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October 2004Welcome to the WSBA's New President-elect and GovernorsS. Brooke Taylor, President-elect Brooke Taylor was born and raised in Port Angeles, where he has practiced law since his admission to the Bar in 1968. In 1965, Taylor earned a B.A. in political science from Stanford University, and in 1968 a J.D. from the University of Virginia School of Law. From 1969 to 1970, Taylor was a deputy prosecuting attorney for Clallam County, and in 1970 was elected Clallam County prosecuting attorney. For 15 years, from 1975 to 1990, he was an owner and partner in Taylor & Taylor P.S. in Port Angeles. In 1991, the two oldest law firms in Clallam County merged to form Platt Irwin Taylor, where he is currently an owner/partner, with an emphasis on plaintiffs' personal injury, civil litigation, estate planning, and probate. The firm has offices in Port Angeles, Sequim, and Port Townsend. Taylor was elected to the WSBA Board of Governors in 2000 and served a two-year term. He served as WSBA treasurer in 2001-2002. Since 2001, Taylor has been chairman of the WSBA Facilities Committee. He was 2003-2004 WSBA liaison to the District and Municipal Court Judges' Association, and founder and co-chairman of the Washington State Trial Lawyers Association (WSTLA) Super Seminar. He is also a frequent WSTLA seminar presenter. Taylor is well known for his commitment to serving the people of the North Olympic Peninsula. His community honored him in 1999 by naming him Clallam County "Citizen of the Year." Taylor's community involvement includes serving as member and director of the Port Angeles Kiwanis Club, director and president of the Clallam County Family YMCA (he is a recipient of the YMCA National Distinguished Service Award), director of the G.M. Lauridsen Foundation, director and president of the Clallam County Community Mental Health Center, member and director of the Port Angeles Chamber of Commerce, and director and president of the Peninsula College Foundation. Throughout his WSBA leadership experience, Taylor has focused on the issues of diversity and relevance. He was instrumental in bringing about what the Board of Governors calls the "Diversity Amendment" to the WSBA Bylaws, leading to the creation of three governor at-large positions. In fact, the language that was finally adopted has been called "the Taylor draft," due to Taylor's efforts to make the definition of "diversity" as broad and inclusive as possible. But he isn't stopping there. "While expanding the Board of Governors has been a very important step, it is not enough," he said. "Bar leaders must continue to reach out to all segments of our membership to inform regarding the WSBA services and programs available to them, and to involve our members in governance at all levels. Reaching out will be a theme of my presidency. We must continue a special effort to reach out to those elements of our profession who have traditionally been unrepresented, and our profession will be the stronger for it."
Marcine Anderson, who is Japanese-American, is believed to be the first Asian-American to serve on the Board of Governors. Ms. Anderson received a B.A. and Certificate in Ethnic Studies from the University of Oregon in 1977, and a J.D. from Suffolk University Law School in Boston in 1984. She joined the WSBA in 1990. Since 1997, Ms. Anderson has been a judge pro tempore, first for the Municipal Court of Seattle and then for the King County District Court. For the past nine years, she has been a King County senior deputy prosecuting attorney. Prior to 1995, she was in private practice with law firms in Seattle. Before moving to Seattle, Ms. Anderson served as assistant general counsel and special assistant for the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority in Boston, clerked for Hon. Joyce London Alexander in the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts, and was a staff attorney for Southeastern Massachusetts Legal Assistance Corporation. She has been a frequent CLE seminar presenter both in the Northwest and in New England on issues surrounding technology and the law. Over the years, Ms. Anderson has volunteered her expertise and services in numerous community organizations, including Angeline's Legal Clinic, the Japanese American Citizens League, The Odessa Brown Children's Clinic, the International District Legal Clinic, and the Northwest Women's Law Center in Seattle.
