October 2000

Section Reports: 1999-2000

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Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR)

Scott Peppet of Harvard Law School conducted a seminar on problem-solving in negotiations and mediation at the section’s annual meeting in October. The Ninth Annual Northwest ADR Conference was held in April and was co-sponsored by the section, the University of Washington Law Foundation and the Washington Mediation Association. It was attended by over 300 people and included more than 30 programs held over two days. A new Internet directory of ADR providers was completed and will soon be available at http://www.adr-wa.com/. The Legislation and Court Rules Committee was very active in providing input to the drafters of the proposed Uniform Mediation Act.

The 1999 annual conference gave particular attention to the product distribution and insurance industries, to consumer class actions, and post-employment restrictions. Two issues of the section newsletter were published under the leadership of David Lundsgaard, Joseph McMillan and Melissa Scanlan. The third edition of the Antitrust and Consumber Protection Handbook was recently published. It contains new updates and amendments to Washington and federal antitrust, consumer protection, trade regulation and e-commerce law.

This section sponsors two major CLEs each year — the Northwest Securities Institute and the midyear meeting. The Northwest Securities Institute, held in Portland in February, was co-hosted by the Oregon State Bar. The June midyear meeting was held in Seattle and was a combined meeting with the Taxation Section. In addition to these annual programs, the Securities Committee continued its informal, half-day "Meet the Securities Regulators" program, at which federal and state securities regulators discussed current issues with practitioners. The Committee on Conflicts of Interest published an updated version of its Conflicts of Interest in Business Transactions deskbook in June.

The section web page was created this year and is accessible via the WSBA website. In January, the section sponsored a brown-bag program on the Endangered Species Act. They expected about 60 attendees, but over 200 people showed up. The section now has over 1,100 members, a five percent increase from last year.

In April, the section sponsored a skills-training seminar which focused on domestic violence orders and hearings. At the same time, delegates from the executive committee participated in the annual meeting of the Family Law Council of Community Property States. The section also sponsored an annual midyear meeting in Spokane that included seminars on the newly enacted relocation statute and new case decisions from the Supreme Court and courts of appeal.

Almost 600 lawyers are members of the Intellectual Property Section, making it one of the largest. The Intellectual Property Institute featured the Honorable M. Margaret McKeown as a keynote speaker. A series of brown-bag lunch seminars was co-sponsored by the section and Washington Lawyers for the Arts. Section committees are continually engaged in analyzing proposed legislation with intellectual property implications. The section has been instrumental in sponsoring legislation such as the personality rights legislation enacted in 1998.

Last fall saw another successful foreign lawyer program in which visiting lawyers pursuing post-doctoral studies at the University of Washington were paired with Seattle law firms that gave them an informal introduction to the practice of law in the U.S. Later in the year, the Supreme Court approved the section’s proposal to modify the rules for the admission of foreign law consultants. In the spring, section members toured the Temple of Justice and were greeted by five Supreme Court justices.

In May 2000, lawyers were invited to join this newly created section. Nearly 400 people responded and an executive committee was elected in August. Section activities will provide a forum for members to exchange ideas and get acquainted with each other.

This year the section sponsored a series of brown-bag seminars. An average of 24 people attended each program. RealAudio recordings of the brown-bag programs can be accessed via the section web page on the WSBA website. The section co-sponsored the Law Office Management Institute Expo with the Puget Sound Chapter of the Association of Legal Administrators. A deskbook is currently in development.

The midyear seminar featured Michael Tigar, a renowned litigation specialist and speaker. The executive committee broke tradition this year and held the seminar in Seattle, rather than Lake Chelan. A semi-annual newsletter was published to keep section members abreast of important developments in litigation. The executive committee continued to monitor legislative proposals and proposed court rules. The section enjoyed a significant increase in membership this year. Plans for the coming year include an additional annual publication and updating the Washington Civil Trial and Evidence Manual.

A midyear seminar co-sponsored by Associated General Contractors of Washington was held in June, focusing on alternative methods of public procurement. The section is finalizing a set of pattern jury instructions dealing with construction law, and will likely sponsor a seminar related to the instructions.

The primary mission of this section is to promote good fellowship and camaraderie among lawyers aged 55 and older. Each year the section sponsors a CLE seminar covering topics of particular interest to senior lawyers. It includes a luncheon and a reception. A quarterly newsletter is published which contains book reviews, travel diaries written by section members, and articles on current topics.

Section activities include monthly brown-bag programs, a newsletter, an annual all-day CLE, an annual award luncheon, a summer picnic and a winter holiday party. Brown-bag speakers this year included University of Washington Law Professor Joan Fitzpatrick, Bruce Gryniewski of Washington Ceasefire, and Tim Harstad of the Rural Development Institute.

We regret that reports from the following sections were not received in time for publication: Administrative Law; Corporate Law Department; Creditor/Debtor; Criminal Law; Elder Law; General Practice; Health Law; Indian Law; Real Property, Probate & Trust and Taxation Law.

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