[WSBAPT] Fwd: WSBA Governor Swegle Update - Politicians and insiders stealing the WSBA from its Members....
J A Cyphers
jacyphers at gmail.com
Mon Mar 18 09:57:09 PDT 2019
---------- Forwarded message ---------
From: Paul S <pswegle at gmail.com>
Date: Mon, Mar 18, 2019 at 9:41 AM
Subject: WSBA Governor Swegle Update - Politicians and insiders stealing
the WSBA from its Members....
To:
Views of Paul Swegle, WSBA Governor, Dist. 7N
Feel free to share this email and its 3 attachments.
If you want on my email list, let me know at pswegle at gmail.com
Hello fellow Members of the WSBA,
*This update covers three historically momentous topics: *
- The *"Barjacking of 2019"* - 100% Court control over WSBA and no more
Member representation
- BOG Elections in Districts 9 and 10 (help us elect two more reformers!)
- Political efforts to reverse the Board's termination of Executive
Director Paula Littlewood
*The Barjacking of 2019*
Finish reading and then please click HERE
<https://app.leg.wa.gov/billsummary?BillNumber=1788&Year=2019&Initiative=false>
immediately.
Use the *"Comment on this bill"* link to *tell every Senator* to *VOTE NO*
on ESHB 1788.
Please also comment directly to the Chair and other members of the WA
Senate Law and Justice Committee
<http://leg.wa.gov/Senate/Committees/LAW/Pages/MembersStaff.aspx>.
There are four PDFs (low res.) attached to this email:
- Engrossed Substitute House Bill 1788 ("ESHB 1788")
- Draft written testimony to be given by me and 3 other governors before
the WA Senate Judiciary Committee Tues (tomorrow) morning
- My letter to the Court opposing the legislation, dated March 13, 2019
- Letter from the Intellectual Property Section dated March 18, 2019
opposing ESHB 1788
*ESHB 1788
<https://app.leg.wa.gov/billsummary?BillNumber=1788&Year=2019&Initiative=false>
will:*
- Repeal the State Bar Act
<https://app.leg.wa.gov/RCW/default.aspx?cite=2.48.010>
- Eliminate the Board of Governors and all WSBA Member representation
within the WSBA
- Put the entire WSBA under the total control of the Washington Supreme
Court
- Jeopardize the public and the Members
*Who supports ESHB 1788
<https://app.leg.wa.gov/billsummary?BillNumber=1788&Year=2019&Initiative=false>??*
- WSBA President Bill Pickett (KUOW News Story Quoting Bill Pickett in
support of legislation
<https://www.kuow.org/stories/state-legislature-could-dissolve-struggling-bar-association>
)
- Governor Athan Papailiou (At Large)
- Governor Chris Meserve (Dist 10)
The *Barjacking of 2019, *ESHB 1788, might actually constitute an
"unconstitutional taking" given that the WSBA is a statutorily created,
wholly-Member-supported association. Dissolving the association may also
trigger a legal obligation to divide the assets among the Members. The
potential conversion of approximately $1.2 million of Section final
reserves is also concerning.
These issues potentially create federal causes of action in favor of the
Members.
ESHB 1788 is an ill-conceived legislative overreach that needs to be
stopped for all of the reasons discussed below and in the attached
documents.
*On March 14, the Board received this disappointing email from Chief
Justice Fairhurst:*
*"Today, the court voted on two motions related ESHB 1788 as amended by
Sen. Pedersen. *
*The first motion was to ask for the bill to be withdrawn and if it wasn’t
withdrawn to oppose it. The motion failed on a vote of 4 to 5. (JJs.
Stephens, González, Gordon McCloud and Yu voting in favor; CJ Fairhurst and
JJs. Johnson, Madsen, Owens and Wiggins voting against.)*
*A second motion was to take no position on the bill and to indicate that
we affirmatively agree with the effective date. The motion passed on a
vote of 5 to 4 (CJ Fairhurst, and JJ. Johnson, Madsen, Owens and Stephens
voting in favor; JJ. Wiggins, González, Gordon McCloud and Yu voting
against).*
*Thanks. Mary*
*Mary E. Fairhurst*
*Chief Justice"*
The WA Senate will soon vote on ESHB 1788
<https://app.leg.wa.gov/billsummary?BillNumber=1788&Year=2019&Initiative=false>
.
