FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 30, 2006

Contact: Alfredo Tryferis
Communications Specialist
206-733-5932; alfredot@wsba.org

First Annual Statewide Diversity Conference for the Legal Community to Be Held June 1-2 in Seattle

Seattle, Washington, May 30, 2006 — Washington state's first annual diversity conference for the legal community will be held June 1-2 at Seattle University School of Law. Entitled Getting Ahead and Giving Back: Diversity in Washington's Legal Community, the conference will begin Thursday evening with a reception hosted by Perkins Coie, Starbucks Coffee Company, and the WSBA Committee for Diversity. Friday will feature a variety of sessions covering important issues impacting diversity, such as "Who's Doing What to Promote Diversity in the Legal Profession," highlighting the work of several organizations devoted to diversity, and "Building a Bright Future in Government and Public Sector as a Minority Attorney."

A highlight of the conference will be the keynote address delivered by Col. William Gunn (Ret.), president and CEO of the Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Washington, D.C., who will speak on "Reaching Our Communities." Col. Gunn, a Harvard Law School graduate, joined the Boys & Girls Clubs after a distinguished career in the Air Force, where he oversaw the defense efforts for detainees brought before the military tribunals at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

The conference will conclude Friday evening with a reception honoring Washington's diverse judges.

The conference is sponsored by the Asian Bar Association of Washington, Korean American Bar Association of Washington, Latina/o Bar Association of Washington, Loren Miller Bar Association, Northwest Indian Bar Association, Pierce County Minority Bar Association, QLaw: the GLBT Bar Association of Washington, South Asian Bar Association, Vietnamese American Bar Association, and Washington Women Lawyers, in cooperation with the King County Bar Association, Seattle University School of Law, and the Washington State Bar Association.

For more information, contact Conference Co-chair Kim Tran at 206-623-9900 or ktran@staffordfrey.com, Conference Co-chair Mike Heath at 206-587-0700 or mheath@cairncross.com, or WSBA Diversity Advocate Joslyn Donlin at 206-727-8216 or joslynd@wsba.org.

Click here to see a conference brochure.

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, it 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; 25 sections; and a Young Lawyers Division, with its many committees.