September 2000

2000 Annual Report

Did You Know...

Approximately 400 lawyers, 40 judges and 6,000 students participated in Law Week 2000 in May. Lawyers and judges in 14 counties made classroom visits to discuss current legal issues and specific areas of the law.

Low-income residents of our state benefited from assistance from more than 4,200 attorneys volunteering through pro bono programs. (This number does not include lawyers providing fee or reduced-fee services outside organized programs.)

Washington has 32 legal service programs, including pro bono programs, specialized legal service programs, Northwest Justice Project and Columbia Legal Services.

Fourteen attorneys (14) participated in the Emeritus Program, which creates a limited license status for attorneys otherwise retired from the practice of law. The program's goal is to encourage pro bono participation by experienced attorneys and judges who want to contribute to access to justice-related efforts.

The WSBA website (www.wsba.org) currently has more than 3,000 "pages." The Job Center and Lawyer Search continue to be the most popular pages. For ethics opinions, Bar News (including current and past articles), consumer information pamphlets, section and committee information, a calendar of CLE seminars and legal events, links to numerous law-related websites and more – log on to www.wsba.org!

The WSBA was instrumental in establishing the Council on Public Legal Education, which is now developing a comprehensive, long-term strategy for making sure all Washington citizens are informed about their legal rights and responsibilities. The group plans to build partnerships with school districts, community groups, state agencies and other organizations that are already involved in educating the public, as well as take on new projects such as a gateway legal information website.

Approximately 1,240 members participate in WSBA committees, boards and panels.

The Board of Governors appointed 75 members to serve on boards, committees, commissions and task forces of outside organizations.

WSBA-CLE, in conjunction with 17 sections and the Young Lawyers Division, presented 112 seminars for more than 10,800 participants. More than 800 WSBA members ably served as faculty, program chairs and section CLE liaisons. Programs were presented in Aberdeen, Bellevue, Kennewick, Mount Vernon, Olympia, Port Hadlock, Seattle, Skamania, Spokane, Tacoma and Vancouver. Additionally, 10 TELE-CLEs were presented.

The Lawyers' Assistance Program (LAP) offers confidential assistance with emotional, drug, alcohol, family, health and other personal problems. From July 1999 through June 2000, LAP had 1,998 contacts with Washington lawyers. LAP's 110 peer counselors throughout the state helped 57 attorneys through peer counseling.

The Law Office Management Assistance Program (LOMAP) offers lawyers, especially those in solo or small-firm practice, a wide range of services. These include general "prevention maintenance" reviews; consultation on specific problems; office systems procedures; reference materials for office and practice setup; and referral to consultants or vendors. From July 1999 through June 2000, LOMAP made contact with 7,796 lawyers (this number includes outreach through mailings and presentations, as well as individual consultations).

The Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) Program includes voluntary fee arbitration and mediation. From July 1999 through June 2000, the ADR program had 1,081 contacts with lawyers and others seeking assistance in resolving disputes (this number includes correspondence as well as phone contacts).

The Professional Responsibility Program provides information and assistance in the following areas: 1) Ethics Assistance – a WSBA lawyer assists callers in resolving ethical dilemmas; 2) Informal Opinions – issued by RPC Committee responding to written ethical inquiries from lawyers; 3) Formal Opinions and Published Informal Opinions – ethical opinions issued by the Board of Governors; and 4) Rules of Professional Conduct – rules for ethical conduct promulgated by the Washington State Supreme Court. The Ethics Line took calls from 3,023 lawyers from July 1999 through June 2000 (the Ethics Line number, which is for lawyers only, is 206-727-8284).

The members of the Lawyer Services Department continued their outreach to members, making 37 presentations in the past year. These presentations were made to specialty and county bar associations in Auburn, Chehalis, Chelan, Colville, Ephrata, Everett, Goldendale, Longview, Moses Lake, Mount Vernon, Pullman, Richland, Seattle, Spokane, Tacoma, Vashon, Walla Walla, Wenatchee and Yakima. Members of the department also gave internationally attended presentations for meetings held in Seattle, British Columbia, Toronto and Niagara Falls.

The Washington State Bar Examination is the only bar exam that still uses, exclusively, practicing members of its bar to write and grade the questions. The WSBA's dedicated Committee of Law Examiners prepares and grades two bar exams each year. Of the 482 applicants who sat for the bar exam administered in March 2000, 369 passed, for a pass rate of 76.6%. Of the 843 applicants who sat for the bar exam administered in July 1999, 620 passed, for a pass rate of 73.5%.

WSBA membership continues to grow. As of July 1, 2000, there were 21,641 Active members, 3,468 Inactive members, and 644 Judicial members. This compares to 21,141 Active members, 3,192 Inactive members, and 626 Judicial members as of July 1, 1999.

There are currently approximately 950 individuals participating in the WSBA's Rule 9 Legal Intern Program.

To promote public confidence and protection of the public, the WSBA administers the Lawyers' Fund for Client Protection, which makes discretionary gifts to at least partially compensate clients who have been victims of attorney misappropriation. The Supreme Court assesses each lawyer $13 annually for the Fund. During fiscal year 1999, the Lawyers' Fund for Client Protection Committee approved gifts from the fund totaling $132,856. The Committee reviewed 95 applications for 30 lawyers, which is more than twice the number ever considered in any previous year. Of those 95 applications, 56 concerned two lawyers. Fifty-nine (59) applications were approved. Of the denials, 17 were deemed fee disputes, malpractice, or there was no evidence of a dishonest taking of funds; three had received full restitution; 11 were withdrawn for various reasons; and two were deferred.

The WSBA has approximately 8,150 active members participating in its 23 sections. The newest section is Labor and Employment Law.

In the period July 1, 1999 through June 30, 2000, trust account audits were conducted for 900 lawyers in 113 law firms. Seventy-nine (79) percent of those audited were in compliance. Of those not in compliance, the most frequent violation was unidentified excess of funds in the trust account.

During calendar year 1999, the Office of Disciplinary Counsel (ODC) managed a very active prosecutions and investigations caseload. Of Washington's approximately 18,250 active in-state lawyers, one in every 493 (about one-fifth of one percent) was formally sanctioned (disbarred, suspended for discipline, reprimanded or censured). One in every 1,659 (less than one-tenth of one percent) was formally admonished. Or collectively, one in every 380 Washington lawyers (less than three-tenths of one percent) was either sanctioned or admonished. Alternatively, 379 out of 380 (more than 99.7 percent) were not subject to any disciplinary action last year. The ODC continued its active preventative discipline program by making more than 70 presentations around the state, and by writing monthly legal ethics articles published in Bar News.

Back to table of contents >>