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September 2008Find out what your fellow attorneys are up to. See www.wsba.org/media/¬publications/countynewsletters.htm for links to bar publications throughout the state. If you would like to contribute to Around the State on behalf of your county, minority, or specialty bar organization, or if you have a law-related item of interest, send your submissions to aroundthestate@wsba.org. Supreme Court Justices Owens and Stephens Visit Bellingham Washington State Supreme Court Justice Susan Owens and Justice Debra Stephens were special guests at the June meeting of the Whatcom County Chapter of Washington Women Lawyers in Bellingham. The 25 Whatcom County attorneys attending the meeting had the opportunity to meet the justices and ask questions in an informal setting. The justices provided insight into the workings of the Court, including judicial conference procedures and the Supreme Court’s formal decision-making process. The justices also fielded many questions about oral argument and provided helpful tips for effective oral advocacy. The Whatcom County Chapter appreciates the justices making time during a busy week at the end of the Court’s Spring 2008 Docket to travel to Bellingham to provide such a meaningful experience for Whatcom County lawyers. WACDL Presents Awards The Washington Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers (WACDL) honored three attorneys for outstanding service to the criminal defense bar on June 13 at the association’s annual conference in Chelan. Ted Vosk, of Seattle, received the 2008 President’s Award. Ted Vosk has been the driving force behind the demand for reform at the Washington State Toxicology Lab. WACDL presented the Champion of Justice Award to Teresa Mathis. This award recognizes individuals who, through legislative, judicial, journalistic, or humanitarian pursuits, staunchly preserve or defend the constitutional rights of Washington residents and endeavor to ensure justice and due process for those accused of crime. As an activist, a community volunteer, and the executive director of WACDL for 20 years, Teresa Mathis has served the criminal defense community as a passionate advocate for peace and justice. Sheryl Gordon McCloud, of Seattle, was the recipient of the WACDL’s William O. Douglas Award. This award, WACDL’s most prestigious, is given in recognition of extraordinary courage and dedication to the practice of criminal law. Over the last two decades, Sheryl Gordon McCloud has focused her practice on complex appeals and post-conviction cases. She has represented scores of defendants after they had been convicted and sentenced in Washington’s state and federal courts. She remains on the cutting edge of legal developments as they pertain to criminal practice. Seattle Lawyers Basketball League Veteran Johnson & Associates* squad has captured the 2008 Seattle Lawyers Basketball League crown. On May 28, 2008, number-two-seeded Johnson & Associates prevailed over the number-one-seeded Washington Generals in a bruising battle, avenging one of the team’s only two losses of the 2008 regular season. The undefeated Washington Generals erased an early seven-point deficit (thanks to the hot hand of Mike Lee) to tie Johnson & Associates at 37 all at the half. The game remained close and with eight minutes remaining, the score was knotted at 55. Johnson & Associates then took the lead to take the 2008 crown. WSBA Celebrates 75th Anniversary In June, a special cake was prepared to celebrate WSBA’s 75th birthday (and the birthdays of staff members born in June). The WSBA Board of Governors also enjoyed an anniversary cake at their June meeting in Vancouver. Although the roots of the WSBA go back 120 years, 2008 marks the 75th Anniversary of the State Bar Act, which established the Washington State Bar Association as an integrated, or unified, bar association. Save the Date — Race Judicata Join WYLD members, students, judges, and members of the legal community for the third-annual Race Judicata 5K on October 19, 2008. The event seeks to raise funds to support student work in public interest law geared toward public health issues. Walkers and runners are welcome. Join us at beautiful Seward Park in Seattle for this exciting event. Online registration can be found at active.com (search for Race Judicata 5K) or visit www.active.com/event_detail.cfm?event_id=1602854. The event is sponsored by the WSBA Young Lawyers Division, UW School of Law Alumni Association, UW Student Bar Association, UW Public Interest Law Association, and UW Student Health Law Organization. New State Court Administrator Washington State Supreme Court Chief Justice Gerry Alexander announced that the Court has named Jeff Hall as Washington’s new state court administrator. The state court administrator heads the Washington State Administrative Office of the Courts (AOC), a judicial branch agency that reports to the Supreme Court. Mr. Hall joined the AOC as a court services specialist in 1991. “Jeff has the full support of all members of the Court, and we are delighted that he has accepted this appointment,” said Chief Justice Alexander. “The AOC serves a vital role in providing services to courts and the public in Washington, and he will serve the state well in this new capacity.” The 13th annual Access