Jim Baker received his J.D. in 1979 from Gonzaga University School of Law. From 1980 to 1985, he practiced at Lyon, Beaulaurier, Weigand, Suko & Gustafson in Yakima. While living in Yakima, he began a monthly CLE program for members of the Yakima County Bar Association, served on the Washington Young Lawyers Division (WYLD) Board of Trustees, and edited the WYLD newsletter. In 1985, Mr. Baker opened a law practice in Port Townsend, and one year later was hired by Miracle & Pruzan, where he continues to practice (the firm is now known as Miracle, Pruzan, Pruzan & Baker). A member of the Washington State Trial Lawyers Association (WSTLA) since 1982, he is a former editor of WSTLA's Trial News and served on WSTLA's Board of Governors. In 1987, he received WSTLA's Certificate of Appreciation. Mr. Baker contributes a substantial amount of his time to pro bono work, including the representation of disabled veterans before the Board of Veterans Appeals. Currently serving on the Access to Justice Board's Impediments to Access to Justice Committee, Mr. Baker has also served on numerous other federal, state, and county bar committees and boards. He is also a member of the American Civil Liberties Union, Amnesty International, the Association of Trial Lawyers of America, the American Bar Association, Trial Lawyers for Public Justice, and the Democratic National Committee.
Stan Bastian, a former public defender for the City of Renton and prosecutor for the City of Seattle, is a shareholder in the Wenatchee and Moses Lake firm of Jeffers, Danielson, Sonn & Aylward, P.S., which he joined in 1988. His practice focuses on civil litigation, employment law, labor negotiations, and insurance defense. In 1980, he earned a B.S. from the University of Oregon, and in 1983 a J.D. from the University of Washington, where he graduated Phi Beta Kappa. He was admitted to both the Washington and the Oregon bars in 1983, and is the current president of the Chelan-Douglas County Bar Association. He is also a member of the American Bar Association. From 1984 to 1985, Mr. Bastian served as the law clerk for Washington State Court of Appeals Judge Ward Williams. He also served as the Assistant City Attorney for the Seattle City Attorney's Office, Criminal Division, from 1985 to 1988. Mr. Bastian is a former member of the Chelan-Douglas Counties United Way Board of Directors, and served as the board's president from 1998 to 1999. Since 1992, he has been a member of the Board of Directors of Legal Aid for Washington (LAW) Fund, a nonprofit organization committed to ensuring the promise of equal justice for all in Washington state regardless of financial standing or position.
Eron Berg received his J.D. in 1999 from the University of Washington School of Law. In 2000 he opened the Law Office of Eron M. Berg, PLLC, in Mount Vernon, where he focuses his practice on civil law. A member of the WSBA since 1999, he is also a member of the Skagit County Bar Association, and is admitted to practice in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington, all Washington superior and district courts, and the Washington State Court of Appeals. Mr. Berg has an impressive record of community service that belies his young age. He has served as La Conner's planning commissioner and a member of the La Conner Town Council, and in 1999 he was elected to a four-year term as mayor of La Conner. From 2001 to 2003 he served as chairman of both the Skagit Council of Governments and the Skagit Regional Transportation Policy Organization, and for several years was a board member of the Skagit Emergency Management Council, the Skagit County Law and Justice Council, and the Skagit County Economic Development Public Facilities Program. Currently he is vice president and president-elect of Youthnet, a nonprofit corporation that serves Skagit, Island, Whatcom, and Snohomish counties by providing youth and family services, including an alternative high school, foster placements, a teen shelter, and other social-service programs.
Lonnie Davis received his J.D. from Gonzaga University School of Law in 1973. He worked with the Legal Services office in Everett as a Volunteers In Service To America (VISTA) volunteer, staff attorney, and directing attorney before joining the faculty at the University of Puget Sound School of Law's Disabilities Law Project (DLP), which is now a part of the Washington Coalition of Citizens with disAbilities (www.wccd.org). Mr. Davis is a technical advisor to the Washington State Supreme Court's Minority and Justice Commission, and an associate member of the Governor's Committee on Disability Issues and Employment. He also serves on several WSBA committees, including Civil Rights, Access to Justice (ATJ) Technology Bill of Rights, ATJ Conference Planning, and ATJ Impediments to Access to Justice. He is a past chair of the Civil Rights Committee, and has served on the Washington Young Lawyers Division Board of Trustees, as well as on the WSBA Corrections and Diversity Committees. He has served on the Boards of Directors of the Seattle Community Services Center for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing, United Cerebral Palsy of King County, and VSAW (an organization of artists with disabilities); and he is a former consultant to the Washington Coalition of Sexual Assault Programs. He has also served as a member and chair of the Seattle Human Rights Commission. |
