Volume X, Issue V
September/October 1997

President's Column

The WSBA President from September 1997 through September 1998 is Kathleen J. Hopkins. Kathleen's bi-monthly columns appear on this page.

Why am I getting this newspaper?

After telling me how much they enjoy the editor's back page column and asking whether he is single, the most frequent question I field about De Novo is "why am I getting this newspaper?" I'll answer those questions in order.

First, yes our editor, Evan Loeffler, is single, available and, sometimes, as charming in person as he comes across in his column. He also has permission to edit my column so who knows whether the last sentence was his version of the truth or mine.

Second, you are getting De Novo because we, the WYLD Trustees, want to reach out to you. If you are getting this newspaper you fit into one of two categories of Washington State Bar members. You are either (a) an attorney who passed the bar during the past 5 years or are less than 37 years old; or (b) a "fellow" of the WYLD, i.e. someone who was active in the WYLD for quite a while, but no longer qualifies under the first set of parameters. You are the WYLD Trustees' constituents and it is our mission to reach out to you and also to facilitate public service projects.

What is the WYLD? WYLD stands for the Washington Young Lawyers Division. WYLD membership is automatic during an attorney's first 5 years practice or until the end of the year when he or she turns 36, whichever is later. Membership fluctuates between 6,000 to 8,000 attorneys, making the WYLD the single largest group of attorneys in the WSBA. Unlike the sections, WYLD membership is automatic, and there is no extra membership fee—it is simply part of your bar dues.

The WYLD is also an affiliate of the American Bar Association Young Lawyer's Division. Through the ABA-YLD, WYLD learns of public and member service projects already in place in other states, and obtains grant money to start projects in Washington. The ABA-YLD also conducts semi-annual "how to" meetings, where young attorneys from around the world gather to exchange program ideas and tips. During the last bar year, the ABA-YLD gave WYLD a grant to develop a series of half-hour television shows on legal issues affecting the general public. WYLD's president-elect Patrick Palace already has two programs on tape, and is working on more. Look for them on your public access stations! The ABA-YLD also gave us a grant to implement a program for at-risk middle school students during the latch key hours called the Aspiring Youth Program. That program had a test run in Spokane last Spring, and now the King County Young Lawyers is looking to expand it to Seattle.

Who are the WYLD Trustees? Like you, the WYLD Trustees are young attorneys, fitting the WYLD membership parameters. The Board is divided up geographically, with Trustees elected to three year terms by the young attorneys in the district where they either live or work. There are 13 trustee positions, together with the president-elect and president. A list of the trustees is printed on page 7 of every issue of De Novo. We meet every 4 to 6 weeks to plan, coordinate and implement member and public service projects across the state. These include, for example, CLEs, mid-year meetings, financial planning seminars, television shows, minority pre-law conferences, law day programs, a legal hotline for disaster victims, drafting resolutions for the ABA meetings and scrutinizing rules and statutes that affect young attorneys.

The WYLD board is quite diverse, both professionally and personally. Several are government attorneys, including a staff attorney for OSE, an assistant A.G., and a Washington Supreme Court clerk. There are many entrepreneurs either in solo practice or hooked up with small firms. The minority of us work for large firms. Personally, there are many newly married attorneys, several with young children, a few still single and one (me) with a teenager! The board members also come from diverse cultural and socio-economic backgrounds.

Effective this month, I took over as the WYLD president for a one year term. I have already served a 3 year term as the Snohomish County trustee and 1 year as president-elect. In addition to participating in the WYLD, I am a senior associate practicing real estate, bankruptcy and creditor's law at the Seattle office of Graham & James LLP/Riddell Williams P.S. Most important to me, however, is my role as mother of two boys (Neil and Ian) and spouse (for 16 years) to an incredibly patient guy (Dave).

What is there for you? I have great plans for this year, and hope that many of you will chose to participate in WYLD functions. The focus of my term will be inclusion. It is quite easy to get involved in WYLD programs, and there are enough projects, committees and task forces to fit in with the other demands on young attorneys' schedules. I encourage you to write, call, fax or e-mail me if you are interested in participating in any program and don't know where to begin. You will be receiving committee sign up sheets in the mail this Fall. There are no limits on membership: all who sign up will be accepted as committee members. There are also openings to act as liaisons between the WYLD and the WSBA substantive law sections. If that work interests you more, feel free to contact me direct. In addition, your local voluntary bar associations, including King, Clark, Thurston, Spokane and Tacoma-Pierce Counties, have young lawyer divisions who work with WYLD and are always looking for new participants.

I look forward to traveling around the state this year, meeting with as many of you as possible and representing Washington's young lawyers at the WSBA Board of Governors' meetings and to the ABA. If you want to address the WYLD Board when it meets in your community, just let me know!

Kathleen J. Hopkins pretty much took care of her author's blurb in her story, so the editor takes this opportunity to deny either having substantively edited her column or being charming.

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