Bellingham Lawyer Jon E. Ostlund Elected to WSBA Board of Governors

Seattle, Washington, October 5, 2001 — Bellingham lawyer Jon E. Ostlund has been elected to Washington State Bar Association (WSBA) Board of Governors. His three-year term expires in September 2004.

Mr. Ostlund is a 1974 graduate of the Gonzaga University School of Law, and has practiced in Bellingham since then. For the last 19 years, he has been the Whatcom County public defender. In addition to the WSBA board, Mr. Ostlund is a board member for the Washington Defenders Association and the Washington Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers. He served two terms on the Washington State Sentencing Guidelines Commission and has been actively involved in legislative matters on behalf of criminal defense lawyers. He is currently a member of the Whatcom County Law and Justice Commission and the Whatcom County Commission Against Domestic Violence.

The Washington State Bar Association is a private, nonprofit organization authorized by the Washington Supreme Court to license the state's 26,500 lawyers. 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.

The governance of the WSBA is vested in its 13-person Board of Governors. There are three governors from the seventh congressional district, one from each of the other eight districts, plus two at-large members. The Board meets regularly (every six weeks) at various locations around the state, and its meetings are open to the public. Much of the work of the Bar is carried out through its 28 standing committees; 23 sections; and a Young Lawyers Division, with its many committees.