FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 18, 2001

CONTACT
Judith Berrett, Director of Communications
206-727-8212
e-mail: judithb@wsba.org

J. Richard Manning to Serve as 2002-2003 President of the Washington State Bar Association

Seattle, Washington, June 18, 2001 — With tributes to his experience and qualifications, the Board of Governors of the Washington State Bar Association (WSBA) unanimously acclaimed unopposed candidate J. Richard (Dick) Manning of Seattle to serve as the 112th president of the association. Manning will serve as president-elect during the 2001-2002 fiscal year and assume the presidency in fall 2002. He previously served a three-year term on the Board of Governors from 1997-2000.

Among the issues facing the profession, Manning cites the challenge of affordable legal services – not just to low-income residents but also middle-income individuals and families; funding for access to justice programs and initiatives, so that the all have equal access to the justice system; the role of technology in the practice of law; and the high cost of legal education and resulting debt carried by newly admitted lawyers.

Manning has a general civil and trial practice in business, probate, real estate and construction law. He is particularly recognized as an outstanding mediator and arbitrator, and spends approximately 60 percent of his time in alternative dispute resolution practice. In 1988, Manning was honored by the presidents of the American Bar Association and the American Arbitration Association with a national award for outstanding service.

Manning's career, which spans four decades, has been one of exceptional service. His many professional activities include numerous leadership roles: president of the King County Bar Association, president of the King County Bar Foundation, chair of the King County Bar Association Law Week Committee, chair of the first statewide Access to Justice Conference, chair of the American Arbitration Association Regional Advisory Counsel, chair of the WSBA Legislative Committee, trustee of the King County Dispute Resolution Center, co-chair of the WSBA Discipline 2001 Task Force, and chair of the WSBA Alternative Dispute Resolution Committee.

Manning is a Seattle native who was educated at Seattle University (B.A., 1954) and Gonzaga University (J.D., 1960).

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 the 11-person Board of Governors elected by the members. There are three governors from the seventh congressional district, and one from each of the other eight districts. 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.