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August 1999FYILAW WEEK: Kids had the opportunity to learn about the justice system from lawyers and judges on May 7, when the Chelan-Douglas County Bar Association sponsored "A Lawyer or Judge in Every School" as part of Law Week. The event brought WSBA members to classrooms to educate students about laws, our legal system, and the rights and responsibilities of citizens. About 2,200 students participated in the program, which involved 40 lawyers and judges; 51 teachers; and 15 elementary, middle and high schools. Lawyers in Chelan and Douglas Counties provide education in local schools each year, including individual classroom programs and mock trials. The "Lawyer or Judge in Every School" program, modeled on similar programs in other states, was offered this year for the first time in Washington. Our hats off to Wenatchee lawyer Russ Speidel, who coordinated this outstanding program! Welden Appointed Chair Of ABA Advisory Commission on Lawyers’ Funds For Client Protection WSBA General Counsel Robert D. Welden is the new Chair of the American Bar Association Advisory Commission on Lawyers’ Funds for Client Protection. Welden will serve a one-year term as the Chair of the Commission, which is one of several entities comprising the ABA Center for Professional Responsibility. The Advisory Commission consists of seven persons who currently serve, or have served, as administrators or trustees of a lawyers’ fund for client protection. Funds for client protection exist in every state, although the specific levels of compensation and procedures for providing them vary from state to state. The Commission advises the Standing Committee on Client Protection on matters concerning lawyers’ funds, including the presentation of educational programs, the preparation of resource materials, and the development of ABA policy proposals. Access to Justice and Bar Leaders Conferences Held Side by Side in Wenatchee Members of the Access to Justice Network and WSBA Bar Leaders met in Wenatchee, June 25-27, for their respective annual conferences, entitled "Building Bridges to Justice" (ATJ) and "Building a Better Bar: Some Assembly Required" (Bar Leaders). Workshops at the ATJ conference covered a variety of topics, including teaching the Internet on a budget, children’s rights, ethics, case-management software, administrative hearings, legal advocacy for grandparents raising children, domestic violence, mediation, paternity and fundraising. The conference had 290 registrants (100 more than last year), including 26 law students and 19 administrative law judges. The conference also featured the skit "The AX-ess Files: Justice Is Out There," which shamelessly "borrowed" from TV’s The X-Files and a whole den of campy horror movies. Stars of previous skits, the Good Fairies of Funding and Elvis, also put in appearances. The Bar Leaders Conference focused on current bar issues such as member services, professionalism and law in the 21st century. Approximately 50 bar leaders from around Washington were in attendance, including (for the first time) the chairs of WSBA committees and sections. Keynote speakers for both conferences were Hon. Judith M. Billings, Utah Court of Appeals; Chief Justice Richard P. Guy, Washington State Supreme Court; and John McKay, Legal Services Corporation President. Next year’s conferences will be held in conjunction with Celebration 2000. Usury Rate The average coupon equivalent yield from the first auction of 26-week treasury bills in July 1999 is 4.776 percent. The maximum allowable interest rate for August is therefore 12 percent. Compilations of the average coupon equivalent yields from past auctions of 26-week treasury bills and past maximum interest rates for January 1989 – June 1999 appear on page 53 of the June 1999 Bar News. Information from January 1987 to date is available online .
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