December 2004

Washington’s Strong Voice in the American Bar Association

by WSBA Executive Director Jan Michels and ABA Delegate J. Scott Miller 

The American Bar Association (www.abanet.org) is generally recognized as the national voice of the legal profession, and after several decades of leadership Washington’s ABA members have accumulated considerable credibility and influence in the Association.

With more than 400,000 members (including some from other countries) and an annual budget of over $100 million, the ABA parallels the size and influence of many states. The ABA develops model rules of professional conduct, provides law school accreditation, performs federal judge screening, maintains a discipline clearinghouse and national lawyer referral services, and performs congressional lobbying on topics critical to society (www.abanet.org/poladv/priorities.html).

The ABA is composed principally of practicing lawyers (including those in public service), judges, court administrators, and law teachers, as well as business executives, government officials, and law students — all of whom volunteer their time and expertise. The ABA provides a forum to state and local bar associations, practitioners in specialized areas of the law, affiliated law-related organizations, and groups with specialized interests or needs such as administrative law judges, lawyers in the armed forces, and minority and women’s bar associations.

During the past decade, the ABA has initiated hundreds of programs addressing a wide range of public concerns, including child abuse, problems of the elderly, legal services, the high cost of justice, law practice management, domestic violence, juvenile crime, and fair trial and free press issues. The ABA’s response to these and other problems is made possible by thousands of members who contribute both time and money.

WSBA influence in ABA governance

The key governing structure for the ABA is its House of Delegates, which is the policy-making body of the ABA. The House consists of more than 540 delegates from state bars, large local bars, and ABA entities.

The Washington state delegation currently consists of 14 voting members, led by the state delegate. Although there are other states with larger delegations, Washington is respected as a leader in the ABA, and regularly provides leadership over significant issues addressed by the House.

Based on the number of practicing attorneys in the state, the WSBA appoints seven delegates to the House, each of whom is appointed to a two-year term. Currently there are seven additional Washington lawyers who are members of the House of Delegates by virtue of representing ABA sections, young lawyers, or local bars; emeritus standing; or other special appointments.

Washington has the honor of being home to the longest-serving ABA House of Delegates member. Tacoma attorney Joe Gordon Sr. served as ABA treasurer (1965-1971) and was recently recognized for 50 years of perfect attendance in the House. And another former ABA treasurer (1975-1979), Washington attorney David Andrews, also enjoys a lifetime seat in the House of Delegates, and still continues to serve on important ABA committees as well as serving on the American Bar Endowment.

The last (and so far the only) ABA president from Washington state was Frank E. Holman (1948-1949). This year, however, the delegation will try to convince Washington State Delegate Bill Neukom to seek the ABA presidency.

Our WSBA delegates

The WSBA delegates to the House of Delegates are (alphabetically):

• Paula Boggs (Seattle). Paula has been an officer and contributor to the ABA Litigation Section, and previously represented the WSBA. After returning to the Northwest to become general counsel for Starbucks, she was re-appointed to represent the WSBA in the House after an increase in the state’s lawyer population entitled WSBA to a seventh delegate.

• Tom Fitzpatrick (Everett). Tom has over 20 years of service in the ABA. After being elected as state delegate, Tom served for three years on the ABA Board of Governors, and is now serving in the House as a delegate at large. Tom started his ABA volunteer service on the ABA/YLD Council. He has chaired National Conference Groups and the National Conference of Lawyers and Representatives of the Media. His passion, however, has always been professional responsibility, having served six years on the Disciplinary Board, where he was on the committee that wrote the Model Rules of Judicial Discipline. He just finished a term on the Standing Committee on Ethics and Professional Responsibility. Tom is presently serving on the committee rewriting the Model Judicial Code, which will be presented to the House of Delegates in 2005 for adoption. This past year Tom also chaired a major pro bono project for the ABA that wrote the Standards for the Care, Custody, Representation, and Adjudication of Unaccompanied Alien Children who are taken into custody by immigration authorities.

