Report from the June 2007 Meeting

The last WSBA Board of Governors (“BOG”) meeting was held on June 1, 2007, in Wenatchee. As in years past, the meeting occurred in conjunction with the annual Access to Justice Conference and WSBA Bar Leaders Conference. As a staff attorney with Northwest Justice Project—a member of Washington’s Alliance for Equal Justice—I particularly enjoyed the opportunity to reconnect with many of my old friends and colleagues in the access to justice community, now as a governor of the state bar. I was especially pleased to have the chance to serve as a panelist at the conference’s opening session.

The bulk of our work at this meeting involved a number of elections and appointments. First and foremost, the BOG elected Mark Johnson, a Seattle lawyer, as WSBA’s next President-elect. Mr. Johnson was unopposed in the election, so the process went very smoothly. It is important for me to note that Mr. Johnson is very concerned about issues relating to young lawyers and made a specific effort to reach out to the WLYD’s Board of Trustees to seek its input and support in the election. I know Mr. Johnson personally and I am very excited about the work he will do as the next bar president on behalf of young lawyers.

The BOG also elected a new governor to fill one of the board’s at-large seats currently occupied by Marcine Anderson, whose term expires this fall. This seat is intended to serve as a means of enhancing the diversity of the board, and we had four very diverse candidates to choose from. Ultimately the board elected Brenda Williams, a Seattle public defender, to fill the seat.

Several appointments were made at this meeting as well. The board appointed three new members to WSBA’s ABA delegation. One of these seats is required to be filled by an attorney under 35, and the board selected Michael Pellicciotti to serve in this role. It should be noted that Mr. Pellicciotti is also the newest King County trustee on the WYLD Board of Trustees (as well as a fellow Gonzaga Law School alum). The board also appointed Katie O’Sullivan to the Commission on Judicial Conduct. Ms. O’Sullivan previously represented the WYLD on the Board of Governors as my immediate predecessor on the board.

In addition to elections and appointments, the BOG conducted several important items of business. Following a presentation by the Juvenile Defense/Representation subcommittee of the WSBA Committee on Public Defense, the board approved the proposed JuCR 7.15. This rule mandates appointment of counsel in juvenile proceedings for the purpose of advising juveniles regarding waiver of counsel. The board also approved the subcommittee’s proposed Resolution in Support of Diversion Programs and a Resolution Regarding Right to Counsel at initial court proceedings, including arraignments and probation hearings. The BOG also heard a presentation by the MCLE Board, which recommended changes to Admission to Practice Rule (APR) 11. The rule had most recently been changed to place a cap on the number of CLE credits an attorney could claim from “in-house” CLE programs. This rule turned out to be fairly controversial, and in response the MCLE Board took a great deal of public comment and decided to remove the caps, along with making a number of other changes in response to feedback. The text of the rule can be found at www.wsba.org/lawyers/groups/mcle/apr11review07.htm. Both this rule and JuCR 7.15 have been forwarded to the Washington Supreme Court for its rulemaking process.

In all, it was a very productive meeting and the governors had an opportunity to learn more about the efforts being made to expand access to justice in Washington State for those unable to afford legal counsel. As always, if you have comments or thoughts, I am always happy to hear from you.