to Justice Conference was held in Vancouver, Washington, June 6–8, and was, by far, the most well-attended conference yet. All meeting rooms were overflowing with members and supporters of the Alliance for Equal Justice — learning, networking, and sharing information about ways to increase access to the justice system for Washington’s poorest and most vulnerable people. The conference theme, “Justice Without Borders,” was woven throughout the event, with workshops focusing on removing barriers to equal justice for farm workers, Native Americans, pro se individuals, homeless people, children in dependency hearings, and immigrants. Two sessions took an in-depth look at the immigration legal framework in the United States, including American immigration policy and its impact on the justice system. Keynote speaker Shelley Davis, deputy director of Farmworker Justice, drew a standing-room-only crowd and much applause for her tireless efforts to improve health and safety for indigenous farmworkers. Mark Baum, Mandatory Continuing Legal Education Board member, audited the conference for CLE purposes, and had this to say: “My overall impression was that it was appropriate for those who desire to work in the under-represented, underpaid public access wing of the law industry. I benefited from the program more than I anticipated going in. The speakers were of high quality and were evidently dedicated to their life callings and teaching efforts. The program was uplifting, energizing, and offered great food for thought. It makes one wonder why more attorneys are not motivated to engage with, offer assistance to, or at least encouraged to learn about, those who are most in need of legal assistance.” If you are wondering how you can become involved, contact Sharlene Steele at 206-727-8262, or 800-945-9722, ext. 8262, or sharlene@wsba.org. The Bar Leaders Conference, held jointly with the Access to Justice Conference, was also a great success. WSBA Young Lawyers Division trustees and fellows from the WSBA Leadership Institute were active participants in the various workshops. The proceedings can all be viewed online at www.tvw.org (type “Access to Justice” in the “find” box). The conference started with a traditional “round table” with six of the Washington State Supreme Court Justices and most members of the WSBA Board of Governors. The packed room of attorneys participated in an interesting discussion on the status of the Lawyers’ Fund for Client Protection. Each active member of the Bar pays $15 annually to help fund this program, which is now threatened by potential claims against a lawyer who engaged in a Ponzi scheme far exceeding the $1.2 million available in the fund. The second workshop was a timely conversation on the “Changing Face of the Legal Profession.” This lively exchange included separate sessions where the “Millennial” and “Baby Boomer” attorneys brainstormed ideas on their generation’s professional and personal goals, expectations as lawyers, and perspectives on what constitutes a productive and satisfying work environment. The sessions were facilitated by Seattle University School of Law Dean Kellye Testy and Gonzaga School of Law Dean Earl Martin. The two generations reconvened to exchange their findings with WSBA President-elect Mark Johnson and WSBA Young Lawyers Division President-elect Jaime Hawk presiding. The third Bar Leaders workshop, “Immigration Raids, Retaliation, and Lawyers’ Ethics,” provided practice tips and ethical insights on a variety of areas related to immigration enforcement trends and impacts on civil rights, education, and employment. Also covered was the controversial practice of counsel threatening to report the opposing party to immigration officials, and a proposal submitted to the WSBA Rules Committee to adopt a formal opinion to ban such a practice. The informative panel was led by attorney Henry Cruz, and included panelists Lorena González, Shankar Narayan, Manuel Rios, Siovhan Sheridan-Ayala, and Professor John Strait. The 2009 joint Access to Justice Conference/WSBA Bar Leaders Conference is May 29 to June 1 at the Yakima Convention Center. We hope you can join us. McKeown Appointed to Chair National Codes of Conduct Committee Judge M. Margaret McKeown, of the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, has been selected to chair the Committee on Codes of Conduct of the Judicial Conference of the United States, the national policy-making body for federal courts. Judge McKeown was appointed committee chair by Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr., of the Supreme Court of the United States. She will serve a three-year term. The Codes of Conduct Committee offers ethics advice, training, and other information on the application of the Codes of Conduct for federal judges and other judicial branch employees. “I am privileged to accept this appointment from the Chief Justice. All of us who serve on the committee recognize the importance of ethics in assuring public confidence in the judiciary,” Judge McKeown said. Spokane County Report The Spokane County Bar Association (SCBA) was thrilled to have Justice Debra Stephens come “home” and give the keynote address at its annual meeting. Gratitude for service goes to Ed Carroll, outgoing president, and trustees Scott Gambill and Shelley Szambelan, whose