ESHB passed the House almost unanimously on March 7, due in large part to
significant and confusing involvement by the Administrative Office of the
Courts <https://www.courts.wa.gov/appellate_trial_courts/aocwho/>, and also
because of apparently misunderstood statements by Chief Justice Fairhurst.
*What is the Board of Governors Doing?*
- March 8 - the Board of Governors met with the Court and many of us
expressed strong opposition to the legislation.
- March 10 - I wrote the attached letter to the Court explaining why the
legislation should be opposed.
- March 12 - the Board of Governors voted 10 - 2 to oppose the
legislation.
- Individual Governors are reaching out to Members across the state and
across the country.
- March 13 - I sent the email below to all 5,500 Members in District 7N,
explaining my reasons for opposing the legislation.
- March 15 - the Board of Governors appointed 4 of us to testify before
the Senate Law and Justice Committee
<http://leg.wa.gov/Senate/Committees/LAW/Pages/MembersStaff.aspx>, March
19 at 10 a.m.
<http://leg.wa.gov/Senate/Committees/Documents/Schedules/2019/DRAFT%202019%20Week%2010%20Schedule%20-%20Regular%20Session.pdf>
- View our testimony Tuesday morning at this link -
www.tvw.org/watch/?eventID=2019031204
- March 18 - Governors are reaching out to Members and bar associations
across the state to raise awareness and to ask that those bar associations
vote to stand with the WSBA Board of Governors in opposition to ESHB 1788.
See my cut-and-pasted email below to Dist 7N and the attached docs for more
on why the legislation needs to be defeated.
Members, please help by:
- commenting in opposition to your senators
<https://app.leg.wa.gov/pbc/bill//1788> and to the Senate Law and
Justice Committee
<http://leg.wa.gov/Senate/Committees/LAW/Pages/MembersStaff.aspx>
- spreading the word to other Members though Sections, list serves, bar
associations and personal calls and emails
- encouraging other bar associations and Sections to take a position
opposing ESHB 1788
*BOG Elections*
Are you for these things?
- balanced, representational governance
- improved leadership
- greater transparency
- concern and respect for Member interests
- reducing unnecessary spending
If so, you're a WSBA reformer.
If you're in District 9 or 10, please vote for and/or spread the word to
support these two BOG candidates.
*Bryn Peterson - District 9*
*Vicki Parker - District 10*
Ballots went out by email on Friday, March 15 at 5 p.m.
*Click HERE
<https://www.wsba.org/about-wsba/who-we-are/board-elections/meet-the-candidates>
to see all the candidates*
Here's a handy "district finder" <https://app.leg.wa.gov/districtfinder/>
Bryn and Vicki are the two candidates who best understand the issues and
who will fight for the WSBA's future.
*Attempts to Reverse Executive Director Termination*
As many of you know, the Board of Governors voted twice in recent weeks to
terminate Executive Director Paula Littlewood. Both times the vote was 9 to
4 in favor of termination. Her last day in office will be March 31, 2019.
See my email below for more.
There have been troubling attempts to reverse the Board of Governor's
decision.
Outgoing Executive Director Littlewood has at least twice attempted to
persuade the Court reverse the Board of Governors and reinstate her,
including a letter she has not provided to the Board. On March 1, the Court
advised the Board of Governors it would not intervene to reverse the
termination, despite receiving a written request from Ms. Littlewood to do
so.
Ms. Littlewood also refuses to respond to my direct request for information
as to whether she has had any communications with any Justices regarding
possible employment with any Court-created entity that might replace all or
part of the WSBA should ESHB 1788 pass.
What kind of executive would actively seek to challenge or undermine the
will of his or her duly elected board? Especially a board that voted *twice*
to terminate by a 9 to 4 margin?
This is the kind of autocratic, heavy handed, highly political behavior
that reform of the WSBA is intended to eliminate - a culture of illusory
oversight, false transparency, limited accountability and self-serving
political intrigue.
