August 2000

Board's Work - June 2000

Highlighting the Board of Governors meeting held in Portland, Oregon, June 23-24 was the election of Tacoma attorney Dale Carlisle to serve as 111th president of the WSBA. Mr. Carlisle will begin by serving as president-elect during the 2000-2001 fiscal year, assuming the presidency in September 2001.

For inspiring examples of dedication to service and outstanding accomplishments, one need look no further than the recipients of this year's WSBA awards. Awards Committee chair Lindsay Thompson presented the Committee's recommendations, and the Board unanimously approved its selections. The following individuals will be honored at the Awards Luncheon on September 15: Russell Speidel and Caitlin Newman-Velazquez, President's Award; Louis Rukavina, Award of Merit; Leonard Schroeter, Lifetime Service Award; The Honorable Richard Guy, Outstanding Judge Award; Rosemarie LeMoine, Pro Bono Award; Peter Greenfield, Professionalism Award; Barbara Vining, Angelo Petruss Award for Lawyers in Public Service; Garth Dano, Courageous Award; Superior Court Judges' Association Equality and Fairness Committee for their Quick Reference to Disabilities in the Courtroom manual, Affirmative Action Award; and Karen Dorn Steele, Excellence in Legal Journalism Award.

Virginia Kirk was nominated for Supreme Court appointment to the Judicial Information Systems Committee. Rebecca Roe was nominated for Supreme Court appointment to the Washington Pattern Jury Instruction Committee, and Marilyn Endriss was thanked for her years of service on this Committee.

Susan Mindenbergs, chair of the Court Rules and Procedures Committee, presented the Committee's annual report and walked the Board through a complex set of actions concerning 16 rules. The Board approved the Committee's recommended amendments as follows: CR 28(c), requiring any special arrangements made between a court reporter and one party to be equally available to all parties; CR 35, allowing videotaping of examination on agreement of parties, plus other changes; CR 49, formally adopting the "any juror" rule in response to a request from the Washington Pattern Jury Instruction Committee; MAR 1.2, bringing the rule in line with recent statutory change regarding appeals of small claim cases to superior court; MAR 3.2, clarifying the authority of arbitrators to impose sanctions and, in appropriate cases, to award attorney fees; MAR 4.1, clarifying that prohibited communication between attorney and arbitrator relates only to communication on merits of the case; and MAR 7.1, allowing the form for requesting a trial de novo to be in substantially the same form as that set forth in the rule. The Board accepted the Committee's recommendation to make no changes to the other rules, and sent three rules back to the Committee for further work. The Board thanked Ms. Mindenbergs and the Committee for their exceptional work.

Ron Bemis's heartwarming presentation about Law Week 2000 included classroom photos and thank-you notes written by students. Law Week 2000 was a statewide extension of local programs that have been run by county and specialty bars, the Young Lawyers Division, judges' groups and other organizations. Thanks to the volunteer efforts of more than 4,000 lawyers and 60 judges, Law Week was an overwhelming success! Under the leadership of Chairman Russell Speidel and focusing primarily on how to best reach and benefit the students, the Committee concentrated on creating the tools and infrastructure (such as resources on the WSBA website) that will serve us well into the future, leveraging existing local bars' and other groups' programs, and promoting professional teamwork at all levels. Governor Victoria Vreeland said that her involvement in Law Week was the most fun thing she has done in her legal career. President-elect Jan Eric Peterson expressed his thanks to the Committee and the hundreds of volunteers, and emphasized the importance of public legal education. The Board affirmed its commitment to support a statewide Law Week next year.

Governor John Powers proposed a resolution reaffirming the crisis in civil equal justice and calling upon the judicial branch to assume leadership in assuring equal access to justice. The resolution reaffirms the commitment made by the Board two years ago, when it declared a crisis in the availability of civil equal justice services and pledged to provide leadership to secure an adequate level of funding. The resolution, which was passed unanimously, declares that: 1) access to justice is a fundamental right; 2) access to justice is a core function of the judicial branch; and 3) the WSBA and other members of the judicial system must exercise leadership and activism to assure there is equal access to justice and adequate funding. Judge Gregory Tripp, president of the Legal Foundation of Washington, spoke eloquently about how access to justice is a significant problem not only for the poor, but also for those of modest means and many middle-class people. He thanked the Board for its strong leadership in this area and talked about Washington's role as a national model for legal services programs. Judge Tripp encouraged all to continue to educate legislators and others in government about the importance of this issue. Judge E. Thomas Reynolds, from the Superior Court Judges' Association, talked of the importance of pro bono work, mentioning that the number of pro ses is increasing, which causes a problem for the courts. Governor Steve Henderson suggested that members examine their IOLTA statements, and consider talking with their bank about raising the interest rate.

Approved minutes of the Board of Governors meetings are posted on the WSBA website at www.wsba.org/info/bog/.

Back to table of contents >>