Wausau Pilot & Review
Dean R. Dietrich, a longtime Wausau attorney with Weld Riley S.C., began serving his term last month as president of the State Bar of Wisconsin.
The 68th president of the organization with a term that began July 1, Dietrich has worked as an attorney for 46 years and has practiced municipal, employment and professional responsibility law. He is widely considered an ethics giant in Wisconsin’s legal community.
The State Bar of Wisconsin comprises more than 25,000 lawyer members and aids the courts in improving the administration of justice while providing continuing legal education for members. The group also assists Wisconsin lawyers in carrying out community service initiatives to educate the public about the legal system and the value of lawhers.
Dietrich ran for State Bar president on a platform that included encouraging new lawyers to practice in rural parts o the state – where lawyer shortages have created legal deserts. He also sought to promote lawyer wellness and civility while furthering diversity, equity, inclusion and access initiatives to help attorneys serve the state’s diverse communities.
A Marquette Law School graduate, Dietrich has a demonstrated interest in professional responsibility. In a July 2023 article in Wisconsin Lawyer, Dietrich is described as an attorney with a strong sense of duty.
Over the last 30 years, Dietrich has spent countless hours giving talks on legal ethics to lawyer groups around the state. Since 2002, he’s written a legal ethics column in Wisconsin Lawyer and is considered the dean of professional responsibility law in the state.
