The Washington State Bar Association seeks members of the public to serve on three boards and one council for terms beginning October 1, 2015. Serving on a WSBA board or council is an excellent opportunity to get an insider’s view on how the practice of law is regulated in Washington State. Applications are being accepted through May 1.

This year the WSBA will appoint (or, in some cases, recommend to the state Supreme Court) Community Representatives to the following boards:  

·         Character and Fitness Board

The Character and Fitness Board deals with matters of character and fitness bearing on qualifications of applicants for admission to practice law in Washington. The Board conducts hearings on the admission of any applicant referred to it for hearing, considers petitions for reinstatement after disbarment, and makes recommendations to the Board of Governors and Supreme Court regarding admission and reinstatement. Hearings generally are held every month. Appointment is for a three-year term.

·         Council on Public Defense

The Council on Public Defense addresses concerns about the quality of indigent defense services in Washington State. Appointment is for a two-year term.

·         Lawyers' Fund for Client Protection Board

The Lawyers’ Fund for Client Protection Board compensates clients who have suffered a direct financial loss caused by the dishonest conduct of a lawyer in connection with the practice of law. The Fund is funded by an annual assessment of members of the WSBA by order of the Washington State Supreme Court. Appointment is for a three-year term.

·         Limited License Legal Technician Board 

The Limited License Legal Technician Board authorizes non-attorneys who meet certain educational requirements to advise and assist clients on specific areas of law. Licensing of LLLTs will begin soon. Appointment is for a three-year term.

If you would like to be considered for any of these openings, please complete the application by following the instructions posted here: http://tinyurl.com/WSBACommMem. Previous applicants should re-apply as applications expire after one year.

For further information about each board, contact the staff liaison listed on the web page linked to above. If you have questions about the application process, email barleaders@wsba.org or call Pam Inglesby at 206-727-8226.

 Volunteer Coordinator needed for innovative legal clinic to recruit and schedule lawyer volunteers.  The Reach Enumclaw legal clinic needs a lawyer, law student, or legal staff for no more than 2  hours per month who can work from office or home to recruit and schedule lawyer volunteers for the computer (Skype) assisted legal clinic. Clients in South King County go to the Enumclaw Library to confer with licensed attorneys by videoconference (SKYPE) or phone.   The attorneys can be at the physical location of their choice.  The clinic is held twice a month for two hours. The Clinic is supported by The King County Library System, Seattle University Law School Access to Justice Institute, Plateau Outreach Ministries, and the Cardozo Society. Lawyer volunteers are also needed for client counseling. Contact Barbara Frost, 206 954 3042 or bsfrost@gmail.com

 How will your women’s bar celebrate Law Day, May 1? This year’s Law Day theme is “Magna Carta: Icon of Liberty.” The ABA Division for Public Education has gathered resources to help make the Magna Carta accessible to everyone: http://www.americanbar.org/groups/public_education/initiatives_awards/lawday_2015.html  Free Law Day Toolkits for teachers are available from the site.

Help Pierce County CASA Get the Word Out!

Please join us from 6 to 8 p.m. on the evening of Thursday, April 16 for an exciting evening at the LeMay Car Museum. Our annual CASA “Get the Word Out” events are designed to raise community awareness about CASA and the work we do, and to ultimately recruit more CASA volunteers to be advocates for the most vulnerable young members of our community.

If you would like an invitation, please call Pierce County CASA at 253.798.7955

 Call for UW Women Leaders Award Nominations

The University of Washington Women Leaders are seeking nominations for distinguished women in our legal community for the following awards:

·        Outstanding Elected or Appointed Official,

·        Outstanding UW Law Alumni,

·        Lifetime Achievement, and

·        Outstanding Achievement by a Young Lawyer.

Please follow the links for more details about each award and to submit your nominations. Nominations will be accepted through April 6, 2015.

HELP TURN COURTROOMS INTO CLASSROOMS

2015 MOCK TRIAL STATE CHAMPIONSHIPS

March 27-29 in Olympia
VOLUNTEER TODAY and help foster the development of the next generation of legal professionals and civic leaders.

This year's event will take place Friday and Saturday, March 27-28 at the Thurston County Courthouse in Olympia, with the Awards Breakfast and Championship Round being held on Sunday, March 29.

For more information on the Mock Trial program visit us online.

Please help us ensure all young people have access to high quality civic education programs. Share this opportunity with your friends and colleagues and DONATE TODAY!

