September 2002

Thank You to Our Tireless Volunteers and Bar Staff

by Dale L. Carlisle, WSBA President

This is my last column as WSBA president, and it is important to me to thank those people who are responsible for the success of the Bar, for keeping it relevant to members, and fulfilling member needs. There are several categories of people who fit this description, many of whom often go unrecognized.

The first group is the WSBA staff who fulfill day-to-day functions. Executive Director Jan Michels is extraordinary in her service and dedication. I am thankful to all staff members, and wish to mention two persons who have demonstrated their value. Director of Lawyer Services Barbara Harper, who has taken on new duties, was instrumental in the Member Benefits Task Force giving members a health plan, and has shown success with the WSBA's emphasis on member benefits. Another staff member with new responsibilities is Gail Stone, director of legislative affairs, who fights our never-ending funding battles in the Legislature with enthusiasm and resolve. Her work on the "portability" amendment was a credit to our association.

Committees and sections include volunteers who also do the day-to-day "in the trenches" work, spending significant time helping us all. Chairs spend an even greater amount of time than members, and lead in important projects. A good example of committee work is the Legal Services to the Armed Forces Committee. Chair Ken Luce and committee members recognized the need for legal services to lower-grade military members in state court. Knowing that military lawyers admitted in other states but stationed in Washington could fill that need, the committee proposed a rule that the Supreme Court adopted, allowing this practice.

The Professionalism Committee, under the leadership of Harry McCarthy, took on a hard task two years ago in working to author and adopt a Creed of Professionalism for Washington lawyers. This year's chair, Marijean Moschetto, and her committee members have begun distribution and publication of the creed, with great success. I congratulate and thank them. I also thank all who serve on Bar committees for their volunteer efforts.

A special thanks to our Disciplinary Board Chair David Cullen and to board members. This year marked the heaviest work load on record, and they devoted many more hours than anyone can imagine to meeting the challenges and moving toward finally clearing the discipline backlog. Volunteer hearing officers also helped in this process.

Nearly 70 percent of our members belong to one or more sections, a growing segment of the Bar. Since section membership is not only voluntary but includes a small cost, this is a true "volunteer-plus" effort. We no longer have annual conventions, but the section meetings and CLE programs are the most fertile ground for meeting with colleagues and sharing practice problems. Section chairs and executive committees, along with staff support, are what keep the sections running and providing valued benefits to WSBA members. The Elder Law Section, previously chaired by Michael Longyear, established a program to assist in pro bono services to certain programs serving seniors. This program, which was recognized this year with an ABA award, demonstrates what sections can do.

Through a significant effort by Adam Karp, an Animal Law Section was created this year and has approximately 90 members. This new section received significant press coverage, favorable to lawyers and the WSBA, including a recent front-page story in the The News Tribune.

There are also many volunteers serving on task forces and boards. This year, a Practice of Law Board was formed under the leadership of two long-time Bar volunteers, Steve Crossland (chair) and Judge Paul Bastine (vice chair). We expect this board to become a national model. Our Access to Justice Board and its many volunteer members is already a national model, and the current chair, Michele Jones, and the incoming chair, Scott Smith, deserve our thanks for their many hours of service overseeing this board's varied efforts.

I cannot personally thank all our employees; and committee, section, task force and board members. I hope each of our members takes time to personally thank someone they know who serves the Bar as an employee or volunteer, just as I thank them in this column for their continuing service.

I cannot complete this tribute without mentioning the Board of Governors. As volunteers, the governors give a heavy time commitment not only for service on the board, but as liaisons to certain committees and sections, and also as members of BOG committees. Currently the BOG has 14 members, plus the president-elect and the president. I particularly wish to name my "classmates" on the BOG as representing the dedication and devotion of all governors in filling this important volunteer position in our organization: Jenny Durkan, Steve Henderson, Brooke Taylor and Vicky Vreeland. Each of them has served with distinction in this significant and time-consuming position.

With your help this year it's been a great ride, with a few challenges along the way. The Bar Association will only remain successful if the dedicated and hard-working volunteers and leaders in the nature of those mentioned in this column continue to serve. I expect it will.

We have a tremendous need for pro bono legal services in our state, and there are many programs where your volunteer time would be greatly appreciated and valued (see the WSBA Web site at waaccesstojustice.org/atj/support). In honor of the many individuals personally affected by the 9/11 tragedy, I am asking WSBA members to pledge at least two hours per month over the next year in pro bono service.

We ask that you complete the pledge form below and mail or fax it to the WSBA. We will tally the number of members responding and the number of hours pledged, and will publish this information in Bar News and on the WSBA Web site.

Please join your fellow members of the Bar in honoring the many victims of 9/11 by serving those in our communities who are in need.

I pledge to donate ____ hours of pro bono legal services over the next year in honor of those personally affected by the 9/11 tragedy.

Name (optional)
______________________________

Please clip (or photocopy) and return to:

Washington State Bar Association
2101 Fourth Ave., Ste. 400
Seattle, WA 98121-2330
Fax: 206-727-8319

I have pledged to donate ____ hours of pro bono legal services over the next year in honor of those personally affected by the 9/11 tragedy.