FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 11, 2007
Contact: Stephanie Perry
Communications Specialist/Website Editor
206-733-5932; stephaniep@wsba.org
WSBA Names Mark Johnson 2007-2008 President-Elect
Seattle, Washington, June 11, 2007 — The WSBA is pleased to announce that Seattle attorney Mark Johnson has been elected president-elect for 2007-2008. He will assume the office of president-elect beginning at the close of the WSBA Annual Meeting on September 20, 2007 — when President Ellen Conedera Dial will pass the gavel to current President-elect Stanley Bastian — and will assume the WSBA presidency in September 2008 for a one-year term.
Mark, a partner in the Seattle law firm Johnson-Flora, was admitted to practice in Washington State in 1978. He focuses his practice in the representation of plaintiffs in tort claims, primarily medical and legal malpractice claims.
Johnson previously served on the Board of Governors from 2003-2006 and was the WSBA's treasurer from 2005-2006. He chaired the WSBA Character and Fitness Board, as well as a task force that drafted the first comprehensive set of rules, adopted in 2006, for determining character and fitness of applicants for the Bar and for petitions for reinstatement after disbarment. Johnson also served on the Executive Director Search Committee and is currently the chair of both the Trust Account Responsibilities and Retainers Task Force and the Law of Lawyering (malpractice, ethics, and risk management) conference.
"As president, I will serve by leading the development of a fiscally responsible agenda consistent with the foundational values of our profession and the justice system: inclusion of all, independence of the Bench and Bar from inappropriate influences, equality of access to justice, and professionalism and ethics," said Johnson.
"[Johnson] cares deeply about WSBA, and the incredible amount of time and resources he willingly devotes to the organization demonstrate his commitment," said WSBA Past-president Ronald R. Ward in his letter of recommendation. "His activities and his achievements bespeak volumes for the fact that he has labored tirelessly in the spirit of service to the public and in the sharing of values with other members of the profession."
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 30,600 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 2006-2007 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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