Administrative Law Section

The Administrative Law Section serves the interests of public and private sector attorneys who work with state and local government agencies, as well as administrative law judges, hearing officers, review officers, and other judicial personnel.

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The Administrative Law Section offers many resources and benefits for members. On this page you will find information about the section, their upcoming events and offerings, as well as information about the section's executive committee.

Upcoming Programs

Application Portal for Executive Committee Elections Open!

Election season is here! If you are interested in applying to serve on your section's executive committee, head over to the Administrative Law Section Election Page to see a list of open positions and how to apply.

If you have any questions, please email sections@wsba.org.

NEW Webinar! What an IDEA: Special Education Administrative Practice in Washington

Register Now!

Developed in partnership with the WSBA Administrative Law Section

Washington State School districts are required to provide "free and appropriate public education" to all students, regardless of disability. There is a significant administrative law practice surrounding grievances that parents and school districts may have over the decisions regarding those services. The presenter is a very experienced Administrative Law Judge specializing in these cases. Judge Beebe will provide the legal context and a guide to this administrative process.

When: May 15, 2025

Time: Noon–1:30 p.m. PDT

Credits: 1.50 Law & Legal Procedure

Register Online Now!

Homan Award Nominations

The Frank Homan Award is presented annually to an individual who has demonstrated an outstanding contribution to the improvement or application of administrative law. If you know someone that has gone above and beyond in the practice of administrative law, consider nominating them for the Homan Award!

Only Administrative Law Section members can nominate, but a nominee does not have to be an attorney or section member.

Have someone to nominate? Fill out this Nomination form and send it to Eileen Keiffer at eileen@madronalaw.com.

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Section Information

The Administrative Law Section is involved in all areas of administrative law of interest to Washington lawyers, including Washington State administrative law, federal administrative law, tribal administrative law, and interstate compact administrative law. We recognize that most attorneys in Washington practice some type of administrative law, even if they never directly apply the Washington Administrative Procedure Act. We have written (and regularly update) an administrative law practice manual (an online publication), and the Public Records Act Deskbook. You can order these publications under the “Resources & Deskbooks” section below. View the free publication, Ensuring Equal Access for People with Disabilities — A Guide for Washington Administrative Proceedings (2011).

The section welcomes anyone as a member who has an interest in administrative law. Upon payment of annual dues of only $25, active members of the WSBA may be voting members of the section and anyone else may be a nonvoting member of the section and receive section benefits. Our members include:

• Assistant attorneys general
• Administrative adjudicators and individuals who represent private parties or agencies in administrative hearings
• Public agency in-house attorneys
• City attorneys (on private contract as well as municipal employees)
• County prosecutors
• Private practitioners who either contract to represent government entities or represent clients subject to government regulation
• Judicial officials

Benefits of Membership

• Reduced tuition at high-quality section CLEs (at least two per year)
• Three newsletters per year, including summaries of recent administrative law state and federal cases, articles and announcements
• Annual meeting with good food and other special events
• Input into legislative and WSBA proposals as the recognized experts in administrative law
• Contributions to projects benefiting access to justice efforts
• Networking and support in the field of administrative law

Law Students Welcome

The Administrative Law Section welcomes law students! If you are enrolled in law school, join the section as a law student member. Meet lawyers who practice administrative law. Help prepare your own career in administrative law.

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Message from the Chair

Greetings to all of you,

As most of you already know, the Section publishes both the Washington Administrative Law Practice Manual and the Public Records Act Deskbook. These publications are recognized by many as essential to the practice of administrative law in their respective areas. There are several authors, and most of them are your colleagues.  One of the reasons that these publications have legal value is that they are routinely updated – or at least they should be... and our volunteer authors have worked diligently over the years to keep them current.

The Section also has a Newsletter – it is our aim to publish this electronic document on a quarterly basis, but we have fallen short of this goal many times – in fact, you haven’t seen a newsletter get published since the Spring of 2023!  And this is something that needs to be addressed... in the past the Newsletter served as mechanism for reporting news and events and articles of general interest to our members. We do have professional assistance in putting it together (a service of the WSBA), but the “content” itself is something that we must deliver ourselves.

But as you are also well aware, WSBA sections are voluntary membership organizations, and our efforts to create & sustain a useful and effective Section for all of us requires that from time to time we make a stronger effort to encourage more “volunteerism” in this area – hence the reason for this email blast to all of you.

I would like to encourage you to think about coming forward to help in a couple of particular areas: 

• We have a current need for someone to chair the Newsletter Committee. The chair works to gather the content for the quarterly publication and works with the WSBA’s contractor to construct the newsletter document. The contractor, Britt Sutherland, is great at managing the construction of the publication, so you don’t have to have the technical skills to put the document into any format.  Your real work is to gather the content together, so many of the tasks will be involved with soliciting content – case notes, reports from events, etc.
• We also would like to recruit someone interested in serving as the chair of the Publications Committee - as well as others who might be interested in assisting in the work of that committee. Our current Chair, Richelle Little, who has also been a member of the Executive Committee (EC) for several years, is leaving and her expertise will be missed. She is willing to assist with the transition and you will also find that the WSBA staff are also very willing to assist in learning what you need to know. You do not have to be on the EC in order to be associated with any of our committees.

Chairs for all Section Committees are invited to attend each of our monthly EC meetings (usually held on the 3rd Monday of each month during the noon hour [a Teams/Zoom format]). In fact, meetings of the EC are open to all our members. Since the meetings are all “virtual,” you will need to let me or one of the EC members know of your interest in attending, and we can send you the meeting invitation.