Despite the Court's official position not overturning the Board, on March
15, Justices Madsen, Johnson and Wiggins sent a letter on Justice Madsen's
letterhead seeking to pressure the Board of Governors into reinstating
Paula Littlewood. Suggesting that the Board of Governors acted in error,
these Justices wrote:
*"We are... urging this board to rescind its unwise decision to terminate
Paula Littlewood as the executive director."*
It is unfortunate to see allegations leveled against thoughtful,
hardworking, intelligent professionals performing their *volunteer *governance
duties in good faith. For the sake of transparency, I think it would have
been appropriate for Justice Madsen to acknowledge her long-standing
personal friendship with Paula Littlewood, even if she was not willing to
recuse herself in voting on an employment matter involving Ms. Littlewood.
The WSBA's recently appointed General Counsel Julie Shankland, *who reports
directly to Ms. Littlewood*, also sent a letter to the Court strongly
suggesting that the Board's decision was somehow improper and urging the
Court to reverse the Board. Ms. Shankland has steadfastly refused to recuse
or excuse herself regarding any matters involving her boss, which I find
highly unusual under the conflicts rules.
Opponents of the decision to terminate Ms. Littlewood have attacked and
discredited the Board's stated justification to “go in a new direction” as
lacking in transparency or legitimacy and they have raised spurious
concerns that the Board intends to take the WSBA in some undisclosed and
potentially deleterious "new direction."
The phrase, "go in a new direction," as used by members of the Board of
Governors in connection with the termination, simply means going forward
with a different executive director. No member of the Board has suggested
that the WSBA's mission, programs, ancillary boards or directives from the
Court will be the subject of any new direction or sweeping changes. To the
contrary I and my fellow reform-oriented governors are fully committed to
the WSBA's core missions, values and mandates.
Another false allegation that has been raised regarding Ms. Littlewood's
termination is "sexism." The patent falsity of this claim is belied by the
fact that the motion to terminate was made and seconded by female members
of the Board and supported by a third female member of the Board. Only one
female governor did not vote to terminate Ms. Littlewood.
In summary, the Board of Governors acted properly and within the scope of
its responsibilities and authority in deciding to replace Executive
Director Littlewood after *15 years* of service. Nine out of fourteen is a
strong board majority to back such a major decision. Attacking that
decision is anti-democratic, anti-good governance and anti-rule of law.
The ongoing attacks and challenges directed at the Board majority are
similar to the anti-democratic, anti-good governance, conflicted and opaque
practices that reform-oriented governors have been working to correct at
the WSBA for several years. I and other governors have struggled at great
personal cost against highly concentrated and politically supported power
that has eroded (i) balanced governance, (ii) Board independence and
authority, and (iii) the Members' ability to influence policy.
*Power, Conflicts of Interest, and Resistance to Reform*
Examples of the influence of undisclosed conflicts of interest over WSBA
governance do not appear in print often. When they do, you have to pay
close attention to see them. One example appeared in the 2014 "Governance
Task Force Report
<https://www.wsba.org/docs/default-source/about-wsba/governance/governance-task-force/wsba-governance-task-force-report-and-recommendations---final.pdf?sfvrsn=23163ef1_8>"
issued by a task force chaired by Stephen Crossland (Ms. Littlewood's
life-partner), later chaired by appointed governor Anthony Gipe.
The report recommended at page 27:
*"The dismissal of the WSBA Executive Director or the Chief Disciplinary
Counsel should be subject to veto by the Supreme Court." *
At that time, Justice Madsen was the Chief Justice, and she was also the
Court's primary liaison with the WSBA.
If you look closely, you might see conflicts of interest in that
recommendation by the task force.
How did we get here?
While stories of the WSBA's weakened governance have circulated for years,
the creation of the three At Large governor positions in violation of the State
Bar Act <https://app.leg.wa.gov/RCW/default.aspx?cite=2.48.010> provided
early evidence that balanced, representational governance was being
undermined.