• Kathleen Hopkins (Seattle). In addition to serving in the House for several years, Kathleen is a stalwart in the ABA sections. She currently serves on the ABA Standing Committee on Pro Bono and Public Service, and is also one of only five tellers who serve in the House to control and manage voting. At the same time she is chairing both the Pro Bono Committee of the Business Law Section, and the Real Estate Law Committee of the General Practice, Solo and Small Firm Section.

• J. Scott Miller (Spokane). Scott recently rolled off the delegation after 10 years of continuous volunteer service. He served as the interim state delegate, and was a member of the ABA Standing Committee on Membership when it fashioned many of the member benefits now in place, and is currently on the ABA Standing Committee on Technology, which has been instrumental in upgrading the technological capacity of the ABA and its website. He has also served in many leadership positions in the ABA Tort, Trial and Insurance Practice Section, including three years on the section’s governing council.

• Bill Neukom (Seattle). Bill is the current state delegate. He chairs the delegation and was appointed by ABA President Dennis Archer to chair the ABA Governance Commission, which will be issuing a report to the ABA this year. He served as secretary of the ABA (1983-1987), and we understand he is contemplating the possibility of running for the position of ABA president.

• Llewelyn Pritchard (Seattle). There really is not enough space to list all the positions Llew has held in the ABA in the past several years. He is currently serving as a delegate at large in the House, and has long championed the cause of access to justice. He is a member of the Council of the ABA Family Law Section, and is also a member of the ABA Center for Human Rights. He was recently on the Commission on the 50th Anniversary of Brown vs. Board of Education. He has been the chair of the ABA Section of Individual Rights and Responsibilities, where he currently serves as chair of that section’s Development Committee. His service also includes serving as past chair of the Legal Aid and Indigent Defendants and chair of the ABA Commission on Immigration. He currently chairs the ABA Center for Civil Rights, and also serves as Liaison from the Family Law Section to the ABA Commission on Immigration Policy, Practice and Pro Bono.

• Lish Whitson (Seattle). Lish is serving on the Editorial Board of the ABA/BNA Lawyers Manual on the Profession, and has served on the ABA Commission on Women in the Profession, where he was instrumental in raising the issue of breast-cancer medical coverage. Lish was recently on the ABA Standing Committee on Publishing Oversight, which provides direction to all ABA publications. Lish also served on the ABA Lawyer Referral Committee when it wrote the model rules for lawyer referral services, and has served on the Pro Bono Committee as well.

Newer members of the WSBA delegation include J.D. Smith (Seattle), who was previously the Washington Young Lawyers Division (WYLD) representative and is currently serving a term as WSBA delegate; Sonia Rodriguez (Yakima), who is currently representing the WYLD on the delegation; Peter Ehrlichman (Seattle), who represents the King County Bar Association; and the latest appointment, WSBA President Ron Ward (Seattle).

Committees, divisions, and sections

The ABA is much more than the House of Delegates. There are sections and divisions, standing committees, special committees, task forces, councils, boards, and many other entities that provide special expertise for the many and varied works of the ABA. Washington lawyers have a long history of service and leadership.

The ABA Leadership Redbook directory lists members who hold leadership positions. Some of these positions are part of the ABA, others are within ABA sections or divisions, and still others are associated with entities with special relationships with the ABA.

The Redbook lists 117 Washington lawyers serving as leaders in the ABA. It would be a monumental task to describe the volunteer work they are all doing, but here are a few examples of the scope of service being provided from Washington:

• Randy Aliment (Seattle attorney) serves on the Council of the ABA Tort, Trial, Insurance Practice Section.

• Martin Cordell (Olympia attorney) serves on the Council of the Government and Public Sector Lawyers Division.

• Karl Ege (Tacoma attorney) chairs the ABA Standing Committee on Technology and Information Services as well as the Technology Committee of the Business Law Section.

