August 2006

Number 115 and Counting

by S. Brooke Taylor, WSBA President

With my year as your 115th president winding down, I continue to be amazed at the dramatic changes that have occurred in WSBA leadership.

It took 113 years to elect a president from Pullman (David Savage), and 115 years to elect one from Port Angeles, but it has happened. Ellen Conedera Dial, soon to be Number 116, is only the third woman to be elected president in the history of our organization, and the first person ever to do so without prior service on the Board of Governors. But it has happened. It took 114 years to elect a person of color as president, and Ron Ward broke that barrier in 2004-2005.

These and other dramatic "happenings" did not just happen. They are the result of a six-year effort that began when Tacoma's Dale Carlisle was chosen by the Board of Governors in June 2000 to serve as our 111th president. This created a vacancy in his position as governor representing the Sixth Congressional District, and the Bylaws provide that vacancies are filled by the Board rather than the traditional district-wide election by members. I was persuaded to apply for the position, even though my prior participation in WSBA activities had been minimal. Five other Sixth District lawyers also applied, and we were interviewed one-by-one during a Board meeting in Spokane in September 2000.

I distinctly recall telling the Board that, as I looked around the leadership table then consisting of 11 Governors, a president from Spokane, and a president-elect from Seattle, I did not see any rural lawyers, despite the fact that several thousand of our members live and practice in small firms in small towns across the state. I explained that many rural lawyers viewed the WSBA as a Seattle-centric "good ol' boys' club" with little relevance for the rest of us. We face different issues, have a different view of the world, and often feel disenfranchised by our mandatory bar association. I was certain the same sentiment prevailed in many other groups within our membership.

That theme must have resonated with the Board because, with little else in the way of credentials to offer and five other excellent candidates, I was still elected to fill the remaining two years of the unexpired term. That was the beginning, and other changes followed in rapid succession. Before that first year on the Board was over, we had amended the Bylaws to expand the membership from 11 to 14, with the three new seats dedicated to adding diversity to bar leadership. Bar News Editor Lindsay Thompson, then a member of the Board, took a leadership role in this effort. Diversity was defined in the broadest terms possible, with the goal of bringing voices to the table that had not been heard and represented significant constituencies within our membership.

The changes since my first year as a governor have been nothing short of dramatic, bringing a richness and energy to Bar leadership that had never existed. In the first election to fill those new seats, which is done in the same manner as vacancies are filled, the Board was overwhelmed with qualified applicants, and elected the first Latina to serve, the first Whitman County lawyer to serve, and the first-ever representative of the Young Lawyers Division. The Board has been similarly blessed with stellar candidates each time thereafter when those seats have turned over, and the WSBA has been well served as a result.

The current Board includes nine men and five women; eight from King County (including, for the first time, all three of the diversity positions); three from mid-sized communities; three from rural counties; three who are young enough to be my children; four lawyers of color; and lawyers of differing sexual orientations. The WSBA will of necessity always be somewhat Seattle-centric, because half of our members live and practice in King County, as do most of our staff and most of our volunteers. But only five seats out of 14 on the Board are actually dedicated to King County lawyers, so balance is now the rule rather than the exception.

Paralleling this metamorphosis, and in a large measure because of it, has been the growth and ascendancy of our minority and specialty bar associations, which now have a voice at the table. To further encourage this growth, the Board has, among other measures, created a staff position of diversity advocate, activated the Board's Diversity Committee, and supported the award-winning WSBA Leadership Institute, the remarkable brainchild of predecessors Number 113 and Number 114.

This has been hugely rewarding for those involved, and healthy for our Association. But one nagging problem persists: When we have regular elections for governors and president, nobody runs! Three of four races this spring for seats on the Board were uncontested, as was the election of Stan Bastian from Wenatchee as president Number 117. Fortunately, those elected without contest are all superbly qualified, and will serve you well. But it is the apparent lack of interest in district races that is concerning, and this has been going on for decades.

Eleven positions on the Board are elected by the members in a particular congressional district for three-year terms. Candidates apply and ballots are sent out from WSBA headquarters. There is no filing fee, and campaigns are optional (and rare). But, you may ask, why would one want to do this? A detailed answer would consume a full column by itself. Suffice it to say that my service on the Board of Governors has been the most exciting and rewarding volunteer work I have ever done in a lifetime of volunteerism. And most current and former governors will echo that sentiment.

Several seats will be up for grabs next spring, including districts 2, 7-central, 9, and one at-large seat that has no geographic limits. The election process is simple, and the service incredibly rewarding. One of the messages I have been taking to local bar associations across the state this year is simple: If I can do it, you can do it. Think about it. 

Brooke Taylor can be reached at 360-457-3327 or sbtaylor@plattirwintaylor.com. If you would like to write a letter to the editor on this topic, please e-mail it to letterstotheeditor@wsba.org or mail it to WSBA Bar News, Attn: Letters to the Editor, 2101 Fourth Ave., Ste. 400, Seattle, WA 98121-2330.