The process of acquiring a license to practice law in Wisconsin has became much less complicated than it was until recently, thanks in large part to two Jewish women in the Milwaukee area.
One is Cynthia Ickowicz-Herber, whose husband, Rabbi Jacob Herber, is the spiritual leader of Congregation Beth Israel.
The other is Deborah Opolion-Elovic of Bayside, a new member of the Wisconsin State Bar and the first with a degree from Bar-Ilan University in Israel.
Herber, who is from Mexico, advocated before the state Supreme Court in 2009 for overturn of a long-standing policy that had met with international criticism.
Graduates of law schools outside of Wisconsin could be admitted to the bar if they took and passed Wisconsin’s bar exam, but before Opolion-Elovic, graduates of foreign law schools could not sit for the exam.
Wisconsin has now joined 20 other states (and Puerto Rico) that allow graduates from law schools outside the United States to take their bar exams.
Some members of the profession over the years have found the Wisconsin bar’s policies galling because most members are admitted by “diploma privilege” and manage to exempt the exams entirely by virtue of graduation from one of Wisconsin’s two law schools, the University of Wisconsin-Madison and Marquette University.
The Wisconsin Supreme Court had rejected the application of another Israeli, Yotvat Adi Altshuler, in 1992, despite now-Chief Justice Shirley Abrahamson’s dissent. At that time, the board of bar examiners questioned the feasibility of evaluating the quality of legal education outside the United States.
According to the State Bar of Wisconsin, Elovic was born in the U.S. but went to high school in Austria, where her father worked for the U.S. Consulate.
She moved to Israel in 1981 and attended Bar-Ilan University, where she took her law degree in 1988, and she practiced law in Israel for 15 years, specializing in real estate and estate planning.
Returning to the U.S. with her family in 2004, she now lives in Bayside. She has done some writing, and she now hopes to start her own law firm.
Elovic spoke to the WJC in a telephone interview:
When and how did you decide you wanted to be a lawyer?
I haven’t thought about that in years. I’ve always wanted to be a lawyer for as long as I can remember, but I guess I have to give credit to my father for suggesting it. He really wanted me to be a lawyer. I talked a lot, and he said I had a good analytical mind.
From what I read on the Bar Ilan University webpage, you grew up in an observant household, though.
My father was Modern Orthodox, and he was the biggest feminist I’ve ever met. He believed strongly that even though the family is important, of course, women should have careers and financial independence.
How is Bar Ilan University different from other Israeli universities?
It has a traditional outlook, and it’s the only one with requirements in Jewish studies and Jewish law. There is that element of religious observance, and it was very heymish in those days, although it’s much larger now.
How does Israeli law (or law school) compare with U.S. law (or law school)?
In Israel, at the time I began law school, students didn’t need an undergraduate degree to begin official study of law. An Israeli law degree required five years to complete — 3.5 years of study, then a 1.5 year internship with a law firm. It was a shorter path, and then the bar exam was three hours long, instead of two or three six hour days as it is here, but it was still very hard, and it had an oral component.
Israeli law is basically British, so it has the same origin as u.s. law. We studied Jewish law at Bar-Ilan, too, but that applies more to family issues and we really don’t get into it.
So you’re saying students in Israel begin their law school education at the age when U.S. students are taking introductory freshman classes, and they just skip directly into graduate level work?
No, remember that in Israel, everybody does military service, so they don’t begin at the university until 20 or 21.
What do you think your Bar-Ilan education will allow you to bring to the practice of law in this country that locally educated practitioners lack?
When someone has experience with another country’s law, one sees more than one way to solve a problem. One has a broader perspective on life, legal problems, and how to solve them, a more international perspective, with more sensitivity. That is important because if one buys a vacation or retirement home in Israel or another country, there are different issues, with wills, end of life concerns, negotiating advanced health care directives, and estate planning. People are surprised that things are different overseas.
Are there any areas in which you feel you’re at a disadvantage?
Not in lack of study here, but more in getting up to speed, which one learns on the job.
I want to start my own practice, hoping to represent U.S. citizens with Israeli legal needs, such as real estate, and also serve Israeli clients in Milwaukee and the large community.
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