WSBA Board of Governors to Meet in Wenatchee on June 6

Seattle Washington, June 3, 2003 — The Washington State Bar Association (WSBA) Board of Governors will hold its next meeting June 6 at the Coast Wenatchee Center Hotel. Governor Robert Boggs, who represents members in the 4th District, will welcome the board to Wenatchee. The meeting will be held from 9:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., and is open to the press and public.

A highlight of the Board of Governors meeting will be the election of the new WSBA president-elect. This individual will assume the presidency of the WSBA in September 2004. Poulsbo attorney Jeff Tolman, chair of the ad hoc Professional Development Committee, will report on the committee's recommendations for post-law school education for new lawyers. The chair of the Practice of Law Board, Wenatchee attorney Steve Crossland, will present the Practice of Law Board's first annual report to the Board of Governors. (The Practice of Law Board was established by the Washington State Supreme Court effective September 2002.) Also on the agenda is the Law Week annual report; held the week of April 28, lawyers and judges throughout the state visited classrooms to teach students about various aspects of the law, conduct mock trials, and discuss current legal issues. Additionally, the Awards Committee will make its recommendations for this year's recipients of the annual WSBA awards.

At a special luncheon on Friday, the Board of Governors will honor members of the Access to Justice (ATJ) Board for all of their work. Established by the Washington State Supreme Court in 1994, the ATJ Board's mission is to promote and facilitate equal access to justice in Washington for low- and moderate-income people through high-quality legal services. The ATJ Board's eighth annual Access to Justice Conference will be held in Wenatchee through Sunday.

About the WSBA
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.

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