Report from October 2006 Meeting

When I became a governor on the WSBA Board of Governors (also known as “the BOG”), I discovered that most of my young attorney friends and colleagues had little idea of what the BOG was all about. I was not particularly surprised by this, since most attorneys generally – and young lawyers particularly – are far too busy with their own practices to be concerned about the governance of the WSBA. In fact, for most attorneys their only contact with the Bar is through annual reporting and payment of dues. But this is precisely why attorneys (and, again, young lawyers in particular) should at least be aware of how the Bar is run: Your dues fund this organization and its multitude of programs, and you have an interest in knowing how your money is being used.

Accordingly, this column will be a regular feature in De Novo during my tenure as governor for two reasons. First, it will serve as a means of reporting on the activities of the Board of Governors, with a specific focus on matters directly relevant to young lawyers. Second, I hope to raise awareness of how the Bar is run and ways that young lawyers might get involved in shaping the future of their Bar Association.

I would like to begin with a very brief overview of the Board of Governors. The BOG is the governing body of the WSBA and it supervises all executive functions of the Bar. It is analogous to the Board of Directors of an organization. The powers of the BOG are broad, from creating policy to the setting and approval of the Bar’s $18 million budget. The BOG is also the “boss” of the WSBA executive director, and it will play a role in the hiring of a new executive director in 2007. The BOG is constituted of 14 voting governors who are elected to their positions. There is one governor elected by his or her constituents from each of Washington’s nine congressional districts, though the seventh district (Seattle) has three governors due to its size. Joining these 11 governors are three at-large governors who are directly elected by the BOG itself. These at-large seats were created to enhance diversity on the BOG, and one seat (mine) represents the Young Lawyer Division. These seats are fairly new, and I am only the third governor to serve in my seat. When the BOG meets, it is joined by four non-voting members: the president, president-elect, the executive director, and the WSBA general counsel. The duties of the governors include attendance at BOG meetings, participation in several BOG committees, and serving as liaisons to various WSBA committees, sections, and minority bar associations. In my particular case, I attend both BOG meetings and WYLD Board of Trustee meetings.

Meetings of the BOG are held approximately every six weeks at locations around the state. The goal is to ensure that the BOG is accessible to all members of the Bar statewide. These meetings typically last one to two days and are open to the public, with the exception of a one-hour executive session. More information about future meeting dates and locations can be found at www.wsba.org/info/bog.

I was elected in June 2006 and was sworn in to my three-year term in September. Though I previously attended several meetings as a non-voting observer, my first official meeting (besides a very brief meeting following my swearing-in) was on October 27, 2006 in Spokane. Since one of my committee assignments is the Budget and Audit Committee, I also attended a meeting of this committee in Spokane the day prior. From these meetings came several issues directly concerning young lawyers.

First, one of the initiatives of the WYLD is the Greater Access and Assistance Program (“GAAP”). This is a program that provides low-income clients with reduced-cost representation. The program has been piloted in Spokane and is expanding to other counties in the state. A full report on GAAP can be found in the August 2006 issue of De Novo. In addition to funding start-up costs for GAAPs in select counties in western Washington, this year the BOG approved $20,000 to fund a study to determine the feasibility of expanding GAAP statewide. The BOG’s Budget and Audit Committee approved the request for proposals to conduct the study, and the request has now been made public and the applications should be arriving. By the time this column is published, evaluation of the applicants should be well underway.

Another expenditure approved by the BOG at the October meeting was $75,000 for the current WSBA president’s “pipeline program.” Many WSBA presidents bring their own initiatives when they come to office, and President Ellen Conedera Dial is no exception. She has requested that the Bar fund a $75,000 grant for a three-year program that will seek to bring more underrepresented groups into the practice of law. The hope is that the program will serve as a “pipeline” into the profession that will enhance our diversity. This is directly relevant to young lawyers because we are the first to experience the benefits of greater diversity in the ranks of attorneys. Now that the money has been approved, the next step is to solicit proposals from outside entities that will develop and administer the three-year program.

Finally, the BOG approved a change to the WLYD bylaws that creates a new at-large position on the WYLD Board of Trustees. This position is intended to increase the diversity of the Board of Trustees, which has become a matter of increasing concern. I was pleased to move for passage of the change and gratified to be joined by my fellow governors in voting unanimously for its approval.

Of course a great deal more occurred at the October meeting, but these two issues I thought of interest to young lawyers. The full minutes of the meeting will be made available at the above-cited website. And most importantly, I hope you will contact me if you have any questions or concerns about the Bar, or if you have ideas about things you think the WYLD and the Bar should be doing. I welcome your feedback and input.