May 2004

Introducing the WYLD bridge builders

by J.D. Smith, Guest columnist and WYLD President

WSBA President David Savage has yielded his column this month to allow me to introduce the Washington Young Lawyers Division (WYLD). How many of you know that the WYLD has close to 6,000 lawyers? How many of you know that the WYLD sponsors programs all over our great state?

Overview
The WYLD is a division of the Washington State Bar Association. Any active member of the WSBA is automatically a member of the WYLD until the 31st day of December of the year in which such member reaches the age of 36 or until the 31st day of December of the fifth year in which any such member has been admitted to practice in any state, whichever is later. Currently the WSBA has 24,300 active members; of these, 5,900 are members of the WYLD.

The WSBA is a private, nonprofit association that operates as an instrumentality of the Washington State Supreme Court. It both regulates lawyers under the authority of the Court and serves its members as a professional association — all without public funding. As a regulatory agency, it administers the bar examination, provides record-keeping and licensing functions, and administers the lawyer discipline program. As a professional association, it provides continuing legal education for attorneys, in addition to numerous other educational and member-service activities.

Board of Governors
The governance of the WSBA is vested in a 14-person Board of Governors (BOG) — 11 governors elected by the members (three from the Seventh Congressional District and one from each of the other eight districts), two at-large positions elected by the Board of Governors, and one Young Lawyers Division representative elected by the BOG. The BOG meets regularly (every four to six weeks) at various locations around the state, and its meetings are open to the public. Much of the work of the Bar is carried out through 27 standing committees/boards/panels; 23 sections; and the Washington Young Lawyers Division. The WSBA's 2003-2004 budget is approximately $15.5 million.
 
Young Lawyer on Board of Governors
Since October 1, 2001, the WSBA Board of Governors includes one "WYLD leadership" position, or young-lawyer governor. Candidates for the WYLD governor are nominated by the WYLD and elected by the BOG. The young-lawyer governor serves a three-year term with full voting rights. Although not a member of the BOG, the WYLD president traditionally attends the BOG meetings.

Board of Trustees
The WYLD Board of Trustees (BOT) conducts and supervises WYLD activities, programs, and affairs, as well as establishing its policies. The BOT comprises the president, president-elect, immediate past president, 13 trustees from 10 districts, and three law-student trustees. The president-elect automatically advances to the office of president the following year. The immediate past president is an ex officio member, and the president votes only in the event of a tie.

Each trustee is involved with an affiliated organization or other organizations within the trustee's district, as assigned by the WYLD president. Trustees are elected or appointed as follows: One trustee is elected from each trustee district, except that four trustees are elected from the seventh district. Either the residence or the office of a trustee candidate must serve as the basis for determining eligibility to hold office.
 
Programming
The WYLD provides programs and services of special interest to young lawyers, to the public, and to those typically denied access to the justice system. For example, the WYLD:

• Sponsors CLE seminars;
• Publishes De Novo, a bi-monthly publication serving young lawyers; and
• Sponsors programs that benefit students, including the Youth and Law Forum, Pre-Law Student Leadership Conference, and YMCA Mock Trial Competition.

Every six to eight weeks, we hold our board meetings around the state. For many years, we held a midyear meeting. More recently, we moved to a Bridging the Gap CLE in place of the midyear. Our last meeting of the year is called our "Washout Meeting." The president is sworn in during the WSBA Annual Meeting and Awards Banquet.

The BOT has committed to diligently supporting the professional development of new lawyers, serving the interests of law students and their transition into the WSBA, and promoting equal justice for all in the public interest. We set four broad goals for this year:

1. Enhance the quality and readership of De Novo;
2. Strengthen our committees;
3. Develop better relationships with law students; and
4. Perform more public service.

The WYLD is proud of its many programs. Our programs are handled through standing committees, including the Editorial Advisory Board, Long Range Planning, Public Service/Pro Bono, CLE, Membership, Equality in Practice, Practice Conditions, and Trial Advocacy Program. Some programs are stand-alone committees; other committees sponsor multiple programs. We are also asked to have board members appointed to various WSBA committees or task forces. Each committee and program has at least one trustee as a member who acts as liaison to the BOT. The WYLD is proud to sponsor several initiatives that support the commitment of our membership to public service and broad access to the justice system.

Awards and Division Fellows
The WYLD presents four awards each year: the Outstanding Young Lawyer of the Year Award, the WYLD Outstanding Affiliate Organization Award, the WYLD Thomas Neville Pro Bono Award, and the WYLD Professionalism Award. The awards are presented at various legal-community events.

Former members of the BOT are known as our "Division Fellows," and act as liaisons with the WSBA on matters of special interest to the WYLD, and promote participation of former division members.

Thank you for allowing me to introduce the WYLD. Special thanks go to our WSBA staff liaison, Lisa Harper, who consistently does an excellent job for us. Please visit www.wsba.org/lawyers/groups/wyld or contact me at jdsmith@gth-law.com for more information on the WYLD and its programs and activities.

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J.D. Smith, a senior associate in the Seattle law firm Gordon, Thomas, Honeywell, Malanca, Peterson & Daheim LLP, is president of the Washington Young Lawyers Division. In May 2003, he was appointed to the American Bar Association House of Delegates by the WSBA Board of Governors, and the same month was appointed to the Board of Trustees of the King County Bar Foundation. He is a member of the American Bar Association House of Delegates and Litigation Section, and the Bar Leadership Institute, and was 2002-2003 vice-president of the Loren Miller Bar Association. He was also a Washington Defense Trial Lawyers Association Eagle Member, 2001-2002 Board of Trustees member, and 2000-2001 New Lawyers Committee chair.

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