Stephen R. Crossland Receives WSBA Award of Merit

Seattle, Washington, September 12, 2002 — Cashmere lawyer Stephen R. Crossland will receive the Washington State Bar Association (WSBA) Award of Merit today in Seattle. Presented annually, this award is the WSBA’s highest honor. It is given for long-term service to the bar and/or the public. Both lawyers and nonlawyers are eligible for this prestigious award.

Former WSBA Governor Steve Crossland has spent 15 years working to define and regulate the practice of law, and the recent establishment of the Practice of Law Board is the direct result of his efforts. He was a member of the Unauthorized Practice of Law Committee and the Task Force on Nonlawyer Practice of Law. In 1998, he was appointed chair of a committee charged with defining the practice of law. During his two-year tenure as chair, the committee submitted a definition which the WSBA Board of Governors approved and submitted to the Supreme Court. The Court expressed interest, but also concern about the enforcement of a definition. Mr. Crossland continued working on the project with an expanded committee, and in 2000 proposed the establishment of the Practice of Law Board. The Supreme Court approved both the definition and the board in 2001. This comprehensive definition of the practice of law is viewed nationwide as a groundbreaking effort, and is the basis of a model rule being drafted by an American Bar Association task force.

In his nomination letter, WSBA General Counsel Robert Welden wrote: “I sincerely believe that none of this, including the interest of the ABA, would have happened but for the vision and efforts of Steve Crossland.…He had an idea, and persevered in the face of continual skepticism and criticism.…The establishment of the Practice of Law Board may result in profound changes and improvements in the delivery of legal services to the citizens of Washington.”

The Washington State Bar Association is a private, nonprofit organization authorized by the Washington State Supreme Court to license the state’s 26,600 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.