FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE     

January 16, 2008         

Contact: Judith Berrett
Director of Member and Community Relations
206-727-8212; judithb@wsba.org

WSBA Board of Governors to Meet in Tumwater January 17

(SEATTLE) — The Washington State Bar Association (WSBA) Board of Governors will hold its next meeting on January 17 at the Tumwater Valley Lodge. Kristal Wiitala, of Olympia, who represents members in the Third District, will welcome the Board to Tumwater. The public meeting will be held on Thursday from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., with a break from noon to 1:30 p.m. On Friday morning, the Board will have its annual private meeting with the Washington State Supreme Court.

The Board will be joined for lunch on Thursday by members of the Thurston County Bar Association and the Government Lawyers Bar Association. President of the Thurston County Bar is Janet McClanahan, of Olympia, and president of the Government Lawyers Bar Association is Jon Tunheim, also of Olympia. At the luncheon, President Stanley Bastian will present Local Hero Awards to Cheryl Handy and Commissioner Scott Neilson. As the Board of Governors travels around the state, these awards are presented to local attorneys who have made noteworthy contributions to their communities.

James Bamberger, of Olympia, director of the Office of Civil Legal Aid (OCLA), and Thomas A. Brown, of Aberdeen, member of the OCLA Oversight Committee, will report on OCLA's work. The Office of Civil Legal Aid was established by the Legislature in 2005 as an independent judicial branch agency to administer and oversee the state's investment in civil legal aid services.

Chair of the WSBA Civil Rights Committee, Port Orchard attorney Tracy Flood, will report on the work of the committee and bring some recommendations to the Board. Additionally, the intent to form a WSBA Civil Rights Section will be discussed.

Lawyers' Fund for Client Protection Committee Chair Christopher Mertens, of Kennewick, will report on the state of the committee's funds. The Lawyers' Fund for Client Protection is used for making gifts to those who sustain a loss due to the dishonesty of, or failure to account for money or property entrusted to, any member of the WSBA in connection with the member's practice of law. Every active lawyer in the state makes an annual donation to the Fund, and although the misuse of clients' money happens rarely, when it does, the Fund is there to provide compensation.

The King County Bar Association (KCBA) has asked the WSBA to join them in supporting the following resolution, which the KCBA plans to submit to the American Bar Association for consideration at their August 2009 annual meeting: "States should be allowed to adopt and implement legislation governing the production, distribution and use of marijuana; federal law should not impede or preempt the exercise of state authority in this area." The Board will vote on whether to support this resolution.

Roger Wynne, of Seattle, chair of the Court Rules and Procedures Committee, will request that the Board approve for forwarding to the Washington State Supreme Court a proposed set of amendments to the Rules of Appellate Procedure proposed by the Task Force on Dependency and Termination Appeals for the Court's Commission on Children in Foster Care. Joining him in the presentation to the Board will be the King County Superior Court Judge Susan Craighead. Director of Justice and Diversity Initiatives Gail Stone will provide a preview of issues on this year's legislative agenda.

The meeting will conclude with the governors' and liaisons' forums, during which governors and others in attendance may bring non-agenda items to the attention of the Board.

About the Washington State Bar Association
The WSBA is part of the judicial branch, exercising a governmental function authorized by the Washington State Supreme Court to license the state's 31,850 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, the WSBA administers the bar admission process, including the bar exam; provides record-keeping and licensing functions; and administers the lawyer-discipline system. 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 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 Stanley A. Bastian, of Wenatchee. The president-elect is Mark A. Johnson, of Seattle; and the immediate past-president is Ellen Conedera Dial, of Seattle. 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; 26 sections; and a Young Lawyers Division, with its many committees.

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