WSBA Board of Governors to Meet in Everett, December 6-7

Seattle Washington, December 5, 2002 — The Washington State Bar Association (WSBA) Board of Governors will hold its next meeting December 6-7 at the Inn at Port Gardner in Everett. The meeting will be held from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Friday, and 8:30 a.m. to noon Saturday. It is open to the press and public.

There will be a discussion of the crisis in legal-services funding. Governors have alerted their constituents to this crisis and have solicited input. Also on the agenda is a report presented by a member of the Washington Tax Structure Study Committee, and a report from the WSBA’s delegates to the American Bar Association. The Law Clerk Committee will present recommendations for modifications to the Law Clerk Program (Washington’s Law Clerk Program is one of just a few in the country and offers an alternative to law school, enabling qualified individuals to study the law the "old-fashioned" way, under the tutelage of an experienced lawyer).

WSBA Legislative Committee Chair Michele Radosevich and Director of Legislative Affairs Gail Stone will present the Legislative Committee’s recommendations for the 2003 legislative session. The board will vote whether to support or sponsor several proposals.

The Washington State Bar Association is a private, nonprofit organization authorized by the Washington Supreme Court to license the state’s 27,300 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 23 standing committees; 24 sections; and a Young Lawyers Division, with its many committees.