• Barbara Harper (WSBA lawyer services director) has participated in the ABA’s Commission on Lawyer Assistance Programs (ABA CoLAP) for 17 years.

• Jeffrey Litwak (White Salmon attorney) serves on the State Interstate Law and Interstate Compact committees of the ABA Administrative Law and Regulatory Practice Section.

• Don McGowan (Redmond attorney) serves on the New Information Technologies Committee of the Intellectual Property Law Section.

• Joy McLean (WSBA chief disciplinary counsel) and other Office of Disciplinary Counsel lawyers are active in the National Organization of Bar Counsel.

• Jan Michels (WSBA executive director) is a member and frequent presenter at the national Executives Affiliate Conferences.

• Jim Noe, a retired judge, has served in the House in a number of capacities. He is currently representing the Senior Lawyers Division, and co-chairs that section’s Judiciary Committee. Jim is also the state chair of the ABA Fellows.

• Michael Pellicciotti recently graduated from Gonzaga University School of Law, and served as chair of the ABA Law Student Division.

• Judge James Riehl (Kitsap County) serves on several committees in the National Conference of Specialized Court Judges.

• Steve Sepinuck (Gonzaga Law School professor) serves on the Business Law Section UCC Committee.

• Irwin Treiger (Seattle attorney) serves on the ABA Gramm Leach Bliley Task Force.

• Judge Thomas Warren (Chelan County) serves on several committees, including the Publications Committee of the ABA Judicial Division.

• Patricia Wehmeyer is a student at Gonzaga University School of Law and is serving as the Law Student Division 12th Circuit governor.

• Bob Welden (WSBA general counsel) is chair of the ABA Committee on Lawyer Protection Funds.

• Karen Wong (Mercer Island attorney) serves on the Membership and the Travel and Leisure committees of the Senior Lawyers Division.

Members of the WYLD are active in the ABA Young Lawyers Division.

Other Washington attorneys listed in the Redbook as also serving in various committees in the ABA are Erich Andersen, William Baker, Karen Boxx, John Brangwin, Robert Burke, Eugene Burrus, Anthony Lawrence Butler, John Cary, Elizabeth Castilleja, Patricia Char, John Christiansen, Martin Cordell, Arthur Curtis, Philip Cutler, Rosemary Daszkiewicz, Selina Davis, Sarah Dunne, Eric Eberhard, James Ellis, Judith Endejan, Rudy Englund, Jerome Farris, Larry Feinstein, Parker Folse, John Gose, T. Randall Grove, Donald Haley, P. Arley Harrel, Rudolph Hasl, Penelope Hazelton, Andy Hess, G. Richard Hill, Jayanne Hino, Roland Hjorth, James Johnston, Eric Anthony Jones, Eileen Kato, Alan Kirtley, Roy Koegen, Evan Loeffler, J. Tate London, Kenyon Luce, Gary Maehara, Norm Maleng, Mary Campbell McQueen, Weston Mayring, Lawrence Mills, Michael Moore, Robert Mucklestone, Robert Mussehl, Margaret Niles, Thomas O’Connell, Douglas Oles, Cherise Oram, Alice Paine, Jonathan Palmer, Elizabeth Petrie, Richard Reed, and Judge Tom Winn.

Awards and acknowledgments

Washington has a long and proud history of valuable service to the legal profession. The ABA has recognized the Washington State Court Funding Task Force and incorporated the task force’s model for addressing court funding into its black-letter recommendation as a national model on how best to approach problems with court funding.

Your opportunity for service

The WSBA Board of Governors appoints the seven delegates to the ABA House of Delegates. Because of rotating dates of service, there is usually at least one appointment made each spring. If you are one of the thousands of Washington state lawyers involved in the ABA and you have an interest in serving in the House, contact your WSBA governor. (See www.wsba.org/info/bog/members.htm for a list of all members of the WSBA Board of Governors.)

Jan Michels can be reached at janm@wsba.org.
 

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