Connect with Peers and Practitioners through WSBA's 29 Sections
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Sections members become part of active professional communities and gain access to an array of exclusive section member benefits. Over 10,000 WSBA members currently belong to one or more of the WSBA’s 29 sections. The section membership year begins Jan. 1.
Member Benefits
In the past year, WSBA Sections have sponsored approximately 70 CLE seminars and hosted multiple professional networking events around the state. Various sections offer a plethora of member benefits, including, but not limited to:
- List serve communities
- Newsletters, reports, deskbooks, and sourcebooks
- Free and discounted CLEs
- Opportunities to engage in the Washington state legislative process
...and more! Join a Section Today!
Interested in Section Leadership?
Each section is led by a group of volunteers who are elected to serve on the executive committee. Many find leading a section to be a rewarding experience because of the leadership growth, professional development, firsthand experience with the legislative process, and collegiality it offers. Executive committee discussions are productive and challenging, offering a unique opportunity to work with other legal professionals in a goal-oriented setting that benefits WSBA members and the greater legal community.
Executive committee terms begin Oct. 1, 2022, and sections accept applications for the following year in early spring. Consider applying to become a section leader!
For general sections questions, send an email with your Bar number to sections@wsba.org or call 800-945-9722.
WSBA Sections
Solo and Small Practice Section
The Solo and Small Practice Section serves as a clearinghouse for qualified law practice management and technology information for solo and small practice attorneys to support them in ethically conducting a profitable and satisfying business. The Section provides education for its members in areas of common interest and provides opportunities for members to become better acquainted with other members.
The Section provides benefits to members through frequent networking opportunities and continuing legal and other education to members engaged in solo and small firm practices, including the annual Solo and Small Firm Conference. The Section spends time reviewing pending legislation and developing proposed statutory enactments to improve and to facilitate the administration of justice. Other benefits include an active list serve and online resources.
Annual Report | Budget | Bylaws | Year in Review | Members Only | Background
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Shape Your Section for the Future: Apply Today to Become a Section Leader
Application Deadline is 5 p.m. April 17, 2023.
The following section executive committee positions are open for applications. Regular terms begin Oct. 1, 2023, with remainder term starting upon election.
- At-Large Member (one position open): remainder of current term ending Sept. 30, 2024.
- At-Large Member (three positions open): two-year position beginning Oct. 1, 2023, and ending Sept. 30, 2025.
To learn more about roles and expectations for serving on the section executive committee, review this volunteer position description, which provides a general overview of section executive committee positions—these may differ for each section.
Eligibility Requirements: Applicants must be a current section member and should be eligible to vote in accordance with the section’s bylaws.
Application Process: Go to the myWSBA portal to complete the online application for open executive committee positions. The Section has requested that each applicant submit a resume and statement of interest with your application. These documents can be uploaded with your online application (pdf format only). Please be advised that application materials may be posted on this website for public viewing.
Note: If you are applying for more than one position on this or multiple sections’ committees, you must complete and submit all applications at the same time, as you will not be allowed back into the portal at a later time. Please make sure you are completing the applications within the application window for all of the relevant sections.
Nomination Process: The Chair shall appoint a nominating committee each year consisting of no less than three (3) Section Members, at least one (1) whom shall not be a current member of the Executive Committee. The nominating committee shall publish to the Membership a call for candidates identifying the number of expiring (i.e., open) positions on the Executive Committee and shall recruit candidates to run for open positions. All applicants will apply through an electronic process administered by the Bar.
Alternate Nomination Process: The executive committee will also have an alternative process to allow for nominations to occur outside of the nominating committee process. Any Section Member may nominate him or herself to fill an open position on the Executive Committee and any EC Member may nominate a candidate; provided that, such candidate has expressed their willingness to serve.
Elections Process: All voting members of the section will receive an electronic ballot sent to their email in June 2023. Visit this webpage in early June for election updates and voting instructions.
Questions?
For more information about the Section, its executive committee roles, and elections process, please review the Section’s bylaws. You may also contact any member of the current Section Executive Committee or email sections@wsba.org.
Executive Committee Suggestion Box
The Executive Committee (EC) of the WSBA Solo & Small Practice Section welcomes your input regarding such matters as the Section web page, members-only area, webinar topics, and Section activities. Please send suggestions to wsbasolo@gmail.com. This email address is monitored on a weekly basis; non-time-sensitive feedback will be shared with the EC at the next scheduled EC meeting.
