September 2007

Leaders of the Future

by WSBA President Ellen Conedera Dial

In just a few weeks, Stan Bastian of Wenatchee will take the oath of office as president of the WSBA. I will hand the president’s gavel to him, and will congratulate him on the start of his term. Stan and I have worked closely together over the course of the last year, and I know that he will serve the WSBA with vision, insight, a warm heart, and a deep commitment to the membership. I look forward to Stan’s leadership — and to reading his columns! In fact, you will find a column that has been co-authored by Stan (together with WSBA Executive Director Paula Littlewood) in this edition of Bar News.

Unlike me, Stan came to the presidency by serving as a member of the Board of Governors, having represented the Fourth District with distinction before his election to the office of president-elect. Stan’s path is the better-traveled path to the office of president. Of the 116 presidents, all but three have also been governors. That is not the only path, however. In my own case, service in sections and on committees, and working closely with the Board of Governors on the Ethics 2003 Task Force, established my knowledge of the workings of Bar governance and led to my decision to run for the office.

Just as there is more than one path to serving as president, there are also many paths to serving on the Board of Governors. Eleven of the governors are elected by the lawyers residing in their congressional districts. (King County’s 7th Congressional District is divided into three for this purpose because of the large number of lawyers who live and work in King County.) The remaining three seats are filled by the Board. Two of those seats, the at-large seats, are filled by lawyers who will help assure that a broad diversity of thought and experience will be voiced on the Board. The holder of the third of these seats is selected from a group nominated by the Young Lawyers Division to represent the interests of young lawyers.

This column, my last, is a direct request that you consider service to the profession as a part of your future as a lawyer. There are, of course, many ways to serve the profession, and participating in the governance of the WSBA is only one of them — but it is a good one if your interests lie in this direction. As I hope I have conveyed in my columns this past year, the work of the Board, and of the president, is fascinating and stimulating. It offers opportunities to gain a deeper understanding of the issues that face our members and to make a real difference in how those issues are addressed. It provides opportunities to get to know lawyers and judges across the state, to collaborate with them on important projects, and to hone leadership skills. Service on the Board or as WSBA president is a way to engage in a dialogue with the courts and the legislature on some of the most important challenges facing our justice system, such as access to the courts, the independence of the judiciary, development of sound laws, and the future of the practice of law. It is also a way you can have a direct effect on the services that are provided to the WSBA membership.

“But,” you say, “it takes too much time away from my law practice.” Serving on the Board is a serious and significant commitment. Like many volunteer commitments, it can occupy whatever time you decide to devote to it. Service on the Board, however, can be consistent with maintaining a full-time law practice. You must just expect to be very busy while you are also serving on the Board! Serving as president requires a greater commitment of time, but is also consistent with maintaining a law practice. You will notice that I didn’t say “full-time law practice”! Presidents must expect to cut back significantly on their time in the office. But it is possible to maintain a practice during one’s year as president, even if it is reduced in scope.

Diversity of thought, opinion, and experience on the Board of Governors itself is supported by the representative constitution of the Board and by the three Board-elected seats. The Board has never been more diverse or more talented, and the strength of that diversity and talent shows in the work that the Board does. In the case of the presidency, the Bylaws require that the office rotate among the different parts of the state. For this office, however, diversity of thought, background, and experience depends entirely on who decides to run. The future strength, vitality, and leadership of the Board will depend on sustained interest by WSBA members in serving — the willingness of members like you to take the risk of running for office, and to devote the time and energy needed to do the job well.

As only the third woman president, I am keenly aware that we need to do better in attracting diverse candidates to run for this office. Running for office, especially when there are others in the same race, is a risk. For those of you who are qualified, who are committed to service to the profession, and who are interested in Bar governance, I hope that you will take that risk. The future of the Bar depends on the willingness of lawyers to do the work of governance.

There are many people who have my thanks for supporting and challenging me this past, exciting year. It has been an experience that I would commend to anyone who loves the law and the practice of law, and who believes in the important role the profession plays in protecting our freedoms as citizens. It has been a privilege to serve as your representative, and I will be a better lawyer and a better citizen for it. Thank you for the opportunity. 

Ellen Conedera Dial can be reached at 206-359-8438 or ecdial@gmail.com.