The original three At Large governor positions were *ostensibly*
established for the laudable and shared goal of promoting diversity. They
were also undoubtedly part of an orchestrated effort to undermine the
democratic and representational foundations of the WSBA from the inside. As
could have been predicted, *appointed *governors Anthony Gipe, Robyn Haynes
<http://www.spokesman.com/stories/2018/oct/16/former-president-of-washington-state-bar-associati/>
and Athan Papailiou (of Pacifica Law Group) steadfastly supported the
disenfranchisement of the Members and the concentration and preservation of
power at the top.
Appointed At Large governor Anthony Gipe is listed as a key contributor to
the Governance Task Force Report
<https://www.wsba.org/docs/default-source/about-wsba/governance/governance-task-force/wsba-governance-task-force-report-and-recommendations---final.pdf?sfvrsn=23163ef1_8>
discussed
above. In addition to recommending the elimination of effective Board
oversight of the Executive Director, the report also recommended heading
exactly where we are today with this prophetic recommendation at page 28:
*STATE BAR ACT*
*Repeal most provisions of the State Bar Act, with that statute then
serving simply to*
*create the WSBA as an agency “within the judicial branch” under the
Supreme Court’s*
*control.*
The endgame by political insiders to disenfranchise the rest of us was also
laid bare by the following preliminary recommendations by Mr. Crossland's
and Mr. Gipe's Governance Task Force (underling added):
- *Two [additional at-large] public, non-attorney members and one LPO /
LLLT member should be added to the **Board of Governors. *
- *These three members should be appointed by the Supreme Court. To
accommodate the additional Governors, the number of elected positions
should be reduced to nine. *
The concentration of power within the WSBA, coupled with the
disenfranchisement of the Members, has led to abuses, such as the naked
effort by the "Sections Policy Workgroup," chaired by Anthony Gipe, to grab
all of the Section's financial reserves in 2016 and otherwise dominate the
Sections' governance.
The Court's January 5, 2017 Order stopping a Member referendum to roll back
a dues increase also greatly raised the Members' awareness of their
disenfranchisement and the need for reform. Regardless of the merits of the
dues rollback referendum, the Order contravened the Members' rights under
the Bylaws. Public Disclosure Act requests produced at least one document
showing that Executive Director Littlewood and then-President Robin Haynes
played a role in seeking the issuance of that Order.
In summary, efforts by me, by other governors, and by many WSBA Members to
"reform" the WSBA have gained momentum from, among other things, (i) the
Sections Policy Workgroup fiasco, (ii) the insider-driven governance coup
represented by the Bylaw Amendments Task Force's successful efforts
approving three more appointed Board positions (later reversed by the Board
of Governors) and amending GR 12.1 to further consolidate the Court's
control over the WSBA, and (iii) the quashing the dues rollback referendum.
The current, gratuitously chaotic, no-holds-barred resistance to WSBA
reform by political insiders and by others with direct and significant
conflicts of interest only serves to amplify the need for reform (and
perhaps a forensic audit).
That same resistance, and the active roles some of the same actors are
playing to support ESHB 1788, further highlights the need to oppose the
proposed legislation, which is the ultimate manifestation of all efforts to
consolidate control and disenfranchise the Members.
*Let's Get Political*
Stepping back, it is clear Washington's 40,000 lawyers need to be more
politically active. We have been trampled for years by hidden power
structures and now we're being railroaded by the legislature and other
political actors. It is time to get more organized.
If ESHB 1788 passes, I will certainly circulate a list of all Senators who
voted in favor of it for Member consideration in the coming electoral
cycles. Washington's attorneys should also start taking a more careful look
at the composition of the Court, based on the above information.
Below is an email I sent to the 5,500 WSBA Members in District 7N on March
13, 2019.
I and my like-minded colleagues on the Board of Governors are honored to
serve the Members of the WSBA at this challenging time.
Thanks for your interest and support.