terms expired. The SCBA welcomes its new trustees: Ryan Beaudoin, Lynn Mounsey, and Christine Weaver. The SCBA’s Volunteer Lawyer Program (VLP) also recognized past members of the VLP Advisory Committee: Karen Vaché (co-chair) and Judge Paul Bastine (co-chair), Judge Ellen Clark, Judge Linda Tompkins, Judge Gregory Tripp, Pat Connelly, Paul DiNenna Jr., Susan Gasch, Ed Johnson, Holland McBurns, Lin O’Dell, Dale Raugust, Joe Shogan Jr., Tim Szambelan, Tom Tremaine, and Bryan Whitaker. The VLP also introduced the new Advisory Committee: Ed Carroll (chair), Judge Maryann Moreno, Scott Gambill, Laura Garrison, Ed Johnson, Nina Roecks, Connie Shields, Joe Shogan Jr., and Arie Tobler. Recipients of the 2008 VLP awards for pro bono service include: Ewing Anderson, P.S. — Law Firm of the Year; Linda O’Dell — Attorney of the Year; Tim Mangrum — Emeritus Attorney of the Year; James E. Reed and Sean O’Quinn — Bankruptcy/Consumer Law Attorney of the Year; Jim Woodward — Child in Need of Services Attorney of the Year; Michael Cressey — Housing Justice Project Attorney of the Year; Norma Tillotson — Family Law Advice Clinic Attorney of the Year; Mike Gainer — Divorce Advice Clinic Attorney of the Year; and Andrea Poplawski — Status Conference Advice Clinic Attorney of the Year. Kudos to those who give true meaning to “It’s not justice if it’s not equal.” A recent phone-bank effort resulted in Spokane attorneys smashing previous participation and donation records for donating to the Campaign for Equal Justice. Spokane had more donors than King County, whose legal community is 10 times larger. So how did they do? They had 22 callers volunteer over the three days — Matt Andersen, Ryan Beaudoin, Pat Connelly, Pam DeRusha, Doug Dissoway, Bill Etter, Max Etter, Dave Groesbeck, Art Hayashi, Carol Hunter, Steven Jones, Paul Mack, Kammi Mencke, Kelly Padgham, Mike Pontarolo, John T. Rodgers, Louis Rukavina, Shelly Szambelan, Ron Van Wert, Mark Vovos, Bryan Whitaker, and Penny Youde — and a total of 135 specified and unspecified pledges were made, totaling more than $15,000. Well done, Spokane! UW School of Law Meets Challenge With the support of students, faculty, staff, alumni, and friends, the UW School of Law is proud to announce that they have met the challenge by the Washington State Legislature to raise $250,000 by June 30, 2008, for a loan repayment assistance program (LRAP) endowment fund. When added to the $500,000 appropriation from the state, the $250,000 raised by the UW School of Law this year and additional funds raised in previous years bring the total endowment balance to more than $820,000. The Law School was generously supported in its efforts to reach its goal through special gifts by Judy and Mark Maleng from the Norm Maleng Memorial Fund. Support also came from The Buck Law Group, PLLC which matched law school faculty and staff contributions dollar-for-dollar. More than 25 percent of the portion raised by the Law School was student-generated contributions, including gifts from the law student classes of 2006, 2007, and 2008, as well as contributions from the Public Interest Law Association, a UW student organization. “The LRAP increases access to justice for low-income persons by supporting lawyers otherwise deterred from public service by lower salaries and high educational debt,” said Washington State Representative Jeannie Darneille. “I congratulate the Law School on meeting this important fundraising challenge.” Conference Reports by WSBA Executive Director Paula Littlewood A few themes emerged as we listened to the issues and concerns facing other bar associations (in no particular order): 1. National bar exam. As the borders between states disappear more and more for practicing lawyers, there seems to be growing support for the concept of a national bar exam. Lawyers Assistance Program (LAP)/Lawyer Services Statewide Conference: I had the pleasure of attending the 11th Annual LAP/Lawyer Services Statewide Conference in Chelan. The theme of the two-day conference was building relationships by building communication skills. Among the workshops, participants learned skills for communicating more effectively and empathetically with clients, staff, and colleagues. Many of the attendees at this conference serve as peer counselors for other WSBA members, and the sense of community within the group is very strong. These dedicated volunteers are really the heart and soul of the WSBA Lawyer Services Department, and it was an honor to share some time with all of them. ABA President Neukom Heads International Conference William H. Neukom, partner in the Seattle office of K&L Gates and president of the American Bar Association, led a conference highlighting the importance of rule of law to healthy communities on July 2–5 in Vienna, Austria. The World Justice Forum, hosted by the World Justice Project, of which the ABA is a founding member, brought together Supreme Court justices, former European presidents, Nobel laureates, and other world leaders for the conference. The forum included participants from the fields of law, faith, education, engineering, health, and other disciplines from more than 90 countries on five continents. The project is rooted in fundamentals that government officials be accountable under the law; that laws are stable and fair and protect