S. Brooke Taylor Appointed Treasurer for the Washington State Bar Association

Seattle, Washington, October 23, 2001 - Port Angeles attorney S. Brooke Taylor has been appointed by the Washington State Bar Association (WSBA) Board of Governors to serve as treasurer, one of the WSBA's four officers. As treasurer, Taylor chairs the WSBA Budget and Audit Committee, which oversees the WSBA's annual budget of nearly $14 million. Taylor, who represents WSBA members from the sixth congressional district, is in his final year of service on the Board of Governors.

Taylor currently serves as a Clallam County Superior Court commissioner and is also in private practice as a partner in the law firm of Platt Irwin Taylor, with offices in Port Angeles, Port Townsend and Sequim. His practice emphasizes plaintiffs' personal injury, civil litigation, estate planning and probate. In his 32-year legal career, Taylor has served as president of the Clallam County Bar Association, director of the Clallam-Jefferson Public Defender Board, member of the City and County Jail Commission, and coordinator and instructor of the Port Angeles Peoples Law School. He is a former Clallam County prosecuting attorney.

A Port Angeles native, Taylor is well known for his commitment to serving the people of the North Olympic Peninsula. His community honored him in 1999 by naming him Clallam County "Citizen of the Year." Taylor's community involvement includes serving as member and director of the Port Angeles Kiwanis Club, director and president of the Clallam County Family YMCA (he is a recipient of the YMCA National Distinguished Service Award), director of the G. M. Lauridsen Foundation, director and president of the Clallam County Community Mental Health Center, member and director of the Port Angeles Chamber of Commerce, and director and president-elect of the Peninsula College Foundation.

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 14-person Board of Governors. There are three governors from the seventh congressional district; one from each of the other eight districts; and three at-large members, one of whom represents the Young Lawyers Division. 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.