July 2001

The Board's Work

by Mark A. Panitch
Bar News Editor

Wenatchee – June 8

Long-time bar activist J. Richard Manning was named WSBA president-elect; he will serve as 2002-03 president. Manning has been president of the King County Bar Association and a WSBA governor. He serves as co-chair of the WSBA Discipline 2000 Task Force. In addition, he has been active in Law Week and access to justice programs. Manning is a sole practitioner who spends approximately 60 percent of his time in alternative dispute resolution practice.

In his letter of application, Manning cited the WSBA’s relevance to its members as a major challenge to the organization. He also cited strategic planning, fiscal policy and diversity as important challenges to the Bar Association.

Manning also pointed to several important issues facing the profession which he said he would try to address during his presidency. Among these are affordable legal services for all, the image of lawyers, access to justice and IOLTA, member services, and the cost of legal education.

There were no other applicants for the position. Manning was elected by voice vote without objections or abstentions.

The BOG discussed a written request from Senator Adam Kline to urge attorneys not to do business with insurance companies that are in violation of the state’s Holocaust Survivors Insurance Claims Act. In his letter, Kline pointed out that of the 34 carriers licensed in Washington to sell attorneys’ professional liability insurance, five are associated with European companies that have refused to provide information on their Holocaust-era policy holders. The European companies are Allianz, AXA, Generali, Winterthur, Royal & SunAlliance, Employers Reinsurance and Zurich. According to Kline’s letter, the five Washington-licensed companies are Westport Insurance Corporation (GE Capital Group [Employers Reinsurance]), Security Insurance Company of Hartford (Royal & SunAlliance), Design Professionals Insurance Company (Royal & SunAlliance), Chicago Title Insurance Company (Allianz) and American Guarantee and Liability Insurance Company (Zurich).

General Counsel Bob Welden questioned whether the WSBA was authorized by GR 12 to respond, on the grounds that Kline might be asking the Association to take a "political position." At the same time, he noted there was nothing to stop individual members from raising the question with their insurance carriers.

Kline noted in his letter that "the Holocaust was not merely the worst mass murder in history; it was also the worst robbery." He urged members to respond to the "theft of insurance claims" by not "doing business with the perpetrators."

Governors dipped their metaphorical toes in the murky waters of the Bar-convention pond. A memo from WSBA Executive Director Jan Michels suggesting basic criteria for a future convention sparked a heated debate over the need or desirability for another convention following Celebration 2000.

Governor Jim Deno opposed the idea, saying, "It’s just too expensive and takes too much staff." However, other governors, including Lindsay Thompson and Ken Davidson, voiced a willingness to investigate the idea.

Governors Steve Henderson and Bill Hyslop both argued that a convention served a useful purpose for the Bar. "There is a great benefit to lawyers meeting face-to-face in a nonadversarial forum," Henderson said. Hyslop noted that "meetings between attorneys and judges advance professionalism. Money should not be the last question." Governors Jenny Durkan and Lindsay Thompson agreed that members should be polled.

The BOG agreed by voice vote to "sunset" the WSBA Corrections Committee. Governors were concerned that the prison population has grown dramatically as have issues related to corrections such as drug-crime sentencing. However, noting a "lack of interest" on the committee, they agreed to end its existence. They also agreed to "sunset" the Consumer Protection Committee in 2003 by merging it into a new Practice of Law Board (PLB), which will be created following Supreme Court announcement of new rules defining the practice of law.

The next BOG meeting will be July 27-28 in Winthrop.

Back to table of contents >>