Creating solutions to the language proficiency barriers in state courts.   

12 - 1:30 pm

Davis Wright Tremaine LLE, 1201 Third Ave

Free CLE Credit and Beverages will be provided

RSVP _ mailto:judicialdiversity@lawyerscommittee.org

March--Women's History Month--is a great time to think about what you are doing as an association both to create the kind of history you will be proud of decades from now and to preserve that history in an accessible and meaningful way. The steps you take need not be as ambitious as Washington Women Lawyers' Legacy Project, which received the NCWBA's 2013 Outstanding Member Program Award, but even the smallest efforts will bring lasting rewards. Get inspired by the work of other women's bar associations by taking a look at our history resources page. 

ABA's Woman Advocate Committee's Work/Life Management Subcommittee's Book Project - Request for Submissions

The Work/Life Management Sub-Committee invites you to participate in its current book project designed to encourage, teach and provide insights to fellow attorneys about successfully managing their lives and careers, while climbing the ladder to success and ascending to executive roles.  The message of this publication seeks to be both positive and uplifting.  It is a compilation of stories from women like you, who have achieved success, while juggling career advancement and the curveballs of life, doing so with strength, grace and the conviction to succeed.   The book will offer advice on all aspects of career development while encouraging lawyers to remain true to their personal aspirations. 

Others can learn from you! We can learn from each other.  Your perspective, triumphs, struggles, and perhaps even tips, will help make this book a wonderful success. 

Statistics show and the media reports that numerous women still leave the legal profession or take a different route before making partner and reaching other pinnacles of success in the legal world; this book is about the stories of those who have remained in the profession and who have successfully managed to juggle the many demands, and overcome the challenges required to climb the ladder of success.  Please share what you have to offer from your personal journey and motivate others to remain in the profession for the long haul.   We are seeking essays from 1500 – 3000 words long.  (Very manageable!)  The book outline and sample essays are available on request.

The essays will comprise stories of women who love their jobs, whose eyes light up when they talk about the joy of the practice of law and the joy of their personal lives, and who understand that telling their stories is important in order to encourage both their colleagues and those lawyers who are newer to the practice of law to hang in there in order to make their lives work for themselves.

We have discovered that these stories are really the stories of the professional workforce at large in the 21st century.  It is our deepest hope that this collection of powerful, encouraging, and helpful accounts of the profession will encourage lawyers everywhere, and our counterparts in other professions, to remain in the workforce and advance with their careers, deliberately.  Although managing career advancement and life is not exclusive to women, this book will focus on the stories of successful and accomplished women of all ages and levels of practice who have managed these issues, have managed them well, and successfully developed (or are in the process of developing) amazing careers along the way.   Please contact me with any questions.                                                                                                

Very truly yours,

The Members of the ABA Woman Advocate Committee                                                         

Work/Life Management Sub-Committee

Teresa M. Beck, Partner
tbeck@lgclawoffice.com

RSVP to be a volunteer at the UW Law Academy!

You decide your time commitment and we guarantee your volunteer service will be fun!

11am-Extreme Advocacy: How to develop an Effective Closing Argument

Noon hour-Lunch & Learn (Student/Professionals Mixer—speed networking)

1:00 pm– Small Group Workshops (coach students for oral arguments)

In celebration of the 25th Anniversary of the MLK FAME Community Youth & Law Forum, the UW Law Academy invites volunteer attorneys, judges, and law students to share their stories during lunch with our invited high school students from diverse backgrounds, help coach students during the afternoon small group sessions, and/or join us for the day to share in the fun! Consider setting up a table display during lunch and be a coach for oral arguments! (High school students will be at the law school from 10:30 am-3:00 pm).

If you are unable to attend (or even if you are attending!), consider being a sponsor to help defray the cost of the students’ attendance.

Purple & Gold Level (“Most awesome!”):  $201-$300 or more!

Silver Level (“Awesome like the ‘80s!”): $101-$200

Bronze Level (“We Rock!”): up to $100

“We Rock too!”: any kind of gift swag for the student prize giveaways and/or any number of volunteers!!

Sponsored by the UW School of Law Office of Admissions and the Center for Professional & Leadership Development, WA State Minority & Justice Commission, MLK Fame Youth & Law Forum, UW OMA/D-CAMP, and the Law School Admissions Council (DiscoverLaw.org).