Paul Swegle
Governor, District 7N
Washington State Bar Association
*__________________________*
Paul Swegle
General Counsel
(206) 300-7165
Startup GC Blog <http://www.startupgc.us/blog>
Contract Drafting & Bear Spray - FieldGuide Podcast
<https://www.yourfieldguide.com/courses/contract-drafting-best-practices-podcast-cle>
*Contract Drafting and Negotiation
<https://www.amazon.com/Contract-Drafting-Negotiation-Entrepreneurs-Professionals/dp/0692138307>
*
*"...Swegle provides a clear methodology *
*to understand and analyze business contracts *
*in this exceptionally useful book...." - Kirkus Reviews*
********************************************************************
---------- Forwarded message ---------
From: Washington State Bar Association <noreply at wsba.org>
Date: Wed, Mar 13, 2019, 1:49 PM
Subject: An update from District 7N Governor Paul Swegle
Hello, fellow members of the WSBA in District 7 North!
The views expressed below are *solely my own.* Feel free to share this
email with other WSBA members. If you wish to hear from me more frequently,
email me at pswegle at gmail.com, and I will add you to my private email list.
*Legislation to Repeal State Bar Act*
Legislation passed in the Washington State House of Representatives last
Thursday that would repeal the Bar Act, terminate the WSBA as a legal
entity, and presumably transfer everything under the control of the
Washington Supreme Court. The legislation is light on details.
In an emergency public meeting yesterday, March 12, the Board of Governors
voted 10 – 2 to oppose the legislation, with only governors Meserve and
Papailiou voting not to oppose the legislation. The governors who believe
in preserving and improving the WSBA were heartened by the number of
members calling into our special meeting to voice thoughtful opposition to
the legislation.
There may be another special meeting on Friday to deal with a proposed
amendment to the legislation – pay attention to any WSBA announcements.
Similar bills have come up in the past, but ESHB 1788
<http://wsba.informz.net/z/cjUucD9taT0yNTYwOTQ4JnA9MSZ1PTM3MjU1NTIxNiZsaT0xNzY2ODE1Nw/index.html>
is
sailing through the Washington Legislature with virtually no opposition.
Here are some of the questions regarding this legislation that may be of
interest to WSBA members:
• What is the point of transferring the WSBA under the Court at this time?
Doing so has little to do with any looming constitutional challenges
regarding compelled political speech or compelled political association.
Arguments to the contrary are false and misleading, in my opinion. If the
Court’s Structure Work Group (see below), of which I am a member,
determines we need to bifurcate, which is not a forgone conclusion, the
existing statutory entity that is the WSBA could remain in existence as the
corporate structure for the voluntary/professional association (including
the Sections!) and the mandatory/licensing/discipline functions could be
simply transferred under the Court. Blowing up our entity right now through
ill-conceived legislation simply isn’t required, helpful or even prudent.
• The unknowns regarding repealing the Bar Act and eliminating the WSBA as
a legal entity are substantial and could be harmful. With all appropriate
deference to the plenary authority of the Washington Supreme Court, that
authority may be inadequate to close the gaps created by mandating the
elimination of the WSBA's legal status.
- The WSBA has myriad contracts and commitments, many of which the Court
might not want to assume. Many of those commitments may also not be freely
assignable. That analysis has not begun.
- What kinds of defaults or cross-defaults would be caused by
terminating the WSBA's legal existence?
- The WSBA has substantial indemnification and insurance coverage
obligations. How would those be honored? Could the insurers void their
coverages?
• The WSBA has a $20+ million annual budget and is responsible for managing
funds on behalf of countless committees, boards, and the 29 Sections.
- Allowing those funds to default into the hands of the Court could
cause serious repercussions. Without the WSBA, those funds will have to go
somewhere.
- The Sections alone have reserve balances somewhere near $1.2 million.
Those reserves belong to the Sections—they were voluntarily committed to
the Sections by members and earned by the Sections from their revenue
splits with the WSBA for sponsoring CLEs.
• What would happen to pending litigation matters?
- Is litigation automatically dismissed because there is no longer a
WSBA?
- Should the plaintiffs be given notice in advance and an opportunity to
be heard?
- Does some Court-created entity substitute in as a defendant or
respondent?
- What effect does that have on any appeals from trial court decisions?