Responding to Pandemic
Results of Member Survey: Impact of Pandemic on WSBA Members | COVID-19 Law Office Reopening Guide, produced by the WSBA Coronavirus Response Task Force |
Recommended Resources Forum:
Suggestions from Members
We invite section members to share information about resources and recommendations that may be of interest to other solo and small practice attorneys. Please send your suggestions to wsbasolo@gmail.com and they will be posted to an unmonitored Forum page within the Members-Only Area of the Section website. To review such postings, please access the Members-Only area and click on the category Recommended Resources Forum – Suggestions from Members. Contributions to the Forum will be posted without author attribution.
Access Members-Only Area
To access the Members-Only Area, login with username SSP@wsba.org (not an active email address), type in the password you received with your section sign up/renewal, and then click continue.
If you encounter a screen with a message such as "Someone is already using the username and password...," just click on “Log the other user off and enter” and retry logging in. Email sections@wsba.org if the problem persists.
Resources in the members-only area include:
- CLE Chapters and Articles
- Management Tools, Tips, and Forms
- Online Resources
- The Blogroll
Whom We Serve
Solo and small practice firms comprise more than 60% of practicing lawyers in Washington. Small firm practitioners must handle their finances, marketing, business decisions and growth without the help of law firm administrators, comptrollers, marketing personnel and executive directors.
The Solo and Small Practice Section of the Washington State Bar Association offers the resources to help manage these firms to maximum efficiency and profitability.
Who Serves You
The Section’s Executive Committee is made up of elected solo and small practice attorneys. They understand what you’re dealing with because they’re facing many of those same issues in their own practices. See the Section background page for member bios and photos.
The Executive Committee enjoys input from advisors, including consultants to the legal industry, providing added perspective on solutions to solo and small practice challenges.
Want to join us? Find out more about serving on the executive committee.
Member Benefits
Did you know there are several important member benefits and tools that come with WSBA membership including Practice Management Assistance, professional liability insurance, Casemaker, and Fastcase? Membership in the Section can put you in touch with resources that you can't find anywhere else. It's the next best thing to having your own law practice management consultant!
When you join the Section, you will enjoy full access to:
- List serve discussions where you can post questions for Section members and receive help with your most challenging issues. This vibrant list serve is a great tool for communicating with other Section
members to pose questions, seek recommendations, and share information.
(Please click on "List serve discussions" to reach the List Serve Guidelines.)
- Links on our Member-Only pages to numerous helpful resources, including podcasts, past webinars, articles, CLE Chapters, videos, law practice management tips, and forms. .
- Section-sponsored webinars with CLE credit throughout the year focused on solo and small practice issues and interests.
- Discounted tuition for the annual WSBA Solo and Small Firm Conference.
- Networking opportunities with other solo and small firm practitioners.
Starting in fall 2018, the bar began offering members a new resource when shopping for health insurance. Members can compare and purchase products from leading insurance providers through a private online exchange. For more information, please visit Health Insurance Exchange or contact HealthExchange@wsba.org.
Learn more about WSBA Member Benefits.
Section Impact
"You all have been a great resource for me, and I'd like to say THANK YOU. I am eternally grateful for any nuggets of direction and advice... You all take the time to write out beautiful explanations that I read word for word and cherish. Your time is valuable and I appreciate it."
Venu N. Sareen, Attorney at Law
From list serve post, May 7, 2015
Schedule of Upcoming Section Executive Committee Meetings
2022 Executive Committee (EC) Meetings currently are scheduled to take place noon to 2 p.m. via Zoom unless otherwise noted below. To join the 2022 Zoom Meetings please use:
Or call-in at 253-215-8782; Meeting ID: 751 741 0489.
Currently scheduled EC Meetings include:
- Wednesday, Dec. 14, noon
- Saturday, Jan. 28, 2023: Executive Committee Retreat; start time 10 a.m.
Executive Committee
Chair: Jordan Couch (2022-2023) Chair-Elect: Darcel Lobo (2022-2023) Treasurer: D. Bruce Gardiner (2022-2023) Secretary: Shashi Vijay (2022-2023) Immediate Past Chair: Shashi Vijay (2022-2023) Board of Governors Liaison*: Jordan Couch (2022-2023) and Kari Petrasek (2022-2023) Young Lawyer Liaison*: Emily Albrecht (2022-2024) PMA (Practice Management Adviser) Liaison to the Executive Committee*: Margeaux Green | At-large Members: Adviser Members* *Nonvoting member |
Please contact committee member for details on their upcoming meeting dates and locations.
For general questions, or to switch your list serve settings to a daily digest, please email inquiries to sections@wsba.org. To get involved and learn more about the Solo and Small Practice Section, please contact the Section Chair Jordan Couch. For more information about the Executive Committee members, check out their biographies.
