October 1999

Annual Committee Reports: 1998 - 1999

published in October 1999 Bar News

Excerpted from the Committees’ recently submitted Annual Reports. Sections’ Annual Report excerpts are in the September issue of Bar News.

The Committee’s goal is to develop an Amicus Brief Policy and Procedure. The Committee discussed, drafted, defined and submitted to the Board of Governors a written policy and procedure for the request and submission of Amicus Briefs by individuals, organizations and WSBA sections. To date, no requests have been made to the Committee, so there has been no opportunity to implement the policy and procedure.

The Board holds hearings concerning bar examination applicants whose character and fitness to practice law has been questioned as a result of past misconduct. It also holds hearings concerning petitions for reinstatement by disbarred attorneys. This 14-person Board includes three nonlawyers. The Board meets five to six Saturdays per year, and issues written decisions within 20 days of a hearing. This year, the Board was able to conduct all meetings as scheduled with a quorum present.

The Committee addressed issues stemming from the Walsh Commission Report, including selecting and evaluating judges. It also addressed issues relating to the Mandatory Arbitration Bill. The Committee drafted a survey of court facilities and disseminated it among WSBA members for response; it jointly coordinated this project with the Access to Justice Board Status Impediments Committee. The Committee is also addressing calendar congestion issues, and the manner and method to expedite trial calendars. Additionally, it is examining the Trust and Confidence in the Courts Project and the Citizens for Independent Courts Project.

Through serious and substantial work by Committee members, timely responses on diverse proposed court rules were submitted to the Board of Governors and then to the Supreme Court. The Committee had seven subcommittees, which worked on the following topics: general Rule 9, Guardian ad Litem rules, traffic infraction and criminal rule proposals, technology, "duplicate" rules proposals (civil), model local rules, and evidence rules.

The Board is composed of 10 lawyers, who are appointed by the Board of Governors, and four nonlawyers, appointed by the Supreme Court. The Disciplinary Board members form four review committees. The Board carries out the functions and duties assigned to it according to the Rules for Lawyer Discipline established by the Board of Governors and approved by the Supreme Court.

The Board reviewed all of its actions and the Board of Governors’ actions since adoption of the Editor’s Handbook, and is working on revising the Handbook’s appendix. Discussions relating to the frequency of Bar News publication were begun.

The Committee amended its mission statement as follows: "Inform and assist lawyers on ways to use technology; make available law-related data to lawyers and others at the lowest possible cost; facilitate the exchange of technological information among organizations within and without the WSBA; and make policy recommendations to the WSBA regarding the use of technology."

Issues the Committee is addressing include

• public data access
• electronic legal documents
• policies regarding WSBA use of e-mail addresses
• other technological advances that impact Bar membership.

The Committee conducted background checks and evaluated candidates for appointment to the Court of Appeals and the Supreme Court and forwarded to the Board of Governors all candidates it found to be "well qualified." The Committee formed a task force to consider possible revisions in the guidelines or the candidate questionnaire.

The Committee’s main task is to prepare and grade each bar exam, and to streamline the bar exam training, preparation and grading process. The Committee continued its high-level training seminar and assigned new examiners to write questions for a question bank. The bank’s purpose is threefold: (1) to complete the new-examiner training; (2) to have questions available in the event of a compromised examination; and (3) to provide backup in the event assigned examiners are unable to prepare a satisfactory question. Committee members visited Washington’s three law schools to speak with students about the application and examination process; more than 100 students attended these presentations.

This new Committee adopted a mission statement: "In order to serve the WSBA members and the public, the mission of the Law Office Management Assistance Program Committee is to assist in marketing the program and exploring new services and methods of delivering services." The Committee sent letters to all new admittees, advising them of the program’s availability. It also formed subcommittees on marketing and personnel management issues.

The Committee’s goals are to strengthen LAP by exploring and implementing new avenues to publicize its programs and services; to continue an effective network of statewide peer counselors; and to encourage lawyers in distress to avail themselves of LAP’s programs and services. A successful statewide annual conference was held in Chelan in April. A dialogue was started between LAP and the Disciplinary Committee with the view to better inform those in the disciplinary system of the availability of LAP and the limitations on how LAP can interact with lawyers in the disciplinary system.

The Committee’s goals are to review and approve (or disapprove) applications for gifts from the fund; determine the adequacy of the budget for the fund; and publicize the Committee’s work. In order to ensure the fund obtains sufficient sums to accomplish the Committee’s objectives, the Committee recommended an increase in the assessment for the fund. Also this year, the Committee decided to publicize the names of attorneys whose clients receive gifts from the fund.

The Committee established connections with the Washington State Paralegal Association, the National Federation of Paralegal Associations (NFPA), and the King County Legal Support Professionals, inviting them to attend and participate in all of their meetings. NFPA’s State Bar Liaison Coordinator is providing the Committee with information on certification and regulation of paralegals throughout the country. The Committee also is examining areas of mutual interest with the Access to Justice Board, to encourage cooperation and communication between the groups.

The Committee’s primary goals this year were to increase its public profile and alert appropriate civil agencies as to the Committee’s abilities to provide guidance on issues of military law and jurisdiction, and to create a means through which the Committee can interact with the courts to assist in cases involving military personnel.

The Committee deals with proposals for state and federal legislation which relate to the improvement of justice. It also reviews proposed legislation of interest to the Bar and the general public and may draft proposed legislation for submission to the Board of Governors. The Committee maintains liaison with sections and committees in order to correlate its activities with studies being conducted by those entities. Committee information, including legislative positions, can be found on the WSBA website (www.wsba.org/lawyers/groups/legislative/).

The Board’s goal is to improve the time it takes to process petitions from members and providers, and to help with the drafting and implementation of the new rules for the CLE Board. There will be significant changes brought on by the new rules for the MCLE Board, and the practical application of those rules will be the Board’s next significant challenge.

The Committee continues to work to implement the Volunteer Attorney Legal Services Action Plan (VALS Plan), adopted by the Board of Governors in 1994. The Committee adopted the Law Firm Recruitment Subcommittee’s model law firm pro bono policy and mailed it to all law firms of 10 or more. At the request of the Committee, the Board of Governors declared May as "Pro Bono Month." In cooperation with the ABA, the Committee has initiated an innovative project which would encourage pro bono participation by corporate law departments in representation of low-income clients in rural areas using video conferencing technology.

The Committee’s goal for the year was to identify, develop and implement a CLE seminar on professionalism, with the objective of raising awareness statewide for civility and cooperation between attorneys. The result was a very successful CLE seminar, "Ethics, Professionalism and Civility: The Hard Questions," presented in September in Seattle.

The Committee analyzes and makes recommendations with respect to resolutions properly submitted pursuant to WSBA Bylaws. The Committee had no activity, as no resolutions were referred.

The Committee responded to dozens of ethics inquiries during the year, and in order to do so, held all-day meetings every other month. Prior to full Committee meetings, Committee members conducted research on the ethics inquiries assigned to them, conferred with one another about those inquiries, and prepared written reports to the full Committee. Additionally, Committee representatives appeared at several meetings of the Board of Governors.

We regret that reports from the following committees were not received in time for publication: Civil Rights, Consumer Protection, Continuing Legal Education, Corrections, Committee for Diversity, Interprofessional and Law Clerk.

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