October 2007

Time Flies

by Marcine Anderson

As a child, I frequently heard adults talk about “time flying” and did not have a concept of time moving quickly. The school year seemed to take forever, and summers seemed just as long because I was away from my friends from school. As a third-year governor for the Washington State Bar Association, I witnessed time flying as motions passed, committees reported, and friendships formed.

In June 2004, I was elected to one of three at-large seats1 on the Board of Governors. These seats were created through the wisdom and foresight of your governors at the turn of this century and are embodied in the Bylaws of the Washington State Bar Association at Section III, paragraph N, in order to bring a voice for those members who have been “historically under-represented in governance” or who “represent some of the diverse elements of the public of the State of Washington.” This section of the Bylaws defines diversity using very inclusive language that reaches across many programs and projects of the Bar.

During the past three years, I have had the distinct pleasure of seeing frequent intentional acts of inclusion and celebrations of diversity throughout the Bar. Many of these events were history-making. We celebrated Ron Ward as the first WSBA president of color in 115 years. We unanimously voted to include Indian law on the bar exam. We launched the award-winning WSBA Leadership Institute and selected fellows for its first class in 2005.

After graduating from the Leadership Institute, three fellows drew on what they learned and formed two new bar associations. Kim Tran was active in the formation of the Vietnamese American Bar Association of Washington, and Michael Heath and Beth Barrett Bloom were instrumental in the formation of the Gay Lesbian Bisexual Transgender Bar Association of Washington (QLaw).

Through the attention and efforts of Governor Lonnie Davis, the Washington Association for Attorneys with Disabilities was activated. In April of this year, the BOG approved a resolution supporting attorneys with disabilities, announcing its position that this dimension of our membership would be “treated with the same regard, courtesies and protection afforded to other protected classes” under the non-discrimination laws of this state, and that lawyers with disabilities would be included in the diversity goals and plans of the Bar.

One of the great joys of my term on the BOG has been the opportunity to get to know the leadership from many of the minority and specialty bar associations across this state. From the Washington Women Lawyers’ president, Joan Tierney, to the forever-active co-chair of the WSBA Committee for Diversity, Lael Echo-Hawk, to the president of the Latina/o Bar Association of Washington, Lorena González, the level of service to the greater community has been nothing short of spectacular. As Ron Ward says, “Lawyers are leaders,” and you only need to observe the leadership of presidents Craig Sims, Loren Miller Bar Association; Alice Wong, Asian Bar Association of Washington; Venkat Balasubramani, South Asian Bar Association of Washington; Denise Tran, Vietnamese American Bar Association of Washington; Beth Barrett Bloom, QLaw; Naomi Kim, Pierce County Minority Bar Association; John Chung, Korean American Bar Association; and Lisa Atkinson, Northwest Indian Bar Association, to understand what the Bar was lacking before diversity was celebrated.

Presently we have the most diverse BOG in history, with six members representing ethnic and racial (Japanese-American, African-American, Filipino, Latino-Asian), gender, and sexual-orientation diversity. The ABA delegation from the state of Washington is second only to the delegation from the Virgin Islands with respect to diversity. Ellen Dial, the third woman WSBA president, shaped a history-making pipeline project to attract young people from diverse backgrounds to the profession. This is indeed progress from the 1989-92 term, when Lem Howell served as the first person of color on the BOG. Keeping diversity at the forefront of our discussions requires cultivation of new leadership. Brenda Williams was elected by the BOG to assume my at-large seat in September 2007. As the former president of the Latina/o Bar Association of Washington and an active member of the Initiative for Diversity Governing Council, she brings a wealth of leadership experiences to the Bar. She, too, will discover that time flies.

To everyone who added to the strength, texture, and diversity of the Bar during the past three years, thank you for your participation. To the past governors who elected me to be a member of the Board of Governors thank you for opening the doors to a different point of view. To the WSBA staff, thank you for making sure that the visions of the minority and specialty bar leadership and the BOG were transformed into action. And to the presidents and governors I served with — thank you for your willingness to lead a bar association that serves all of its members. 

Marcine Anderson practices in the area of technology law with the Civil Division of King County Prosecutor’s Office. She can be reached at marcine.anderson@metrokc.gov or 206-296-0428.

NOTES
 
1.  Eric de los Santos holds one at-large seat and the Young Lawyers Division representative, Jason Vail, holds the third at-large seat on the BOG.