There is a wide range of other unconsidered issues: what happens to the
Client Protection Fund, employment contracts, the WSBA office lease, the
contracts with vendors such as Fastcase, etc.?
Fellow WSBA members, please do the following:
• Click on this LINK
<http://wsba.informz.net/z/cjUucD9taT0yNTYwOTQ4JnA9MSZ1PTM3MjU1NTIxNiZsaT0xNzY2ODE1Nw/index.html>
ASAP,
then click on "Comment on this bill" to the right and let your WA Senator
and Representatives know what you think about ESHB 1788. Call and email
them as well.
• Use email and social media to spread the word to other WSBA members and
all other WA voters you can reach and ask them to comment on the
legislation.
*Board of Governors Meeting in Olympia on March 7*
*Mandatory Malpractice.* The Board received and discussed the Mandatory
Malpractice Insurance Task Force Report
<http://wsba.informz.net/z/cjUucD9taT0yNTYwOTQ4JnA9MSZ1PTM3MjU1NTIxNiZsaT0xNzY2ODE1OA/index.html>
and
received substantial input from the public and members. No action was
taken, and a vote on the proposal will likely occur at the next meeting in
May. I remain concerned about the negative impacts of the proposals on
members and the public, relative to the benefits as they have been
explained thus far. Numerous members have gone on record stating that they
would be forced to resign and stop providing legal services to vulnerable
populations if the proposal is adopted, raising access-to-justice concerns.
*Executive Director Succession.* After a board member questioned whether
bylaws allowed the board to take action to terminate the executive director
in executive session—which is what happened at the January 2019
meeting—WSBA’s general counsel advised that the safest course was to redo
the vote in public session. In my view, this was done in hopes that the
vote might come out differently in public and on camera than in executive
session. It did not. The Board of Governors again exercised its authority
under the WSBA Bylaws and voted 9 to 4 to terminate the Executive Director
to move the WSBA in a new direction. Her term ends on March 31, 2019.
The Board of Governors had previously handled this matter in executive
session out of respect for privacy in personnel matters. In any event, the
Executive Director should be thanked for her dedicated service over the
last 15 years. She is a highly capable administrator with a national
reputation and a bright future.
*Clarification of Treasurer Status.* The Board of Governors also took up an
issue related to GovernorDan Bridge's status as WSBA Treasurer. At a prior
meeting, the Board of Governors took a vote to "temporarily remove" Mr.
Bridges as Treasurer pending resolution of certain claims by and against
him.
Although the Bylaws require a 75 percent vote to remove the Treasurer, the
WSBA General Counsel and others interpreted the Bylaws to allow for
temporary removal based on a majority vote—something clearly not provided
for in the Bylaws although WSBA’s general counsel thinks otherwise
Upon reconsideration, the Board of Governors approved a motion: (i)
clarifying that the prior vote was invalid and that Mr. Bridges remains
Treasurer, (ii) authorizing an investigation into Mr. Bridge's claims (that
he is a whistleblower and has been the victim of retaliation for calling
out and seeking to address concerns at the WSBA), and (iii) stating that
the Board of Governors would take any appropriate action based on the
findings of that investigation.
*Workplace Investigation.* Following the filing of formal claims by certain
WSBA staff members of a "hostile work environment," the Washington Supreme
Court is initiating an investigation into those claims. I will cooperate
fully in this investigation and I look forward to reviewing the final
report of the investigation.
*Bar Structure Work Group*
Below is the composition of the Supreme Court’s Bar Structure Work Group
("Work Group"), created to consider whether the Janus and Fleck
<http://wsba.informz.net/z/cjUucD9taT0yNTYwOTQ4JnA9MSZ1PTM3MjU1NTIxNiZsaT0xNzY2ODE1OQ/index.html>
cases
require splitting up the WSBA into mandatory and voluntary functions, i.e.,
licensing and discipline versus a professional association. The BOG elected
Dan Clark, Kyle Sciuchetti, and me as the BOG's reps and the Court
appointed the other members.
