WSBA Board of Governors to Meet in Coeur d'Alene, May 4-5
Seattle, Washington, May 1, 2001 — The Washington State Bar Association (WSBA) Board of Governors will hold its next meeting May 4-5 at the Coeur d'Alene Resort. The meeting will be held from 10:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Friday, and 9:00 a.m. to noon Saturday. It is open to the press and public both days.
The Board will meet with representatives of the Idaho and Oregon state bars to discuss reciprocal admission. Representatives of all three states have created a proposal to permit reciprocal admission without requiring lawyers to pass the bar exam in each state. An amendment to the WSBA Bylaws will be proposed to add two at-large positions to the Board. The addition of at-large positions is an effort to diversify the Board and increase the visibility of underrepresented groups within the Bar. The Board will also discuss the status of a "glass ceiling" survey being conducted by the King County Bar Association, the WSBA and several other legal organizations.
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 fir 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 Jan Eric Peterson (Seattle), and the president-elect is Dale Carlisle (Tacoma). William Hyslop (Spokane) is the governor representing the fifth district, which includes Spokane.
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.
