September 2000

A Harvest to Remember, and Farewell

by Richard C. Eymann
WSBA President

As I leave my driveway headed for work in the morning, I cannot help but notice that my garden, usually filled with corn, tomatoes and many other vegetables that annually interest my palate, is nothing but brown dirt and a few weeds. Family and friends are somewhat amazed that for the first time in over 20 years, yours truly does not have his amazing vegetable garden. As you know, there was not time this year.

However, I planted a different type of garden, and at times it took more effort, fertilizer and watering than my traditional vegetable garden. The most notable project growing in my "WSBA garden" is Celebration 2000, which I view as a mammoth sunflower. And after it blooms in mid-September, I  believe there will be hundreds of seeds remaining to carry on a new camaraderie, sharing and understanding among the lawyers and judges in this state. Also firmly planted this year was a proposal to add a minority position to the Board of Governors. Following numerous town meetings, debate and due consideration, this proposal will be addressed at the last Board of Governors' meeting over which I preside, September 13th in Spokane. It has been my contention all along that the fruit from this proposal will have a long-term and substantial positive impact on the WSBA, as well as enhance the goal of respectable diversity at all levels of the Bar Association.

Of course, there were some other things we planted or were growing in this garden when I took office — some annual, some perennial:

• The long-range plan planted last year by my predecessor, Wayne Blair, grew and matured throughout this year under the extraordinary care and maintenance of Wayne and Governor Walt Krueger. We approved strategic goals, and with the themes of "raising the bar" and "shaping the future," the Long-Range Operational Plan was adopted and is being implemented with focused goals and strategies.
• Public legal education continued with its formidable tasks, but under the leadership of Judge Marlin Appelwick and former State Superintendent of Public Instruction Judith Billings, and with the support of the Washington State Bar Association, this vision is drawing closer to its goals.
• Dealing with the the definition of the practice of law and the unauthorized practice of law has been like trying to manage the growth of wild Himalayan blackberries. After 66 years of trying to define the "practice of law," we finally did define it, and forwarded the definition to the Supreme Court for approval. Steve Crossland of Wenatchee and his task force members deserve substantial credit for this achievement. But like those sticky brambles that pop up while one enjoys the sweet blackberries, we are dealing with the thorny issue of how to enforce the unauthorized practice of law and other implications of our definition.
• A death penalty moratorium proposal led to one of the most interesting, solemn and timely debates in the past year. The board considered action that was to call for a study of the troubling elements in Washington's death penalty system, which took the form of a unanimous resolution forwarded to Governor Locke.
• We tended to the discipline system and succeeded in implementing a diversion system, cleared all cases, and launched a revision of the Rules for Lawyer Discipline to make them more comprehensible.
• After the slow growth of rule revisions and implementation planning, we harvested a completely new MCLE credit and reporting system, which will make it easier and more convenient to accrue and track CLE credits.

These are a few examples of this year's harvest. On a more philosophical landscape, I want to direct a few comments to my 25,000 lawyer and judge peers. Much like a sign I have in my garden that says, "We do not inherit the earth from our parents — we borrow it from our children," we attorneys and judges are the guardians of the law. In every instance of great social change, it is the lawyers who have been at the forefront and our courts and judges that have been the catalyst for much of this change. Society has often been encouraged to decision by lawyers determined to bring reluctant citizens to the mainstream; to advance social change; and to promulgate, protect and defend the rights of all Americans. Lawyers created this American ideal in the 18th century, and in many ways have been responsible for political stability; economic strength; and fighting social diseases such as discrimination, child abuse, domestic violence and products that maim and kill. Lawyers must continue to be the vanguards of the next century, as well. Our work is not done; it is just beginning. If we lawyers were as unnecessary as some believe, there would be no need for legal services, pro bono work, wills, contracts, judges, courts or jails.

It is with a deep sense of gratitude that I write my last president's message to the Bar Association — gratitude for the great assistance and countless hours given by the hundreds of dedicated people who work for and serve our Bar Association, and the many local and specialty bars. In traveling throughout the state and speaking to county bars and other groups, I have even more respect for what our members do to improve society as a whole, often at the expense of their families, law firm incomes and even personal health. Of course, some still find time to have a lot of fun. In that regard, the Yakima Bar Association and how they elect new officers wins my award for comedy, laughter, slander (roasting) and just plain fun. For seriousness and compelling messages, the Anti-Defamation League annual dinner left me in awe, with long-term thoughts and concerns about hate crime and discrimination issues in America.

Special thanks and appreciation must go to Jan Michels — great things often come in small packages, and she is a true example. Jan is a brilliant and focused executive director, and working with her has been a wonderful experience. I will also miss the entire Bar staff. Their contributions to your profession are often overlooked and underestimated. More familiar to you are the sections and committees, and they too exhibit a dedication and attention to specific areas of law and our profession that is immeasurable in value. The Celebration 2000 organizing committee has been incredible, as you will soon see. I cannot forget to applaud our Young Lawyers Division, which redefines creativity and dedication to providing community legal education and youth programs. Likewise, our Access to Justice Board and the work of Joan Fairbanks, its manager, is unmatched nationwide. Washington's effort to provide legal services to the poor is indeed a nationally recognized model — earning the American Bar Association's Harrison Tweed Award, among others.

The Washington State Bar Association is a great organization, dependent not exclusively on its leadership, but on its dynamic and energetic members — dependent upon you. Your Board of Governors members are the best, and I admire and highly respect each one of them. There are no cliques or coalitions — definitely independent and insightful minds, none per se predictable, always open to changing their minds. Their commitments of time to representing you and the best interests of our 25,000 members cannot be justly recognized in these few words, but I assure you, you could not have had a better team for the past year. Departing board members Walt Krueger, Dick Manning and John Powers will all be missed (an incredible understatement) and new members Ken Davidson, Bill Hyslop and Lucy Isaki have some big shoes to fill. Fortunately, these new board members are all talented individuals, and the wisdom of their districts in selecting them will come to fruition. In the next two years, you will be blessed with great leadership. Jan Eric Peterson and Dale Carlisle will be outstanding presidents.

I am lucky to have held this position, to have created some awareness and critical thinking, to have been applauded and criticized as well. I've been told I'm a controversial president, but I would say I've been "provocative and inspiring." By waking up members and engendering letters to the editor, e-mails and telephone calls, not only have I learned, but others have as well. For without these diverse and thoughtful contributions, we, as governors and leaders, are inadequately informed to carry out the immense responsibilities thrust upon us by the issues facing our profession in today's fast-changing legal world.

I will be happy for some rest and relaxation with more attention to my family and law practice and that vegetable garden. It seems like only yesterday I wrote my first president's column — about running up a steep hill of challenges ahead. Now, as you can see, I head the other way with Houston and Taylor by my side, hopefully to a more fatherly side of life. I am grateful and feel lucky to have a wonderful wife and two children, and thankful we live in this great state and in this great country — where, thanks in part to lawyers, all of this has been made possible. But I will miss being your president, meeting the hundreds of you at local bar association meetings, town meetings, speaking engagements and at Celebration 2000. I come away knowing that you are thoughtful, interesting, outspoken, and I'll say it again, the heart of an honorable profession intensely committed to preserving justice.

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