WSBA Board of Governors to Meet in Olympia, January 7-8

Seattle Washington, January 5, 2004 — The Washington State Bar Association (WSBA) Board of Governors will hold its next meeting January 7-8 at the Phoenix Inn Suites in Olympia. The meeting will run from 2:30 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. Wednesday, and 8:00 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. Thursday. It is open to the press and public. Thursday afternoon, the Board will meet privately with the Supreme Court.

Seattle lawyer Michele Radosevich and WSBA Legislative Director Gail Stone will present three jury bills to the Board. All three are expected to be up for hearing this year in the state Senate Committee on Judiciary, and the WSBA will likely be asked to take positions on them. SB5084 is an act revising the jury selection method; SB5064 is an act relating to jury exemption for sole caregivers; and SB6018 is an act to reduce the burden of jury service, thereby increasing participation in the jury system.

David Swartling (Seattle), chair of the WSBA Court Rules and Procedures Committee, will present a summary of the committee's recommended amendment to the Criminal Rules related to recorded witness interviews, and custody of discovery materials in criminal cases.

On behalf of the WSBA Legal Services to the Armed Forces Committee, Kenyon E. Luce (Tacoma) will recommend a change to the WSBA bylaws that would waive payment of membership fees for active WSBA members while on active military service. Additionally, the committee is asking the Board to recommend an amendment of the mandatory continuing legal education (MCLE) regulations to the State Board of Continuing Legal Education. The proposed amendment exempts members in active military service from the MCLE requirements.

The Washington State Bar Association is a private, nonprofit organization authorized by the Washington Supreme Court to license the state's 28,200 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 president is David W. Savage of Pullman. The board meets every six weeks at various locations around the state, and its meetings are open to the public. Much of the work of the WSBA is carried out through its 23 standing committees, 24 sections, and a Young Lawyers Division.

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