New Year, New Positions, New People

by WSBA Executive Director Jan Michels

In the 2004-2005 fiscal year (October 1, 2004, to September 30, 2005), the Board of Governors created two new positions in response to the changing needs of the WSBA — Director of Regulatory Services and Diversity Advocate. After broad recruitment and interviewing, I am pleased to introduce the two persons selected for these positions.

Jean McElroy, Regulatory Services Director

Over the years, the processes of admissions, licensing, and MCLE compliance have grown to include managing the Law Clerk Program and Rule 9 interns, regulating limited practice officers, overseeing the Lawyers' Fund for Client Protection, and considering possible other nonlawyer practice-of-law activities. It became increasingly evident that managing these functions within the overall goal of convenient and responsive member services required the focus of a single person at the director level. These functions had previously been fragmented among WSBA departments with most being part of the Finance and Administration Department. The easiest way to envision the new Regulatory Services Department is to see it as responsible for the functions described in the Admission to Practice Rules (APRs).

Jean McElroy was chosen from a broad-ranging field of more than 25 candidates. She was the first choice of the directors, staff groups, Paula Littlewood, and me for this important position. Jean has been disciplinary counsel and a team lead in the WSBA Office of Disciplinary Counsel for the last 15 years. Prior to that, she was a deputy prosecuting attorney for King County for five years, staff counsel with the Office of Program Research in Olympia for a session, and a contract lawyer. Jean brings her experience with the regulation of the practice of law, team management, and understanding of the role of the WSBA with members to this new position. Our goal is to raise the visibility and importance of all WSBA APR functions, and to ensure their farsighted and comprehensive coordination in serving the interests of members and the public. Jean can be reached at jeanm@wsba.org or 206-727-8277.

Joslyn Donlin, Diversity Advocate

The position of diversity advocate was envisioned by President Ron Ward and immediate Past-president Dave Savage to help our Association institutionalize and facilitate our commitment to diversity. This commitment is embodied in one of our current strategic goals: "The WSBA will promote diversity, equality, and cultural competence in the courts, legal profession, and the Bar." We are proud to be one of a handful of bar associations throughout the country with such a staff position. As President Ron Ward wrote in his October Bar News column: "Diversity is a touchstone, a connection to let us know our possibilities. It is the visible, tangible -actualization of not just our American commitment, but our very presence —and the conviction that we all matter; that we all have a say; that we are a community." The diversity advocate position has two primary functions: managing the WSBA's diversity efforts and initiatives, and managing the new WSBA Leadership Institute. The WSBA's diversity efforts and initiatives include projects to increase involvement by persons of diverse backgrounds within the WSBA, and providing a proactive resource and advocate for outreach and involvement with the minority bar associations and to people from diverse backgrounds who may be interested in entering the profession.

Joslyn K.N. Donlin, an attorney in private practice, was selected to be the first diversity advocate for the WSBA. Joslyn brings to this position a background in both education and law, as well as in diversity training. Prior to joining the legal profession, Joslyn worked for the Northwest Regional Educational Laboratory in Portland, Oregon; the University of Washington School of Education; and the Washington State Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction. In her roles with these institutions, she provided teacher training, technical assistance, testing, and evaluation in civil-rights compliance and equal-education opportunities to bilingual and ESL programs. As an attorney, Joslyn has been a city prosecutor. In private practice, she provided legal assistance to Japanese-speaking clients and has worked as software-licensing-technology specialist for a large software company. For the past three years, Joslyn has been involved with the WSBA Committee for Diversity, helping to lead efforts to promote and increase diversity within the Bar. Joslyn looks forward to working with the various minority bar associations and underrepresented groups in this state to increase diversity within the legal profession. She can be reached at joslynd@wsba.org or 206-727-8216.

Please join me in welcoming Jean McElroy and Joslyn Donlin in their important new roles.