October 2008

The Board’s Work

by Michael Heatherly

July 25–26, 2008, Walla Walla

At its July 25–26, 2008, meeting in Walla Walla, the WSBA Board of Governors elected District 1 Governor Russ Aoki to serve as treasurer for the 2008–09 fiscal year. Aoki is managing partner at Aoki Sakamoto and Grant in Seattle, where his practice includes business and personal injury litigation as well as criminal defense. He has a long history of public service in the legal profession and community organizations. Aoki succeeds Governor Doug Lawrence as treasurer.

Aoki filled in for Treasurer Lawrence and provided some good news for the board. The projected deficit in the draft 2008–2009 WSBA budget has been reduced from $1 million to approximately $350,000. Budget and Audit Committee proposals included reducing and re-allocating several expense items. For example, measures have been taken to reduce expenses for BOG and committee travel, food, and conference call expenses. Meanwhile, approximately $300,000 in staff and related expenses would be shifted from the General Fund to the CLE Fund, which has built up a reserve of over $1.9 million. The expenses at issue reflect the work of general WSBA staff that support the CLE program. The CLE program’s reserve will help sustain the program while it revises its business model to become permanently self-supporting. The Board will adopt the final budget at its September 18–19, 2008, meeting in Seattle.

The BOG recommended for Supreme Court approval an amendment to the Admission to Practice Rules that would affect pro bono work by attorneys who serve as in-house counsel in Washington but are not licensed to practice in the state’s courts. Currently, APR 8(b) — the pro hac vice rule — effectively prohibits in-house counsel without Washington licenses from practicing in Washington courts on a pro hac vice basis. That conflicts with a recent amendment to RPC 5.5, which was meant to allow such in-house counsel to provide pro bono work in court. The proposed amendment to APR 8(b) would explicitly allow such representation.

Meanwhile, the Board addressed three ongoing issues: marriage and the law; a new definition of “young lawyer” for Washington Young Lawyers Division membership; and a proposed prohibition on intimidating litigants and witnesses by threatening to report them to immigration authorities.

Regarding marriage and the law, the BOG worked out language for a proposed resolution. If adopted, the resolution would voice the Board’s support for “equal access for same-sex couples to civil marriage and its attendant legal rights and obligations.” The BOG was to vote on the resolution at the September meeting. The resolution comes after a year of discussion on the issue, including a special edition of Bar News and two public forums. It originally appeared that the Legislature might take up a same-sex marriage bill in the 2008 session, in which case the BOG could have taken a position during the legislative process. No such bill materialized, however. Some WSBA members have voiced the opinion that the organization should take no position on the issue because it involves an essentially moral choice. However, the proposed resolution counters that argument with the rationale that granting marital status to same-sex couples serves the administration of justice, increases predictability and fairness in laws regarding parental and property rights, and promotes equal treatment regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity.

On the issue of WYLD membership criteria, the BOG discussed a proposal from the WYLD Board of Trustees that would change the definition of “young lawyer” for the purpose of membership in the organization. Currently, WYLD membership is open to lawyers who are either less than 36 years old or have been admitted to practice for no more than five years, whichever is the longer of the two. The WYLD board has proposed that the criteria be changed so that membership is open to all attorneys admitted to practice for no more than 10 years, regardless of age. Among the reasons given for the proposed change were that many young lawyers are too busy getting established in their jobs to get involved in WYLD activities right away. Such individuals often reach the existing age or experience limit just as they are reaching their peak effectiveness as WYLD leaders, advocates of the proposal contend. In a separate recommendation, the WSBA directors agreed with eliminating the age criterion but suggested a five-year experience limit. The staff believes the five-year limitation will assist the WYLD in focusing its programming, limiting expenditures, and improving member service. The BOG created a committee to further study the proposal, which is scheduled for a BOG vote at the September meeting.

As for the immigration-threat issue, BOG members debated a proposed resolution that would condemn the practice of contacting or threatening to contact immigration authorities regarding the immigration status of a litigant or witness in a civil action unrelated to immigration. Proponents of the resolution argue that such tactics are used to intimidate litigants and witnesses, sometimes deterring them from appearing in court and at other proceedings. Some BOG members and others objected to language in the proposed resolution that characterizes the reporting or threat to report someone to immigration authorities as “unprofessional” and “contemptible” behavior. Governor Pete Karademos and others argued that the harsh language in the proposed resolution could be taken as an insult by those seeking to legitimately report a suspected immigration violation, which is not improper per se. The Board committee that drafted the resolution, chaired by Governor Brenda Williams, will reconsider the resolution’s language, and the issue is expected to be discussed by the BOG again at the September meeting. Meanwhile, the WSBA Rules of Professional Conduct Committee is working on an RPC provision at the request of the BOG to address the same issue. 

Michael Heatherly is the Bar News editor and can be reached at barnewseditor@wsba.org or 360-312-5156. For more information on issues addressed by the Board of Governors, visit the WSBA website at www.wsba.org, click on News Flash under WSBA News and Information for a summary of the Board’s work and links to related content.