The Board’s Work

by Lindsay Thompson

Olympia, January 21-22, 2005

Inside work and no heavy lifting, that’s what I like about this job. I get a letter telling me where to be, and when. I show up, I take notes, go home, and write up the meeting.

This meeting was light work indeed. Olympia usually is, because the main focus of the Board’s work there each year has shifted from legislative matters to their annual meeting with the Supreme Court.

Meeting with the Court is an Important and Useful Thing because WSBA is an arm of the Court. They approve all our rules and are at the top of the disciplinary food chain. The Bar and the Court have sometimes coextensive, sometimes overlapping interests in a variety of administration of, and access to, justice issues, as well as matters pending before the Legislature.

The Board had dinner with the Court January 20, and then spent the morning of the 21st meeting with the Court at the Temple of Justice. Since it was a closed meeting, I can’t report what happened, but according to the agenda, they discussed indigent criminal defense and equal justice finding; the Practice of Law Board’s work; changes to the Rules of Professional Conduct; WSBA plans to improve the professional development of new Bar members; the work of the lawyer-discipline program; other regulatory services matters; and a miscellany of other things. A few governors, the president, and senior bar association staff make presentations. Comments are made.  Not much gets done, but it’s a useful conference to keep everyone on the same page at the policy level.

What with the meeting with the Court, lunch, and their executive session, the Board didn’t open the doors for everyone else till nearly 2:45 p.m. They approved the minutes of the December meeting in Everett. The president summed up the meeting with the Court. Then the Board approved the Consent Calendar, where more routine items go that — one hopes — will be approved without debate. On the Calendar were appointments to the Civil Rights Committee; various changes to the WSBA Bylaws tweaking things like inactive and emeritus membership; nomination of a conflicts review officer; approval of some CLE rule changes and nominations to the Access to Justice Board; and approval of recommendations from the Amicus Brief Committee to join with other state bars in briefing cases against the Federal Trade Commission. Under the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act, the FTC wants to regulate the legal profession under the privacy notice requirements of that law.

The president, president-elect, and executive director referred members to their written reports on their activities since the last meeting. The president made particular note of the nomination of WSBA member Lem Howell for the American Bar Association’s Thurgood Marshall Award. Howell has had an outsized and important impact on improving the legal system in Washington for decades — so much so that the packet nominating him runs to some 150 pages. The Young Lawyers Division submitted a written report on their work.

WSBA Director of Legislative Affairs Gail Stone updated the Board on the Bar’s legislative program, noting at the outset, “It’s already out of date: I just assembled it an hour and a half ago.” Such is life when the Legislature is in session. She told the Board there’s a feeling in the air that the legislators want to try and break the concrete around the ankles of the tort reform debate and actually pass something. She said there’s a sense that this is the year they try to do something for court funding as well, which made everyone feel vaguely optimistic. Apparently there’s also a head of steam in some quarters for campaign contribution limits in judicial races, given that 2004’s campaign funding sloshfest stopped just this side of corporate naming rights for some seats. There’s also a bill to set up a citizen’s commission to advise the governor on judicial appointments, giving the gov a list of choices from which the choice has to be made or it would get made for the gov.

Of course, by the time this gets published all may have changed, so keep an eye out on the legislative website for the day-to-day. (A link to the current legislative update is on the WSBA homepage at www.wsba.org.)

The Board decided not to decide just yet about choosing a broker to provide professional liability and other insurance for WSBA members. The back story is this: about 15 years ago the Board decided to seek a broker who’d be endorsed by WSBA and who in turn would undertake to make sure members would have recourse to a liability insurance when the market tightened up, as it sometimes does. At that time it was so tight there were members who couldn’t get any insurance. Governors Mike Pontarolo and Mark Johnson told the Board they aren’t quite done with a review of potential brokers. A late entry to the consideration was interesting, and the Board gave them 10 more days to make a choice.

The Board renominated Sommer Dykema to the Bench-Bar-Press Committee, a group of judges, lawyers, and journalists who work to improve understanding among the three camps and do other useful things. For the second seat, the Board had a Welcome to Mooseport moment when incumbent Joan Mell asked for reappointment and former WSBA President Dick Manning ambled into the lists. Having had some experience of media flurries, he offered to be of help if he could, but graciously added he wouldn’t be crushed if he weren’t appointed. Figuring Dick was being a characteristically good sport, that they ought to spread the wealth around, and that ex-presidents can drop into any issue they want, the Board renominated Mell.

A WSBA member who is a judge in Oregon wrote WSBA asking if WSBA’s judicial membership could be extended to Oregon judges. The main difference appears to be that one doesn’t have to pay dues under that membership. At Treasurer Joni Kerr’s request, the Board sent it to the Budget and Audit Committee since no one knew how much the idea might cost.

ABA delegate Kathleen Hopkins briefed the Board on the House of Delegate’s coming meeting agenda. It was light, too.

WSBA member Bill Neukom has officially announced he is running for ABA President, and everyone was asked to continue to wish him well.

Governor Randy Gordon, who teaches there, celebrated Seattle University School of Law’s selection of Prof. Kellye Testy as dean, and as they used to say in 1066 And All That, everyone agreed it is A Good Thing.

WSBA member Brian Weinstein, elected to the state Senate last November, stopped by for a visit and said he looked forward to working with lawyers on legislation. “We can always use more lawyers testifying on things,” he said. “People think everyone in the Legislature is a lawyer but there really aren’t that many.” Weinstein lives on Mercer Island.

And that wrapped up Friday. The Board recessed at 4:20 p.m. The Government Lawyers Bar Association held their after-holiday party, and kindly invited even the Board’s camp followers. Good food, good talk, and some awards given the manifestly deserving lawyers. A good time had by all.

Saturday the Board mainly heard reports. Governor Lonnie Davis briefed the Board on how WSBA might be more mindful and accommodating of members with disabilities. Proposed trial-court-reform legislation, designed to make district courts more fully utilized, came up for some talk. Governor Joni Kerr presented WSBA’s auditors’ report — a clean bill of health. There was some discussion of how some of the WSBA sections are starting to look like Horace Vandergelder in Hello Dolly! — having not yet learned money is like manure; it’s no good unless you spread it around. Apparently some sections have got sacksful and sit on it.

Then the Board had to recess for 45 minutes. Former Governor Ken Davidson and Roger Goodman — the latter heads King County Bar’s Drug Policy Project — were stuck on I-5 south as a result of a fuel truck fire and spill in Tacoma. Once they arrived, the two gave an interesting and lengthy report on attempts to reform drug-sentencing laws and redirect some federal funding into drug treatment. Studies show it can way reduce court caseloads and public expenditures on jail inmates that way.

That’s it. I’m outta here.

Table of contents >>