FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
January 15, 2002
CONTACT
Allison Parker
206-733-5932
allisonp@wsba.org
WSBA Board of Governors to Meet in Olympia, January 18-19
Seattle, Washington, January 15, 2002 — The Washington State Bar Association (WSBA) Board of Governors will hold its next meeting January 18-19 at the WestCoast Olympia Hotel. The meeting will be held from 2:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. Friday and 9:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. Saturday, and is open to the press and public.
The board will meet privately with the Supreme Court Friday morning to discuss such things as court-funding strategies and multijurisdictional planning among the Idaho, Oregon, Utah and Washington state bar associations. The WSBA Civil Rights Committee has been reviewing anti-terrorism issues to determine whether to recommend that the WSBA take a position on legislative and executive measures that are being considered. In addition to reviewing the committee’s report, the board will review written statements by the American Civil Liberties Union and the American Bar Association, both of which have take stands against a Department of Justice rule permitting the government to listen to some conversations between lawyers and clients in federal custody. The board will also hear a report from W. H. (Joe) Knight Jr., the newly appointed dean of the University of Washington School of Law. A legislative report from WSBA Director of Legislative Affairs Gail Stone will also be presented.
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.
