November 2003

Listening to Our Membership: Challenges and Opportunities

by David Savage
WSBA President

In my October column, I introduced the WSBA's 2003-04 Board of Governors (BOG). Now that you know who we are, I want you to know what we are doing. While a full description of the WSBA's work is beyond the scope of this column, the following are important current components which I believe will be of special interest to you. Feel free to further explore these subjects with me or the contact persons identified below.

Member Benefits Task Force

Over 60 percent of Washington attorneys practice in solo or small-firm practices. Your ability to obtain affordable professional liability, health, and longterm-care insurance is crucial. The WSBA has taken a leadership role in making such insurance available at reasonable cost. The Member Benefits Task Force, capably chaired by Joe Nappi of Spokane, is now investigating the WSBA's ability to offer disability, life, and auto insurance, as well as additional personal benefits. Contact Joe Nappi at jnappi@huppinlaw.com. (For information about professional liability, health, or longterm-care insurance, contact Pam Blake at Marsh Affinity Group Services, at 800-552-7200.)

Electronic Legal Research Systems Task Force

Charlie Wiggins, well-known Bainbridge Island appellate lawyer and former Court of Appeals judge, chairs this task force, which is studying available electronic legal-research systems. Its mission is to identify and facilitate the WSBA's ability to offer a capable and inexpensive legal-research service to members. Among others, the task force will review the capabilities of CaseClerk.com, CASEMaker, Loislaw.com, MRSC, VersusLaw, LegalWA.org, and Law.Net. It will make its recommendation to the WSBA early in 2004. Contact Governor Katie O'Sullivan at kosullivan@perkinscoie.com.

Public-Policy Positions and GR 12(c) Revision Task Force

I will charter a task force to study and recommend revisions to General Rule 12(c). GR 12(c) limits the areas within which the WSBA is permitted to take positions both as an organization and through its sections. GR 12(c) states:  
 
The Washington State Bar Association will not:
(1) Take positions on issues concerning the politics or social positions of foreign nations;
(2) Take positions on political or social issues which do not relate to or affect the practice of law or the administration of justice;
(3) Support or oppose, in an election, candidates for public office.

As may be evident, the rule provides more apparent than real guidance. While I believe it is imperative that the WSBA, guided and governed by the BOG, continues to take a leadership role in the state and nation on social and political issues of consequence to the WSBA's ability to serve  its members and the public, it is also essential that members regard such positions as fairly within the scope of the WSBA's ability to speak for them. It is the achievement of this objective with which I have charged the task force.

Character & Fitness Board Rules Task Force

The WSBA's Character & Fitness Board is regularly called upon to advise the Supreme Court as to whether to admit applicants who have experienced a unique problem that affects their qualifications to practice. The board also is called upon to make similar recommendations with respect to lawyers who have been disbarred and seek re-admission.
 
Oddly, the board has discharged this difficult task to date without the benefit of any codified standards. The Supreme Court and the board both recognize the need for such standards. Therefore, I have chartered a task force to draft for Supreme Court approval a comprehensive set of procedural, evidentiary, and substantive rules for the board's operation.
 
The task force is chaired by Governor Mark Johnson, who previously chaired the Character & Fitness Board. It expects to make its recommendation to the BOG by mid-2004. Contact Governor Johnson at markjohnson@seanet.com.

Professional Development Committee—Implementation

Chaired by Dick Manning, WSBA past president, this committee now undertakes implementation of the recommendations on skills training for new lawyers it made to the BOG in June 2003. The committee is moving forward to establish a pre-licensure four-hour orientation CLE for new admittees, a 15-hour CLE requirement for first-year lawyers (who are presently exempt from first-year CLE), and a client-centered mentoring program to enhance new lawyers' skills. Aided by the Washington Young Lawyers Division, the committee's goal is to make such changes without adding to the time and financial burdens on new graduates. The committee will also review the APR 9 Legal Intern Program with a view to enhancing it.
 
Further out on the horizon, the committee will evaluate and may recommend a pre-licensure practicum requirement as well as the inclusion of a "skills component" in the bar exam.
 
Committee members include, among others, law school deans, jurists, young lawyers, student bar representatives, a representative of the British Columbia Law Society (which "articles" law graduates as a requisite to admission), a representative of the WSBA Bar Examination Committee, and Gabe Galanda, an expert in Native American law. Contact Governor Andrea Brenneke at andreab@mhb.com.

