February 2007

Editor's Column

by Jason T. Vail

     About every six weeks, a large package arrives on my desk at work. Every time this happens, it prompts a brief flash of excitement at the thought it might be my latest eBay acquisition. But then the sight of the Washington State Bar Association return address quickly dashes my hopes, for I realize the package represents the delivery of my materials for the upcoming WSBA Board of Governors meeting – a collection of documents in what is colloquially known as the “BOG Book.”
     The over 300-page BOG Book is required reading material for each and every Board of Governors meeting. The materials cover the broad range of topics to be discussed at the upcoming meeting, which can be anything from the details of the latest disciplinary filings to the latest request for legislation sponsorship. Most of the information in the book is necessary for action at the meeting, but some of it is provided as “informational only.” Hidden in the back of a recent BOG book was an informational-only item that caught my eye and really made me think about how the Bar Association will be changing in the coming years and how we, as young lawyers, will play an important role.
     The particular item was a report on the most current WSBA membership demographic statistics. The statistical data show very interesting trends in the composition of the Bar Association membership. Specifically, I was surprised to discover that the largest single portion of the Bar’s membership is comprised of attorneys who have practiced for less than six years. Further, over 41% of the Bar’s membership has practiced 10 years or less. Given the ever-larger applicant pool for the bar exam each year, it makes sense that newer attorneys would be disproportionately represented in the Bar. Yet another less-obvious piece of data also jumped out at me: over 26% of the membership has practiced 26 years or more, and over 38% of the membership is aged 51 or older.
     I’m certainly not a statistician, but if I were asked to interpret this data, I would say that two trends are at work that will become more pronounced in the coming decade. First, it is likely that the group designated as “young lawyers” will continue to grow in proportion to the rest of the Bar. Second, it appears a very large group of the most experienced attorneys will be leaving the profession, mirroring demographic changes throughout our society as the Baby Boom generation begins retiring. This change within the Bar will likely lead to a downward shift in the median age and years-in-practice numbers across the board for the Bar’s membership.
     My theory is that this statistical tilt toward newer attorneys within the Bar will be accompanied by greater opportunities for those of us at the less-experienced end of the practice spectrum. As large numbers of experienced attorneys begin vacating positions of authority within public and private law firms, this will give us a chance to step up and obtain greater responsibility and assert influence ourselves if we so choose. Additionally, we will have an opportunity to be more involved in the shaping of the Bar Association’s future at all levels of participation and leadership. In turn, this is of benefit to all of us in the profession because it will become increasingly vital that our professional outlook, interests, and concerns be heard and acted upon. Let’s face it: We newer members of the Bar face very different pressures than those who graduated from law school 20 or 30 years ago. Just one example is the burdensome student loan debt many of us carry as a result of ever-increasing law school tuition rates. How will these financial pressures affect the practice of law in the future? Will there be an increase in the number of attorney discipline cases based upon misappropriation of funds? Will we see a decline in the socioeconomic diversity of incoming attorneys as only the well-to-do are able to afford law school? Will there be fewer attorneys willing to take critical jobs in legal aid, public defense, or other public interest work because of relatively low pay? And when newer attorneys feel trapped into taking high-paying, high-pressure jobs solely to meet loan payment demands rather than having the chance to choose work they might find more genuinely satisfying, how will this affect retention in the profession? These are issues the Bar should be very concerned about in coming years, and it is we who are most directly impacted who should have a say in how the Bar responds.
     As the membership shift begins to occur, we need to be thinking about the kinds of things most relevant to us that we believe the Bar should address. Then there are many ways we can begin to have an influence on that response. One way is to get directly involved with the Bar itself, in its committees, boards, panels, and sections. At about this time of year, the Bar sends members application forms for the various committees, boards, and panels. I encourage you to seriously consider applying, not only because your service is vital to the Bar and is a chance for you to shape the Bar’s work, but it is also a great opportunity for professional development and networking. If you have any questions about this process, please contact me; as a governor of the Bar, I will be responsible for the selection of young lawyer appointees to these bodies. I also encourage you to consider joining one of the Bar’s many substantive legal sections. New admittees are eligible for a free section membership, and law students can join a section for a reduced fee. Further information about all of this can be found at www.wsba.org.
     Finally, I hope De Novo can serve as a sounding board for issues of concern to young lawyers. If you have an interest in a particular topic, please consider writing and submitting an article for publication. This can be an opportunity to begin a dialogue that may ultimately result in changes beneficial to young lawyers as we move forward into the future.

Jason T. Vail is editor of De Novo. Mr. Vail is a staff attorney with the Seattle office of Northwest Justice Project and is a staff attorney-legal editor with the Sargent Shriver National Center on Poverty Law’s legal journal, Clearinghouse Review. He can be reached at 206-464-1519 or jasonv@nwjustice.org. All opinions are solely his own and not those of the WYLD, the WSBA, or De Novo.