Washington State Bar Association Board of Governors to Meet April 6-7 in LaConner

Seattle, Washington, March 30, 2001 — The Washington State Bar Association (WSBA) Board of Governors will hold its next meeting April 6-7 at the LaConner Country Inn. The meeting will be held from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Friday, and from 9:00 a.m. to noon Saturday. It is open to the press and public both days.

At a previous meeting, the board voted to expand its membership. Governor Lindsay Thompson will propose a Bylaw amendment and procedures for implementing the change. Legislative Liaison Gail Stone will be on hand to discuss legislative items of interest to the Bar, including drug law reform, judicial flexibility, and jury bills.

The agenda also includes a report on the fiscal status of the Bar, and a report by the Mandatory Continuing Legal Education Board. Barrie Althoff, WSBA Director of Lawyer Discipline, will present the annual discipline report. Attorney Don Horowitz will update the board on the Technology Bill of Rights project. The board will meet with members of the Snohomish County Bar Association at a luncheon Friday to discuss issues of local interest.

The Washington State Bar Association is a private, nonprofit organization authorized by the Washington Supreme Court to license the state's 26,500 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. Everett lawyer James E. Deno is the WSBA governor representing the second congressional district, which includes LaConner.

The WSBA 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, it administers the bar exam, provides record-keeping and licensing functions, and administers the lawyer discipline program. As a professional association, the WSBA provides continuing legal education for attorneys, in addition to numerous other educational and member-service activities.