October 2005
Welcome to the WSBA’s New President-elect and Governors
Ellen Conedera Dial, President-elect
Ellen Dial, a partner at Perkins Coie, has been an active participant in a broad range of WSBA activities and has assumed a number of leadership roles. She has chaired several WSBA committees, including the Ethics 2003 Committee, the Legislative Committee, the Character and Fitness Committee, and the Committee on the Code of Professional Responsibility. In addition to her leadership and service to the WSBA, she frequently speaks at Continuing Legal Education courses on ethics, as well as real estate matters. Ms. Dial’s commitment to service in the community and to the legal profession was recognized in 2004 when she received the WSBA’s Award of Merit, its highest honor.
Liza E. Burke, 7th–East District
A Seattle native, Liza Burke received her law degree from the University of Washington in 1993 and is currently a partner with the Seattle criminal defense firm of Cohen & Iaria, where she appears in municipal, district, and superior courts throughout western Washington. Prior to private practice, Ms. Burke was a public defender with the Society of Counsel Representing Accused Persons, serving as staff attorney and then lead counsel in the juvenile, misdemeanor, and felony units. She is a member of the King County Bar Association Criminal Law Section, the WSBA Criminal Law Section, and the Washington Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers. Ms. Burke was recently recognized as a “Rising Star” by Washington Law & Politics magazine.
Eric C. de los Santos, At-large
Eric de los Santos is currently corporate counsel for Labor Ready, Inc., where he manages an array of commercial liability and employment claims in 22 states and Puerto Rico. Prior to that, he practiced as a plaintiffs’ attorney for more than seven years in SeaTac, Burien, and Seattle, focusing on employment discrimination and personal injury law. Mr. de los Santos is a graduate of Brown University and received his law degree from the University of Washington School of Law. His professional affiliations include the Association of Corporate Counsel and the WSBA Legislative Committee.
Douglas C. Lawrence, 8th District
Doug Lawrence is a shareholder with the Seattle law firm of Stokes Lawrence, where he focuses on estate planning and probate matters. A graduate of Seattle University School of Law, he is a former adjunct professor of law there, and has also taught estate planning at the University of Washington School of Law. Mr. Lawrence was actively involved in the drafting and passage of trust and estate legislation in Washington state, including the Trust Act of 1984 and the 1999 Trust and Estate Dispute Resolution Act (TEDRA). In 1999, he received the WSBA Award of Merit for his work on TEDRA. Mr. Lawrence is past chair of the WSBA Real Property, Probate and Trust Section and a former executive committee member of the Estate Planning Council of Seattle. The author of many articles on estate planning and probate-related matters, Mr. Lawrence is a frequent and sought-after lecturer on those subjects.
Salvador A. Mungia, 6th District
A graduate of Georgetown University Law Center and a former adjunct professor at Pacific Lutheran University, Sal Mungia is a partner with the Tacoma office of Gordon, Thomas, Honeywell, Malanca, Peterson & Daheim, whose primary areas of practice include commercial, personal injury, and real estate litigation. He served as president of the Tacoma-Pierce County Bar Association in 1999 and as president of LAW Fund from 2002 to 2004. He currently sits on the boards of the Washington ACLU, LAW Fund, and the Tacoma Human Rights Commission. In 1999, he was chair of the WSBA Bar Leadership Conference.
Kristal K. Wiitala, 3rd District
Kristal Wiitala, a public disclosure manager with the Washington State Department of Social and Health Services, has worked for several state agencies and in private practice, and is a graduate of the University of Washington School of Law. She has recently been the WSBA Board of Governors liaison for the Government Lawyers Bar Association (GLBA), for which she is also a current board member and past president. She has held prominent leadership positions with Washington Women Lawyers and the National Association of Hearing Officials. Formerly a member of the WSBA Disciplinary Board and other WSBA committees, Ms. Wiitala now serves on the boards of the GLBA and the WSBA Administrative Law Section.
President-elect Dial will take office in September 2006. The new governors hold office for three-year terms ending September 2008.
