October 2001

FYI: For Your Information

Committee Reports
Excerpted from recently submitted annual reports.

The committee developed a volunteer-recruitment packet to present to interested nonlawyer arbitrators and various community organizations. In addition, the committee developed an Arbitrator Handbook, and revised procedures to assist in training both lawyers and nonlawyers. In order to publicize the fee-arbitration program and encourage attorney participation, a committee member has written an article emphasizing that the program may prevent more costly and damaging disputes (see page 44).

The Board of Governors requested that the committee evaluate and make recommendations concerning the ABA death- penalty moratorium proposal. Diverse speakers were invited to inform the committee on issues related to death-penalty implementation, and recommendations were reported to the BOG. A subcommittee was formed to research existing state and federal laws related to Evidence Rule 412. A proposed ER 412 was drafted and presented for review to the WSBA Rules Committee. The committee participated in workgroup sessions of the Washington Department of Human Rights; created a brochure identifying civil rights-related community resources; sponsored two CLE seminars; and wrote several Bar News articles.

The committee opposed the Uniform Computer Information Transaction Act (UCITA) due to potential harm to consumer rights. Legislation was drafted concerning practices of lenders in requiring community-property agreements as a condition of making a real estate loan. In addition, a letter to the Department of Licensing was supported concerning acts of lien services that constitute the unauthorized practice of law. An amicus curiae brief was filed concerning the unauthorized practice of law in the Supreme Court’s appeal of Jones et ux. v. Allstate Insurance Company (decision pending). The committee monitored consumer-related legislation concerning the Consumer Protection Act, the Contractor Registration Act, and other bills before the Legislature.

Six subcommittees were established and staffed: Young Lawyer Development and Mentoring, Deskbook and Publications, Electronic Communications/Technology, Offsite CLE Delivery, Quality Assurance/New Speakers, and Continuing Education/Professional Liaison. The WSBA master calendar (2000-2001) was reviewed by the committee to analyze and review the scope and variety of CLE topics and programs. In addition, recommendations were made for both future topics and possible chairpersons for new courses. The committee will continue to address the ways in which new technologies can be harnessed to foster greater access and choice for all WSBA members regardless of their location.

At the request of President Jan Eric Peterson, the committee researched and discussed the prison law library legislation and provided a recommendation to the Board of Governors.

The committee reviewed and commented on the recommendations of "Project 2001," a study of court reform and ongoing planning process for the administration of Washington courts, and submitted a report to the BOG in December. The committee and its subcommittees reviewed, commented, and provided input to WSBA legislative liaisons on additional proposed legislation affecting the courts and judicial system. Judicial representation on the committee was considered. Currently, the goal is to allow one or more judicial representative(s) to participate. A review of the Walsh Commission recommendations was undertaken with a view to promote or implement one or more recommendation(s).

The committee concentrated on and completed a comprehensive review of the RAPs and proposed many changes to them. It also largely completed its review of the RALJs. A few items will be carried to the 2001 fall agenda. The committee also responded to requests for comments on rules changes proposed by the Supreme Court, other WSBA committees, and interested parties/attorneys. The committee presented its annual report to the Board of Governors at its July meeting.

The board recruited and interviewed for a new Bar News editor in 2000. Upon their recommendation, the Board of Governors approved the hiring of Mark Panitch as Bar News editor. The publication frequency of Bar News was studied and discussed. The managing editor reports that article planning, author recruitment, and content selection are being accomplished nearly an entire issue in advance.

In order to advise the WSBA of the issues relevant to online cases and instructions, EC2 members surveyed the practices of other states and collected information about what is currently done in Washington. In addition, the committee provided comments to the King County Superior Court concerning electronic pleadings, and volunteered to participate in a pilot project. EC2 prepared a report about the use of digital signatures, tested new or revised electronic services offered by the WSBA, and explored electronic options that could allow WSBA members quality participation in virtual meetings at moderate expense.

The committee’s new goal is to improve communication between lawyers and other professionals. To this end, the committee planned and held a successful ethics CLE seminar addressing issues involved in working with other professionals: "Real People, Real Trouble, Ethical Tools to Avoid Malpractice Claims." A new mission statement was developed and adopted, and the long-range plan is nearing completion.

