Juvenile Law Section

The Juvenile Law Section provides an opportunity for legal professionals who work with juveniles and their families in child welfare and juvenile justice to meet together and work collaboratively on issues facing their clients. Areas of legal practice the section addresses include child welfare, juvenile justice, status offenses, immigration as it relates to children and families, truancy, at-risk youth and children in need of services proceedings, as well as a variety of civil legal needs of youth. The Section welcomes advocates from all interested disciplines and a variety of fields of law, including juvenile justice, child welfare, and those who represent youth in civil legal practice.

The Section provides benefits to members by sponsoring an annual CLE focusing on current developments in the area of juvenile law. The Section also acts as an agent of change to improve the law and practice related to civil and criminal matters involving children and youth in Washington state. 

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Shape Your Section for the Future: Apply Today to Become a Section Leader

Applications open on March 14, 2022, and close at 5 p.m. May 4, 2022.

The following section executive committee positions are open for applications. All terms begin Oct. 1, 2022.

• Co-Chair (two positions open): one-year position beginning Oct. 1, 2022, and ending Sept. 30, 2023.
• Secretary/Treasurer: partial-year term ending Sept. 30, 2022.
• Secretary/Treasurer: one-year position beginning Oct. 1, 2022, and ending Sept. 30, 2023.
• Legislative Committee Chair: one-year position beginning Oct. 1, 2022, and ending Sept. 30, 2023.
• CLE/Outreach Coordinator: partial-year term ending Sept. 30, 2022.
• CLE/Outreach Coordinator: one-year position beginning Oct. 1, 2022, and ending Sept. 30, 2023.
• Dependency & Child Welfare Committee Co-Chair (two positions open): one-year position beginning Oct. 1, 2022, and ending Sept. 30, 2023.
• Civil Legal Needs Committee Chair: partial-year term ending Sept. 30, 2022.
• Civil Legal Needs Committee Co-Chair (two positions open): one-year position beginning Oct. 1, 2022, and ending Sept. 30, 2023.
• Juvenile Justice Committee Co-Chair (two positions open): one-year position beginning Oct. 1, 2022, and ending Sept. 30, 2023.
• At-Large Member (two positions open): one-year position beginning Oct. 1, 2022, and ending Sept. 30, 2023.

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 co-chairs shall solicit nominations from the Section membership and appoint a nominating committee of not less than three members of the Section, at least one of whom shall not be a current member of the executive committee. The nominating committee shall verify qualifications of nominees and solicit additional nominations when appropriate. All applicants will apply through an electronic application process administered by the Bar. In selecting its nominees, it shall be the responsibility of the nominating committee to bear in mind the need for broad representation on the executive committee, based on geography, diversity of practice, special expertise, and other factors of diversity. It shall be the responsibility of the nominating committee to contact each member nominated and verify her or his willingness to accept the nomination, and to generally describe the commitment involved in the position to the nominee. No person shall be nominated to succeed oneself to serve more than three full terms consecutively for co-chair or secretary/treasurer. All other At-Large positions will be one-year terms, with the ability to be re-elected for a second term in the same position. The executive committee will approve a list of nominees for each open position.

Alternate Nomination Process

Nothing prevents a Section member from self-nominating. The executive committee will also have an alternative process to allow for nominations to occur outside the nominating committee process. The executive committee will approve a list of nominees for each open position.

Elections Process

All voting members of the section will receive an electronic ballot sent to their email in June 2022. 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

The WSBA Juvenile Law Executive Committee generally conducts meetings by videoconference from noon to 1 p.m. on the 3rd Friday of each month. See event calendar listing for log-in  information. Please contact subcommittee members for details on their upcoming meeting dates and locations.

To join the section list serve and for general section questions, please send your email address and Bar number to sections@wsba.org. For more information and to get involved with the section, contact the section Co-Chair Michael Addams .