January 2006

The Other Editor’s Page

by Jason Vail, De Novo editor

In this, my first column as editor of this special Bar News edition of De Novo, I have the opportunity to introduce myself and talk about my goals as the new editor. However, this presents a particular challenge for me, as I must begin with a confession: I am really quite bad at introductions.

I could blame this peculiar character flaw on a natural tendency toward introversion, but I believe the sources are more numerous. For example, growing up in the backwoods of northeast Washington, I had few occasions in which to learn lessons on the finer points of social etiquette. Compounding this problem is the fact that I’m an Eastern Washingtonian transplanted to the opposite side of the state; when I tell people over here that I grew up near the town of Colville in Stevens County, I’m typically met with blank stares, as though I’d said I was raised in Bulgaria.

But while my background makes for challenging introductions, I’m always reminded that this is a big, diverse state. Statewide organizations like the Young Lawyers Division have a membership that mirrors this diversity, and I will ensure that De Novo continues to reflect this statewide perspective, an approach that is enhanced by the support I receive in my editorial duties by the new assistant editor, Shelley Ajax, a solo practitioner from Kennewick.

There are still other reasons for my struggle with introductions, like the minor hesitation I feel when called upon, in social settings, to identify myself as a lawyer. Though it has been more than four years since I graduated from Gonzaga Law School, I still feel like the title of “attorney” fits me like a slightly too-big suit that I haven’t yet grown into. I’m sure this feeling will dissipate over time, but I’m grateful for the opportunities available as a member of the WYLD for professional training and social interaction with other young lawyers. These numerous programs help to ease the transition from law student to lawyer, and thereby lend a greater feeling of authenticity to introducing oneself as an attorney. I am pleased to have a role in ensuring De Novo remains an important vehicle for conveying these opportunities to my fellow young lawyers.

However, introductions tend to be no easier for me among groups of lawyers. The work I do as a staff attorney with Northwest Justice Project is best described as “poverty law” and is fairly broad and hard to explain in a pithy way, which makes introductions a bit awkward. Of course I’m extremely proud of the work I do for this statewide civil legal-aid program; after all, a practice in public-interest law was my goal when I gave up a career working in the advertising industry as a graphic artist to go to law school, and now I’m extremely fortunate to do this work every day.

Thus, I have no simple answer to the question: What type of law do you practice? I consider myself a general civil practitioner, and my work has ranged from providing legal advice over a statewide telephone hotline to appellate advocacy, and everything else in between. Having worked legal jobs entirely in the nonprofit realm, it may not be surprising that I intend to make a specific effort to ensure that De Novo continues to reflect the wide range of practices found in the WYLD membership, which includes those of us who work in public-interest law.

Outside the practice of law, I find countless other contexts in which introductions are necessary, and each is uniquely challenging. For example, I teach legal ethics and legal writing for paralegal students at Highline Community College, and every quarter I face a new group of students whose collective expressions of skepticism and suspicion make initial introductions all the more formidable, even though I know I will eventually win them over. Then there’s my role as a husband and the father of a wonderful son and daughter. With children aged 12 and four, I find myself associating with fellow parents in the two very different environments of preschool and junior high. And there are numerous other groups with which I associate on a daily basis, from my fellow bicycle commuters on the Bainbridge Island ferry, to online virtual communities where we discuss topics both serious and trivial.

My point is this: All of us are more than just attorneys, and we all have interesting experiences, backgrounds, and perspectives that influence the way we practice law. I encourage readers to submit articles for De Novo on substantive legal matters, and I also hope you will look to your lives outside the practice of law and write about how your individual interests and passions enhance your work as attorneys.

In closing, I must apologize if you leave this column knowing little about me; after all, I’m bad at introductions. Nevertheless, I look forward to serving as De Novo editor and making it an interesting, fun, and relevant publication for the WYLD.

Jason T. Vail is a staff attorney with the Seattle office of Northwest Justice Project. He can be reached at 206-464-1519 or jasonv@nwjustice.org.