The committee conducted background checks and evaluated candidates for appointment to the Court of Appeals and the Supreme Court, and forwarded to the Board of Governors all candidates it found to be "well-qualified." The chair co-authored an article about the committee that was published in the June issue of Bar News (p. 15).

The committee administers the Law Clerk Program governed by Admission to Practice Rule 6. Members serve as liaisons to the 30-35 people enrolled in the program. A regular rotation of appointments and retirements from the committee was established to ensure smooth transitions and continuity of committee relationships. Certificates were awarded to candidates upon completion of the program.

The committee’s main task is to prepare and grade the best bar examination possible, and to continue to streamline and update the bar exam training, preparation and grading process. Although this winter’s exam was interrupted by an earthquake, those administering the exam calmed the examinees. Extra steps were taken to ensure that the exam was not compromised, and applicants received the benefit of any doubt in the scoring of their exams. The committee continues to maintain its goal of having a full exam in its "question bank." The bank serves as an excellent training tool for new examiners, and also provides a reserve of approved questions when the need arises. This year, the committee edited, revised and produced an updated version of its Handbook of Procedures, which dictates preparing and grading bar exam questions. Members of the committee and General Counsel Bob Welden visited the three in-state law schools last spring to speak with students about the application and examination process.

This year, the committee focused on identifying and pursuing programs, projects and methods of communication to accomplish LOMAP’s mission. Included were: Lawyer-to-Lawyer (a mentoring program); "road shows" (practical seminars around the state); marketing LOMAP and its resources; on-site consultations with requesting lawyers; presentations and development of curricula for law schools; and the development of written materials to assist sole practitioners and small firms.

A new LAP rule was proposed by the committee, adopted by the Washington Supreme Court on June 12, 2001, and designated as APR 19. Additionally, RLD 12.17 was repealed. The new rule will be published in Washington Reports and became effective September 1, 2001. Two new subcommittees were formed. The marketing subcommittee reviewed current marketing activities and developed a comprehensive marketing plan. The law school presentation subcommittee coordinated contacts with the state’s three law schools and developed a LAP presentation outline for use when visiting the schools. A successful, well-attended statewide conference was held in the spring at Campbell’s Resort in Lake Chelan.

The committee reviews and approves (or disapproves) applications for gifts from the Lawyers’ Fund for Client Protection. The committee’s work is publicized on a regular basis in Bar News; quarterly reports are published in the January, April and July issues; and the annual report is published every October. The committee continues to develop means to publicize the activities of the fund.

The revision of its proposal on GR22 (Definition of the Practice of Law) and GR23 (Nonlawyer Practice) was presented in October 2001. After the BOG adopted the revisions and the Supreme Court published GR 25 (formerly 23) for comment, the committee submitted written comments in support of the proposed rule. The Supreme Court adopted the rules. The committee developed its own Web page and e-mail discussion group on Yahoo. Collaboration with LOMAP resulted in the committee’s participation in a panel discussion about the utilization of paralegals. This effort will be expanded to present to all law schools in the coming year.

The committee helped sponsor legislation (SB5263) regarding the re-employment rights for those called to state military active duty. In March 2001, members made a CLE presentation at the U.S. Coast Guard installation in Seattle. The committee provided staff to assist in the drafting of a limited practice rule for military legal officers in Washington.

The committee deals with proposals for state and federal legislation that relate to the improvement of justice. It also reviews proposed legislation of interest to the Bar and the general public, and may draft proposed legislation for submission to the Board of Governors. Additional straw polling was done within the committee after the legislative session began with regard to Project 2000 recommendations that were not finalized until after the legislative review process had ended. A meeting was organized with other groups in the legal community to gain knowledge about their legislative agendas and to communicate willingness to coordinate efforts and assist with the legislative process. A new one-page format for stating legislative positions was adopted to expedite review by the Board of Governors.