- Chief Justice Mary Fairhurst - Supreme Court Representative
- Dan D. Clark, Yakima County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office, Governor,
District 4
- Kyle D. Sciuchetti, Miller Nash Graham & Dunn, Governor, District 3
- Paul A. Swegle, General Counsel, Newyu, Inc., Governor, District
7-North
- Mark Johnson, Johnson Flora Sprangers PLLC, WSBA Large Section
Representative
- Eileen Farley, WSBA Medium Section Representative
- Hunter M. Abell, Williams Kastner & Gibbs PLLC, WSBA Small Section
Representative
- Judge Dominique Jinhong, Board of Industrial Insurance Appeals,
Practice of Law Board
- Judge Frederick P. Corbit, United States Bankruptcy Court, Access to
Justice Board
- Andrea Jarmon, Law Offices of Andrea S. Jarmon, Limited Legal License
Technician Board
- Esperanza Borboa, Program Director - Eastside Legal Assistance Program
, Public Member
- Jane M. Smith, Confederated Tribe of The Colville Reservation, Tribal
Member
- Dory L. Nicpon, Associate Dir. Legislative Relations Administrative
Office of the Courts, WA Supreme Court, Staff Support
Meetings will be held at: Washington State Bar Association, 1325 Fourth
Avenue, #600, Seattle, WA 98101; they will also be webcast.
Nobody yet knows what direction the Work Group will go, but I am personally
still very interested in exploring all alternatives for remaining a unified
bar. I believe it can be done constitutionally, but it would require taking
no positions that could be viewed as political. The biggest practical issue
there is probably the important legislative roles Sections often need to
play, which might be accomplished through parallel entities not unlike Domestic
Relations Attorneys of Washington, or "DRAW."
<http://wsba.informz.net/z/cjUucD9taT0yNTYwOTQ4JnA9MSZ1PTM3MjU1NTIxNiZsaT0xNzY2ODE2MA/index.html>
If we can't ultimately save the WSBA in its current form, we need to ensure
that the professional-association side of the organization doesn't get the
short end of the stick. In my opinion, that would necessarily require
substantially cutting costs and shifting some costs to the Court that have
been unfairly borne by the members instead of the taxpayers, including
certain Court-created boards and commissions.
Fellow members, pay attention to our work on the Work Group. I and other
governors will provide regular updates. *Click here for more information
<http://wsba.informz.net/z/cjUucD9taT0yNTYwOTQ4JnA9MSZ1PTM3MjU1NTIxNiZsaT0xNzY2ODE2MQ/index.html>.*
*Meeting with Supreme Court*
The Board of Governors had its annual meeting with the Chief Justice and
the Justices of the Washington Supreme Court last Friday. The meeting was
focused on the proposed legislation to repeal the Bar Act,
executive-director succession issues, and the investigations discussed
above.
Thank you all for your interest in the WSBA. These are obviously tumultuous
times, but let's all hang in there and focus on creating the best possible
future for the WSBA. A strong majority on the Board of Governors is still
pushing hard for improved governance, leadership, and transparency and for
greater emphasis on member needs and interests. Resistance to those changes
by well-established forces is strong as well, and is driving much of the
tumult you may be perceiving.
Please comment on ESHB 1788 ASAP!
I can be reached at pswegle at gmail.com with any comments or questions you
may have.
Sincerely,
Paul Swegle
Governor, District 7N
Washington State Bar Association
*__________________________*
Paul Swegle
General Counsel
(206) 300-7165
Startup GC Blog <http://www.startupgc.us/blog>
Contract Drafting & Bear Spray - FieldGuide Podcast
<https://www.yourfieldguide.com/courses/contract-drafting-best-practices-podcast-cle>
*Contract Drafting and Negotiation
<https://www.amazon.com/Contract-Drafting-Negotiation-Entrepreneurs-Professionals/dp/0692138307>
*
*"...Swegle provides a clear methodology *
*to understand and analyze business contracts *
*in this exceptionally useful book...." - Kirkus Reviews*
[image: Observa]
--
Jackie Cyphers
Jeannette A. Cyphers, Attorney at Law
P. O. Box 908
Edmonds, WA 98020-0908
telephone 425-776-5887
fax 425-640-0814
jacyphers at gmail.com
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