Blue Ribbon Panel on Criminal Defense

In recognition of the fact that the WSBA has not had a specific institutional focus on our legal system's obligation to protect the interests of those charged with crimes, and youngsters in the juvenile justice system, a Blue Ribbon Panel on Indigent Criminal Defense was formed this spring. The panel is co-chaired by Justice Robert Utter (ret.), and Marc Boman of Perkins Coie. Governor Jon Ostlund, the Whatcom County public defender, serves as BOG liaison.
 
The panel will examine whether caseload and other criminal-defense standards are being utilized and met in our trial courts, and whether defense counsel are being appointed and compensated as provided under these standards, to the end that indigent defendants receive competent representation. The panel has begun its work by submitting to judges, public defenders, prosecutors, court officials, and county and city administrators a written survey on the status of indigent criminal defense. A preliminary report to the BOG is due in December. Contact Governor Ostlund at jostlund@co.whatcom.wa.us.

Awards Committee—Recipient Search

Each year the Awards Committee of the BOG identifies those within our profession and the public who deserve the WSBA's special recognition and thanks. Many of these prestigious awards are presented at the WSBA's Annual Awards Dinner and Business Meeting in September.
 
This year the committee, chaired by Governor Zulema Hinojos-Fall, is expected to expand its membership beyond the BOG, in order to better represent the diverse membership of the WSBA. Governor Hinojos-Fall and the committee seek and encourage nominations from every practice segment and group. The committee has a special interest this year in identifying a deserving WSBA member for the "Courageous Award," which is presented to a lawyer who has displayed exceptional courage in the face of adversity, thus bringing credit to the legal profession.
 
You are encouraged to contact Governor Hinojos-Fall for more information at zulema.hinojos@eeoc.gov. 

Bar News Review Committee

This committee was initially charged with determining whether the Bar News editor should be independent of the BOG and WSBA staff. The committee readily determined that an independent editor best serves the interests of the membership. The very able Lindsay Thompson has undertaken this position, and has already dramatically improved Bar News.
 
The committee was also charged with making a wholesale review of the content, character, and manner of publication of Bar News. Therefore, the committee has authored a membership survey, which will soon go out for response. A market-research firm will conduct the survey by phone. If you are contacted, we would appreciate your participation, providing this first-ever survey of Bar News with your thoughtful response. Contact Governor Joni Kerr at jrkerrschoolaw@uswest.net.

Presidential and Governor Selection Task Force

In an undertaking of special importance to those of us in smaller legal communities, I will charter a task force to review the manner and method by which we select our president and governors. Not surprisingly, it is very difficult for members from small towns in districts dominated by a major city to successfully campaign for a BOG position. In some such districts, there is presently an informal "rotation," so that this domination is avoided. I look forward to institutionalizing such a process.

WSBA Committee System Review Task Force

I intend to initiate a wholesale review of the WSBA's committee system. At present, the committee-appointment system contains no institutional method to ensure that diverse appointments are made. Further, unsuccessful member applicants are "allowed" to simply retreat back into anonymity. These persons who have expressed interest in the WSBA's work should be utilized. Finally, there are committees that have become moribund and should be eliminated; there may also be committees of which the WSBA is in need. These matters will be the mission of this task force.

Collaborative Law Task Force

A primary mission of the WSBA is, and ought to be, envisioning the future of the practice for its members. Collaborative or restorative law, an approach that emphasizes a client-centered practice in a nonadversarial mode, is very much on the minds of future legal thinkers and our clients. Paul Lehto, the immediate past governor representing the Washington Young Lawyers Division, will lead this task force, which intends to offer a symposium on the subject in March 2004. Justice Bobbe Bridge will be the keynote speaker. Contact Past Governor Lehto at lehto@pmjustice.com. 

In Closing

The work described above is only an account of the "newest" of the BOG's tasks. The BOG has many ongoing enterprises, including, for instance, a study of whether to recommend the addition of a citizen member to its number.
 
And, as always, the legislative session will bring new challenges and opportunities. The BOG looks forward to developing closer and informative relationships with our senators and representatives.
 
I have made this attempt to describe our work, precisely because this diverse and talented Board of Governors and I intend to make a conscientious effort to "listen" to our membership in order to better reflect your interests. Clearly, you need to know what we are up to in order to help guide us in the discharge of our duties.
 
As always, I look forward to your e-mails and calls on these and any other matter of interest.

Dave Savage may be reached at savage@imsblaw.com or 509-332-3502.

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