to the evaluation of judicial candidate qualifications. It also certifies U.S. law schools and maintains the profession’s standards and values in an ever changing world.

It is almost impossible to move such a large, important institution within a one-year term. Behnke looks at it as a team effort of past, present and future ABA leaders.

“You really have to look at it not just as what you can accomplish in one year,” Behnke said. “At least what I look at is, ‘how can I improve, how can I carry out and the relay the work that has to happen. A lot of it means reaching out to people — talking with members of the nominating committee and the rest of the members of the ABA — and what you are trying to do is build consensus about what needs to be done or what are the priorities and then you devise a plan to do as much as you can on those priorities during your time of service.”

Service in a leadership role dictates that one is forward thinking and keeping the stregth and integrity of the profession at the forefront of what she does.

“I think first and foremost, I see a strong ABA as a great support network for lawyers,” Behnke said. “And so we are working on strategic planning right now. And that strategic planning will help us look out over the horizon. There are things like AI or the new bar exam, new ways to test to make sure that the law students coming out of law school are properly prepared for what practice looks like today. And so making sure that the ABA is looking out over that horizon, is keeping lawyers informed about what is around the corner and down the road helps lawyers be good lawyers and strong lawyers. They also contribute to their communities. And so, the ABA is more than just looking out for lawyer issues. They are really helping lawyers be good lawyers. And good lawyers help their individual communities all across the country.”

One of the most important principles that the ABA seeks to preserve is “The Rule of Law” for it is the underpinning of democracy and what makes America America.

“At the ABA, we talk a lot about the Rule of Law,” Behnke said. “And right now, there is a Democracy Task Force that our current president has started. And part of that is trying to educate the public about civics and how our system of government and how our judicial and legal system works because I think the more that people understand, the more they hold people accountable to work within that rule of law that you were talking about.”

While it is almost assumed that U.S. citizens understand what democracy and the rule of law are all about, on many levels, their understanding must be proactively passed on from generation to generation.

“They don’t teach civics like they used to,” Behnke observed. “That’s one of the things that we are working on through the Democracy Task Force. There are lots of competing issues. But trying to make sure that people understand how our system works, the task force has gathered data on polling of the general population and the number of people who can identify or name the three branches of government is disconcerting. We’ve got to get out there and try to help people understand how the system is supposed to work and how each component of that system is supposed to work. That will be important to help strengthen that rule of law.”

And while Behnke will be dealing with these big picture issues, she won’t forget about the little guy in the profession, the sole practitioner.

“Having been a solo practitioner, I also want to really make sure that I connect with the solo and small firm attorneys,” Behnke said. “A lot of times, I hear from people and they think the ABA is just for big firm lawyers. So I want to make sure that solo and small firm lawyers do understand the ABA should be home for them as well.”

Michelle Behnke is a home-grown talent and leader who will make her mark on the American legal system and beyond. Through commitment, excellence and persistence, she is rising to the national pinnacle of her profession and will lead an organization that has a profound impact on the American way of life. It is an impact worth waiting for.