basic rights; that the process by which laws are enforced is fair and efficient; and that access to justice is provided by competent and independent law enforcement officials, lawyers, and judges. “By bringing together members of many professional disciplines,” said Neukom, “we will be able to comprehensively address problems that we face today — poverty, corruption, and bribery in business transactions, among many others. Everyone has a stake, so we want everyone to come together at the same table to create solutions to strengthen the rule of law.” Family Law Section Awards On June 21, as part of its Midyear Conference and Annual Meeting held in Vancouver, Washington, the WSBA Family Law Section presented its annual awards for Attorney of the Year to outgoing Chair Jean A. Cotton of Elma, Jurist of the Year to Clark County Superior Court Judge Edwin Poyfair, and Professional of the Year to AOC Senior Court Program Analyst Janet Skreen. Legal Aid Office Opens in Moses Lake Columbia Legal Services, Northwest Immigrant Rights Project, and Grant Adams Volunteer Legal Services came together to establish a legal aid office in Moses Lake. The grand opening took place in July with Washington State Supreme Court Justice Debra Stephens as speaker. This collaboration is the first staffed legal aid office in Moses Lake since 1979. The joint office will provide a broad range of critical legal services in Grant and Adams counties and will coordinate with other legal aid providers in the region, such as the Northwest Justice Project and TeamChild. The collaboration will address the unmet civil legal needs of vulnerable, low-income community members through legal education, advice, and representation. The Moses Lake office will offer bilingual staff and special expertise in comprehensive legal services and community education for immigrant populations. NJP Office Established in Colville The Colville office will also strengthen NJP’s ongoing effort to provide increased access and representation to tribal communities throughout rural Washington. In addition to providing direct representation to eligible clients, NJP’s Colville office will engage in ongoing community education and will work to identify the most pressing civil legal needs of the Tri-Counties community. Snippets Ater Wynne LLP has been named a recipient of the 2008 Champion of Civil Rights Award by the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP). The award recognizes the pro bono work for the NAACP and the Seattle Branch of the NAACP by Seattle litigators Steve Kennedy and Brenda Molner. “This recognition is well deserved because your efforts extend over many years and have made a substantial contribution to our important work,” states Angela Ciccolo, interim general counsel of the NAACP, in a letter of congratulations. The international law firm of Dorsey & Whitney LLP announces the election of partner Nelson Dong, co-chair of the Asian Law Practice, as a member and director of the National Committee on United State-China Relations (NCUSCR). For over 40 years, the NCUSCR has been the leading private national organization with in-depth knowledge and expertise in United States-China relations. Current Committee members include former U.S. Secretaries of State Madeline Albright and Henry Kissinger, and former U.S. Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara. The Committee is most recognized for its role in establishing “ping-pong diplomacy” in 1972. Mr. Dong is a recognized expert on technology and trade issues with China, including manufacturing, piracy, business agreements, and regulations, plus government policy on sensitive exports. Francois X. Forgette, of Rettig, Osborne, Forgette, LLP, in the Tri-Cities, was elected by the Washington State University Board of Regents to become the chairman of the Board effective for the next academic year. David C. Snell, of Small, Snell, Weiss and Comfort, P.S., was elected vice president and president-elect of the Tacoma/Pierce County Bar Association for 2008–2010. This was announced at the Tacoma Pierce County Bar Association’s 100th Annual Lincoln Day Banquet in February. Melvyn Jay Simburg, a partner with law firm Simburg, Ketter, Sheppard & Purdy, LLP, has been reappointed to serve as editor of the International Intellectual Property Year-in-Review, a section of the Year-in-Review Edition of the International Lawyer, the quarterly publication of the American Bar Association Section of International Law. Along with his appointment as editor, Simburg received a simultaneous appointment as vice president of the Intellectual Property Committee of the Section of International Law of the ABA. The section has more than 20,000 members in 90 countries and is a worldwide leader in the development of policy in the international arena and the education of international law practitioners. Schwabe, Williamson & Wyatt announced that Matthew Bisturis, an associate in the firm’s Vancouver office, was appointed to the board of directors of the Parks Foundation of Clark County. The Parks Foundation of Clark County was established in 1999 to raise funds through public and private partnerships with communities to ensure the health of uncommonly vibrant parks, trails, and recreational programs across Clark County.
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