FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 4, 2002

CONTACT
Allison Parker
Communications Specialist 
206-733-5932
allisonp@wsba.org 

Seattle, Washington, October 4, 2002 — Seattle lawyer J. Richard Manning has begun his term as 112th president of the Washington State Bar Association (WSBA). He served a three-year term on the Board of Governors from 1997 to 2000, and as president-elect from 2001 to 2002.

Mr. 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. His career has been one of exceptional service, including 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. Mr. Manning is a Seattle native who was educated at Seattle University (B.A., 1954) and Gonzaga University (J.D., 1960).

Mr. Manning will focus on professional development during his term as president. He has formed the Professional Development Committee, which will review the process of the education, admission and orientation of new lawyers in Washington, and make recommendations to the WSBA Board of Governors. The committee will consider the feasibility of apprenticeships, modification of law school curricula, and law school/WSBA relations, as well as the financial impact of the student loan crisis. He will also ask the Board of Governors to explore the possibility of adding a nonlawyer member to the board.

The Washington State Bar Association is a private, nonprofit organization authorized by the Washington 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.

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, plus three at-large members (one representing 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 23 standing committees; 24 sections; and a Young Lawyers Division, with its many committees.