Mandatory CLE (MCLE) Board

The board’s main goal is to make the process of taking approved courses and submitting the results to the WSBA as easy to accomplish and as user-friendly as possible. The MCLE Board reviewed petitions for extensions, waivers and exemptions in an expeditious manner, and reconciled some of the new rules against petitions.

PBLAC continues to work to implement the Volunteer Attorney Legal Services Action (VALS) Plan adopted by the Board of Governors in 1994. In an effort to publicize the good works of attorneys, PBLAC has written profiles of pro bono attorneys throughout the state that they hope to have published in Bar News in the coming year. In order to determine what motivates attorneys to volunteer, PBLAC devised a survey on market incentives. Data was analyzed and recommendations developed which will be considered for implementation. PBLAC’s projects included: the development of a resolution for the Conference of Chief Justices (adopted in January 2001); the analysis of proposed revisions to RPC 6.1 and voluntary reporting; the establishment of statewide pro bono panels of nonlawyer volunteers who can assist local pro bono attorneys with their cases; the development of a CLE videotape library for use by staff and pro bono attorneys; and the Corporate Counsel Partnership for Justice Videophone Client Counseling Project, linking counsel in the Puget Sound area with low-income clients in rural areas.

The committee again sponsored a CLE seminar: "Ethics, Professionalism and Civility: The Hard Questions" in September 2001. A Creed of Professionalism (evolved from a more complex Code of Civility) was drafted and approved by the Board of Governors. The committee focused on mentoring, and will continue its work in conjunction with the recently formed Lawyer-to-Lawyer Committee. In support of the President’s Initiative Task Force, the committee was involved in presentations incorporating professionalism and civility issues for the "orientation fairs" at the law schools.

The committee’s goal is to discuss and address any resolutions received in accordance with the WSBA governing documents. No resolutions were received this year.

This year, the committee researched, briefed, debated, drafted, frequently amended, and then issued approximately 34 informal opinions. Often inquiries require extraordinary outside work by an assigned task force selected from the committee membership. Some of the issues the committee investigated are: RPC 1.8 (e), whether the rule should be modified to allow loans to clients in emergency or exigent circumstances; and Formal Opinion 196, regarding the use of firm names, issues related to misleading names, trade names, or "ethnic" names not tied to registered attorneys before the WSBA. Committee members have begun work on an ethics deskbook, which will include chapters on a variety of topics and is intended to further help attorneys meet the ethical standards set forth in the RPCs.

We regret that reports from the following committees were not received in time for publication: Amicus Brief, Character and Fitness, Disciplinary Board, and Diversity.

The section’s annual meeting, with a CLE program focused on ADR, was held in September in Lacey. Numerous section meetings were held during the year in various parts of the state to include as many members as possible. In coordination with Lexis-Nexis, WSBA-CLE, and the section’s CLE chairs, the Administrative Law Practice Manual went through extensive updates and was distributed at a CLE in March. The section produced a newsletter, and continues to improve its Web site.

This section sponsored two major CLEs — the "Northwest Securities Institute" in February and the midyear meeting in May. In addition, the section presented a seminar at Celebration 2000; the Securities Committee sponsored the Meet the Securities Regulators Forum in October 2000; and the section participated in a WSBA Agriculture Law seminar and other seminars on revised UCC Article 9. Section members were furnished with section newsletters, the report of its Opinions Committee, and a summary of current developments in business law. The section’s committees remained vital and contributory. In particular, the Web Site Committee continued to develop and improve the Web site; legislation was proposed, reviewed and developed by various committees; and the Committee on the Law of Commerce in Cyberspace was extremely active.

The section sponsors a Corporate Counsel Institute designed to educate and update corporate lawyers on key current issues every other year; the next Corporate Counsel Institute is planned for later this year. The successful program of quarterly dinners for members continued. "The Law and Business of Baseball,"and "Why Business Entrepreneurs Are Desperate for Good Lawyers"programs were given for CLE credit. The section also sponsored informal luncheon and breakfast CLE round-table sessions with speakers. The General Counsel Symposium was co-sponsored by the Corporate Law Section and Arthur Andersen LLP. In conjunction with the University of Washington School of Business, the section is investigating possible avenues for corporate

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