And, while the two foregoing needs happen to be currently prominent, I would also like to encourage you to consider all of the other ways in which you could possibly serve the Section membership. As you can see from our webpage, we have committees in the areas of CLE, Diversity & Outreach, a nominating committee, the Homan Award committee, the Legislative Committee, as well as a committee that plans our annual retreat (in combination with the CLE that occurs at that retreat). All of those committees can use additional membership to bolster their effectiveness.

All of us are busy – and I know that this is a big ask – but we joined this Section because of our interest in the practice of administrative law in its many forms and I am sure that we all want to make this an organization that better serves our interests.

Thank you for taking the time to consider this request today, and please let me or any of the other EC members know if we can answer any of your questions or otherwise help you to participate to an even greater extent in our Section’s activities. And if you would like to attend our next meeting (September 16th) to learn more about these roles, please let me know.

Take care,
Ed Pesik
Chair, Administrative Law Section

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Administrative Law Section Mentorship Program

The Administrative Law Section Executive Committee is pleased to announce that the application window for the 2024-2025 Mentorship Program is now open. Attorneys who are members of the Admin Law Section are invited to apply as either a mentor or mentee for this 12-month program that requires a commitment of at least 2 hours per month for which you can obtain CLE credit.

The Mentorship Program is a wonderful way to develop lasting relationships one on one and to share your knowledge base through an established curriculum that can be modified to fit you and your assigned partner's specific goals. We encourage mentors and mentees to apply.

Please complete the application attached to the flyer linked below and return it to alexis@dynamiclawgroup.com.

The deadline to apply is Oct. 15, 2024. The program will commence on Nov. 1.

Administrative Law Section Mentorship Program Flyer and Application

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State of Washington Job Opportunities

Administrative Appeals Judge

The Environmental and Land Use Hearings Office (ELUHO) is accepting applications for an Administrative Appeals Judge position. This is a unique opportunity to be a judge for Washington State’s quasi-judicial environmental boards.  With your experience you will help the Pollution Control Hearings Board and Shorelines Hearings Board issue decisions on important environmental matters impacting Washington’s natural resources, citizens, communities, and economies.

• A highly diverse case portfolio of environmental legal issues
• Cutting edge cases with legal issues of first impression
• Opportunity to work directly with top environmental lawyers across the state and nation
• Mentorship by experienced environmental attorneys
• Opportunity to gain experience as an impartial mediator and judge
• Camaraderie in a supportive team atmosphere
• Training and development opportunities
• Comprehensive compensation packages, including benefits and paid leave
  
• The fulfillment of public service
• A healthy work-life balance

Find additional information and how to apply here: Administrative Appeals Judge / Exempt | Job Details tab

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CLE Recordings

Webinar: Hot Topic: The Corporate Transparency Act

Faculty will discuss preparing for the new beneficial ownership reporting requirements of the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) under the Corporate Transparency Act which become effective on Jan. 1, 2024, and apply to all privately held US companies.

Faculty:
Joshua Bam, Gravis Law, PLLC, Richland, WA

Watch the Video (one hour)

This video is not accredited for CLE credit and is available for viewing for up to one year after the live event date (Jan. 12, 2024).

Webinar: Teacher Discrimination: Strict Liability

This seminar will provide an overview of strict liability of school districts under the WLAD for discriminatory conduct by teachers.

Faculty:
Joseph Gehrke, Seattle Litigation Group, Seattle, WA

Watch the Video (one hour)

This video is not accredited for CLE credit and is available for viewing for up to one year after the live event date (March 27, 2025).

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The Frank Homan Award

Congratulations to Johnette Sullivan, our 2023 Homan Award recipient!

The Frank Homan Award is presented annually to an individual who has demonstrated an outstanding contribution to the improvement or application of administrative law.

Only Administrative Law Section members can nominate, but a nominee does not have to be an attorney or a section member.

The award is named for Frank Homan, a dedicated teacher and mentor who was passionate about improving the law. After receiving his law degree from Cleveland State University of Law in 1965, he began practicing in Washington in 1968, serving as an Employment Security Department hearings examiner from 1970 to 1974 and as a senior administrative law judge at the Office of Administrative Hearings from 1975 to 1993. He continued to serve as an ALJ pro tem after his retirement in 1993. He was an early proponent for the creation of a central hearings panel, and played an important role in the creation of the Office of Administrative Hearings (RCW 34.12).

Frank was generous with his time and expertise and is well-remembered for his sense of humor, his command of the English language, and his writing style . including his knowledge of legal terminology and history. His commitment to promoting justice for all and the practice of administrative law is the inspiration for the award that bears his name.

Prior Recipients

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Section Newsletter

Archived issues are available to section members upon request. To request an issue, please email sections@wsba.org.

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Resources & Deskbooks

Ensuring Equal Access for People with Disabilities — A Guide for Washington Administrative Proceedings

Public Records Act Deskbook (order online)

Washington Administrative Law Practice Manual (eBook) (order online)

Administrative Hearing Procedure Index

Washington state agencies, boards and commissions

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Executive Committee

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Committee Chairs

Please contact subcommittee members for details on their upcoming meeting dates and locations.

For general questions, please email inquiries to sections@wsba.org. To get involved and learn more about the Administrative Law Section, please contact Section Chair Susan Dumph.

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