FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE       
September 29, 2005

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

New WSBA Governors Sworn In

Seattle, Washington, September 29, 2005 — The Washington State Bar Association (WSBA) announces that five new governors — Liza E. Burke, 7th–East District; Eric C. de los Santos, At-large; Douglas C. Lawrence, 8th District; Salvador A. Mungia, 6th District; and Kristal K. Wiitala, 3rd District — were sworn in at its Board of Governors meeting, held in conjunction with its Annual Business Meeting and Awards Dinner, on September 15. Washington State Superior Court Judge Jay White swore in the new governors.

Liza E. Burke, 7th–East District
Ms. Burke received her law degree from the University of Washington in 1993 and is currently a partner with the Seattle criminal defense firm of Cohen & Iaria, where she appears in municipal, district, and superior courts throughout western Washington. Prior to private practice, Ms. Burke was a public defender with the Society of Counsel Representing Accused Persons, serving as staff attorney in the juvenile, misdemeanor, and felony units. She is a member of the King County Bar Association Criminal Law Section, the WSBA Criminal Law Section, and the Washington Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers. Ms. Burke was recently recognized as a "Rising Star" by Washington Law & Politics magazine.

Eric C. de los Santos, At-large
Mr. de los Santos is corporate counsel for Labor Ready, Inc., where he manages an array of commercial liability and employment claims in 22 states and Puerto Rico. He also coordinates lobbying efforts in a few key states, including Texas, Florida, and Massachusetts.  Prior to that, he practiced as a plaintiff's attorney for several years in SeaTac, Burien, and Seattle focusing on employment discrimination and personal injury law. Mr. de los Santos is a graduate of Brown University and received his law degree from the University of Washington School of Law. He is a Leadership Tomorrow graduate and served as past chair of WSTLA's Diversity and Outreach Committee. His current affiliations include the Association of Corporate Counsel, Pierce County AIDS Foundation, and Werlin Tutoring Program.
 

Douglas C. Lawrence, 8th District
Mr. Lawrence is a shareholder with the Seattle law firm of Stokes Lawrence, P.S., where he focuses on estate planning and probate matters. A graduate of Seattle University School of Law, he is a former adjunct professor of law there, and has also taught estate planning at the University of Washington School of Law. Mr. Lawrence was actively involved in the drafting and passage of trust and estate legislation in Washington state, including the Trust Act of 1984 and the 1999 Trust and Estate Dispute Resolution Act (TEDRA). In 1999, he received the WSBA Award of Merit for his work on TEDRA. Mr. Lawrence is past chair of the WSBA Real Property, Probate and Trust Section, a former executive committee member of the Estate Planning Council of Seattle, and a fellow of the American College of Trust and Estate Counsel. The author of many articles on estate planning and probate related matters, Mr. Lawrence is a frequent and sought-after lecturer on those subjects.

Salvador A. Mungia, 6th District
A graduate of Georgetown University Law Center and a former adjunct professor at Pacific Lutheran University, Mr. Mungia is a partner, and is currently the Chairman of the Board of Directors, of Gordon, Thomas, Honeywell, Malanca, Peterson & Daheim.  Mr. Mungia's primary areas of practice include aviation, personal injury, and real estate litigation. He served as president of the Tacoma-Pierce County Bar Association in 1999 and as president of Legal Aid for Washington from 2002 to 2004.  He has also served as chair of the WSBA Bar Leadership Conference (1999), a director for the ACLU of Washington (1987-1992), and a commissioner for the Tacoma Human Rights Commission (1990-1996).  He currently sits on the boards of the Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights Under the Law and the Merle Palmer Minority Scholarship Foundation.  In 2005, Mr. Mungia was named a "Super Lawyer" by Washington Law and Politics magazine. 

Kristal K. Wiitala, 3rd District
Ms. Wiitala, the public disclosure manager for the Washington State Department of Social and Health Services, has worked for several state agencies and in private practice, and is a graduate of Washington State University and the University of Washington Law School. She has recently been the WSBA Board of Governors liaison for the Government Lawyers Bar Association (GLBA). She has held prominent leadership positions with GLBA, Washington Women Lawyers, and the National Association of Hearing Officials, including terms as president. Formerly a member of the WSBA Disciplinary Board and other WSBA committees, Ms. Wiitala last served on the board of the WSBA Administrative Law Section. 

About the WSBA
The Washington State Bar Association is an instrumentality of the state exercising a governmental function authorized by the Washington State Supreme Court to license the state's 29,200 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; 24 sections; and a Young Lawyers Division, with its many committees.