Seattle Attorney Marcine Anderson to Serve as At-large Governor of the Washington State Bar Association

Seattle Washington, June 21, 2004 — The Washington State Bar Association (WSBA) announces that Seattle attorney Marcine Anderson has been elected to serve on the WSBA Board of Governors. Ms. Anderson will serve a three-year term as an at-large governor. There are three at-large seats on the Board of Governors: two were created to ensure representation from underrepresented members of the association, with the goal of making the Board of Governors a more diverse body, and one was created to provide representation for the Young Lawyers Division. When Ms. Anderson, who is Japanese-American, is sworn in as a WSBA governor in September, it is believed she will be the first Asian-American to serve on the Board of Governors in the WSBA's 115-year history.

Ms. Anderson received a B.A. and Certificate in Ethnic Studies from the University of Oregon in 1977, and in 1984 a J.D. from Suffolk University Law School in Boston, where she made the Dean's List. She has been a member of the WSBA since 1990.

Since 1997, Ms. Anderson has been a judge pro tempore, first for the Municipal Court of Seattle and then for the King County District Court. For the past nine years, she has been a King County senior deputy prosecuting attorney, drafting ordinances, litigating, and providing legal advice and assistance to King County departments on technology issues. Prior to 1995, she was in private practice with law firms in Seattle. Before moving from New England to Seattle, Ms. Anderson served as assistant general counsel and special assistant for the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority in Boston, clerked for Hon. Joyce London Alexander in the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts, and was a staff attorney for Southeastern Massachusetts Legal Assistance Corporation.

Ms. Anderson has been a frequent Continuing Legal Education seminar presenter on issues surrounding technology and the law both in the Northwest and in New England, and taught legal writing at New England School of Law and Katherine Gibbs School in Boston.
She is a former member of the King County Bar Association (1995-1998), where she served on the Judicial Evaluation Committee; and the Asian Bar Association of Washington (1990-1995), where she served on the Board of Directors, chaired the Membership Committee, and was a member of the Judicial Evaluation Committee.

Over the years, Ms. Anderson has volunteered her expertise and services in numerous community organizations, including Angeline's Legal Clinic, the Japanese American Citizens League, The Odessa Brown Children's Clinic, the International District Legal Clinic, and the Northwest Women's Law Center in Seattle. "As a Japanese American, Marcine Anderson's commitment to our community is well known," wrote Bill Tashima, president of the Seattle Chapter of the Japanese American Citizens League. "However, Marcine has been equally committed to other communities as well, including the Asian-American community, people of color, and women."

"Marcine's pro bono legal work, her willingness to tutor and mentor youth, and her continuing efforts to improve the social and economic status of people of color, and other disadvantaged sectors of our population have endeared her to many human rights advocates within and outside the minority community," wrote Larry Gossett, District 10 councilmember for the Metropolitan King County Council.

Margaret Chon, Seattle University School of Law professor, wrote, "Ms. Anderson's commitment to diversity is profoundly felt, and is a core part of her professional identity. Ms. Anderson walks the talk in this area and will be a very able advocate on behalf of lawyers of color. As a woman of color, she also brings an important perspective to the Board of Governors."

"Marcine is a star," wrote Sally Bagshaw, Chief Civil Deputy with the King County Prosecuting Attorney's Office. "She works incredibly hard and effectively, is known for her good humor and breadth of technical skills, and volunteers her legal skills in a myriad of impressive ways."
King County Executive Ron Sims wrote, "I admire Marcine for her dedication, staunch determination, and respect for the law. She is an accomplished lawyer who brings ability, professionalism, passion, and intellect to every case and issue before. her. Her leadership is exceptional and has resulted in an established record of success. She leads by an example of hard work, collaboration, and risk taking, and by setting clear and challenging expectations. Her capacity to serve seems to know no bounds."

"I am very excited about this opportunity with the Board of Governors," said Ms. Anderson after learning she had been elected. "I am especially pleased that the Board is focusing on diversity initiatives in the upcoming year, and I look forward to participating fully in those activities."

About the WSBA
The Washington State Bar Association is a private, nonprofit organization authorized by the Washington State 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, 23 sections, and a Young Lawyers Division.

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