FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE   
February 28, 2007     

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

WSBA Board of Governors to Meet in Bellevue March 2-3

Seattle, Washington, February 28, 2007 — The Washington State Bar Association (WSBA) Board of Governors will hold its next meeting on March 2-3 at the Sheraton Bellevue. Douglas Lawrence, who represents members in the Eighth District, will welcome the Board to Bellevue. The public meeting will be held on Friday from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., with a break from noon to 1:30 p.m. The Board will be joined for lunch on Friday by members of the East King County Bar Association, where a “local hero” will be honored. Saturday’s meeting will be held from 9:00 a.m. to noon.

The day before the Board of Governors meeting, Thursday, March 1, the fourth annual Celebrate Diversity event, “The Many Hands of Diversity,” will be held from 1:00 to 5:00 p.m., with a reception held 5:30 to 7:00 p.m. at the Westin Seattle. The event will include a panel discussion featuring leaders from Washington’s minority bar associations and other community leaders. Former WSBA President Ronald Ward will be the keynote speaker at the reception.

A highlight of the Board of Governors meeting on Friday will be a report by the Committee on Public Defense, presented by Co-chairs William Hyslop, of Spokane, and Jon Ostlund, of Anacortes. The Committee on Public Defense was established to implement the recommendations of the WSBA Blue Ribbon Panel on Criminal Defense (the Blue Ribbon Panel was appointed by the WSBA Board of Governors in spring 2003 as a first step in addressing concerns about the quality of indigent defense services in Washington). Since the Committee’s formation in fall 2005, the Committee (whose work has been divided into the following subcommittees: Death Penalty, Education, Juvenile Defense/Representation, Mental Illness and Sex Offender Civil Commitment, Non-legislative Fixes for Enforcement of Standards, Standards, and System Efficiencies and Legislative Changes) has been working diligently on developing recommendations for improving public defense in Washington state. Additional information about the Committee can be found at http://www.wsba.org/lawyers/groups/committeeonpublicdefense.htm. The Committee’s presentation is scheduled to begin at 2:00 p.m.

Also on Friday, Past-President S. Brooke Taylor, of Port Angeles, will report on the work of the Executive Director Task Force (WSBA Executive Director M. Janice Michels is retiring at the end of April). Seattle attorney and former member of the WSBA Board of Governors Mark A. Johnson and WSBA Assistant General Counsel Douglas Ende will lead a discussion of the Department of Revenue’s proposed elimination of the B&O tax deduction for litigation costs and other attorney advancements made on behalf of clients.
 
On Saturday, WSBA Treasurer Eron Berg, of Sedro Wooley, will address fiscal matters; he will present the 2006 audited financial statements, as well as the WSBA fiscal responsibilities matrix and the Budget and Audit Committee charter. Lael Echo-Hawk, of Tulalip, and Frederick “Rick” Rasmussen, of Seattle, who serve as co-chairs of the WSBA Committee for Diversity, will report on the activities of the Committee. WSBA Legislative Director Gail Stone will provide the Board with a report of the legislative session to date and review the WSBA’s positions on several bills.

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 30,900 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 Ellen Conedera Dial, of Seattle. The 2006-2007 president-elect is Stanley A. Bastian, of Wenatchee, and the immediate past-president is S. Brooke Taylor, of Port Angeles. 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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