Washington State Bar Association Board of Governors to Meet October 27-28, 2000 in Richland

Seattle, Washington, October 18, 2000 - The Washington State Bar Association (WSBA) Board of Governors will hold its next meeting at the Hampton Inn in Richland, October 27-28. President Jan Eric Peterson, a native of Pasco, will preside over the meeting. The Board of Governors, the body responsible for the governance of the WSBA, meets every six weeks at various locations around the state. Its meetings are open to the public.

One of the WSBA's long-range strategic goals is to continue to provide leadership and support for programs and initiatives for the benefit of access to justice. At the October meeting, governors will discuss strategies for legal services funding. The election of the WSBA treasurer and a discussion on judicial election reform are also on the agenda.

The Washington State Bar Association is a nonprofit organization authorized by the Washington State Supreme Court to license the state's 26,000 lawyers. Lawyers must be members of the WSBA in order to practice law in the state. Governors are elected for three-year terms by members of the Association — there are three governors from the seventh congressional district, and one from each of the other eight districts. The current president of the WSBA is Seattle lawyer Jan Eric Peterson, and the president-elect is Dale Carlisle of Tacoma.

The Washington State Bar Association both regulates lawyers under the authority of the Court and serves its members as a professional association - all without public funding. As a regulatory agency, the WSBA administers the bar examination, provides record-keeping and licensing functions, and administers the lawyer discipline program. As a professional association, it provides continuing legal education for attorneys, in addition to numerous other educational and member-service activities.