FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE   
March 1, 2006      

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

WSBA Board of Governors to Meet in Seattle, March 3

Seattle, Washington, March 1, 2006 — The Washington State Bar Association (WSBA) Board of Governors will hold its next meeting on March 3 at the WSBA Office in Seattle. The public meeting will be held from 9:30 to noon, and from 1:30 to 5:00 p.m.

The chair of the Practice of Law Board, Cashmere lawyer Steve Crossland, will present a proposed new rule authorizing provision of legal and law-related services by nonlawyers. The Board of Governors will be asked to consider support of the proposed rule for submission to the Washington State Supreme Court. The Practice of Law Board was created by the Supreme Court in 2001. Its missions are to address concerns about the unauthorized practice of law, and to make recommendations to the Court as to circumstances under which nonlawyers may be involved in the delivery of certain types of legal and law-related services. (For more information, click here.)

WSBA President-elect Ellen Conedera Dial, who serves as chair of the Facilities Committee, will report to the Board (the WSBA is moving its office in December 2006). Treasurer Mark Johnson, the governor representing the Seventh-West District, will report on fiscal matters, and the Board will discuss the WSBA's investment policy. Governor Doug Lawrence, who represents the Eighth District, will lead a discussion of the potential formation of a new Judicial Election/Selection Task Force. Also on the agenda are appointments to several committees, as well as nominations to the Access to Justice Board.

Representatives from the Access to Justice Impediments Committee, Committee co-chair Judge Catherine Shaffer and Committee member Judge Anne Ellington, will present a new guide: "Ensuring Equal Access for People with Disabilities: A Guide for Washington Courts." WSBA Legislative Director Gail Stone will present a report on the 2006 Legislative Session, and the many bills and initiatives of interest to the WSBA and its members. Also on the agenda is a report from WSBA Director of Member and Community Relations Judy Berrett. President of the Washington Young Lawyers Division Noah Davis will update the Board on the division's activities.

About the WSBA
The WSBA is part of the judicial branch, exercising a governmental function authorized by the Washington State Supreme Court to license the state's 29,800 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 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 2005-2006 president is S. Brooke Taylor, of Port Angeles, and the 2005-2006 president-elect 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; 24 sections; and a Young Lawyers Division, with its many committees.