July 2008

Legal Technicians: Helpful or Harmful?

In this issue, we continue the debate over a proposed amendment to the Admission to Practice Rules that would allow non-lawyer legal technicians to perform certain tasks for family law clients that can be done only by lawyers under existing law. The June Bar News featured an overview of the proposed new rule as well as an accompanying column by WSBA Executive Director Paula Littlewood and WSBA President Stan Bastian. This month’s issue contains two articles by proponents and two articles by opponents of the proposal focusing on particular aspects of the rules.
The WSBA Board of Governors will address the proposal at its regular September meeting in Seattle. The Board will then communicate its position on the issue to the Washington State Supreme Court, which must decide whether to enact the new rule. The Board of Governors, WSBA officers, and the Supreme Court all wish to hear feedback from WSBA members concerning the proposal. Please take a moment after reading the articles in the June and July issues of Bar News to communicate with your representative on the Board of Governors, the Supreme Court, WSBA Executive Director Paula Littlewood, or WSBA President Stan Bastian. Or, you may e-mail your comments to barnewscomments@wsba.org.
The full text of the proposed rules and other related information is available at www.wsba.org/lawyers/groups/practiceoflaw. — M.H., ed.