[WSBARP] BAR referendum Petition

Sun Mar 24 11:59:25 PDT 2019

Although I respect Steve's position on the continued employment of Paula Littlewood, it strikes me as incredibly intellectually dishonest to defend the actions of Paula and Justice Madsen denying a vote on a legitimate and qualified referendum by the members on a dues increase to then suggest that a referendum is appropriate on what is clearly not a "policy" matter for which the bylaws authorize a referendum but is rather a personnel matter that is solely within the province of the Board of Governors.
My position on the continued employment of Paula Littlewood is irrelevant to the discussion above.  Having served on the Board of Governors and as a Treasurer, and having and continuing to serve as general counsel to many corporations (profit and not for profit), my view is that the selection of the manager of the company is solely within the province of the governing Board.  If the shareholders (i.e., the members) disagree with the decisions of the Board, then elect a new Board.  Ironically, this is exactly what has happened in the last few years.  The members were dissatisfied and did elect a restructured Board (now referred to as a reform board).
This boils down in reality to the efforts of a group of members who want to continue the prior direction of WSBA and a group that does not; the latters' position that wants to put the members' interests in the forefront along with regulation of the practice, protection of the public, and other core goals.  Having attended (personally or electronically) most of the recent meetings, the direction of the Board to change leadership was by more than a 2/3 majority (9-4 in most cases).  The WSBA will not rise or fall on whether the current Executive Director is retained.  It will rise and fall on the dedication of the members to the organization itself; the thousands of volunteers that have contributed their time, efforts and expertise to advancing the rule of law.  The actions of the management (not the BOG necessarily) have alienated a huge percentage of the members.
While we all recognize that ultimately the Supreme Court has plenary authority over the practice of law, they have for decades delegated this to the Board of Governors.  They have largely been absent landlords from the regular and ongoing activities of the Board of Governors except in rare circumstances.  The SC has insufficient time, experience or commitment administer the WSBA on an ongoing basis.  There will be some form of organization that will need to be created or WSBA maintained to do so.
Sign a referendum if you will but it is hardly what we need at this point.  It is clear from the discussions at the legislative level that many legislators have heard from attorney constituents about the actions taken to deny the members vote on a dues increase and its patent disregard for WSBA's own bylaws.  Retaining the current Executive Director is only going to exacerbate the issues connected with ESHB 1788 (advancing changes to the underlying State Bar Act) which is coming to a vote in the Senate Committee next week as I understand it.  Signing the petition will only further entrench the already polarized positions.  What is needed now is an active and meaningful discussion in the SC-created "work group" to determine the future of WSBA and the future governance on the practice of law.
With respect to my friends and colleagues, Steve Poole and Ken Masters, this referendum is ill conceived and not appropriate.
Geoff Gibbs

G. Geoffrey Gibbs | Anderson Hunter Law Firm
2707 Colby Avenue, Ste. 1001  Everett, WA  98201
PO Box 5397, Everett, WA  98206-5397
Phone: (425) 252-5161 | Fax: (425) 258-3345
ggibbs at andersonhunterlaw.com<mailto:ggibbs at andersonhunterlaw.com> / www.andersonhunterlaw.com<http://www.andersonhunterlaw.com/>
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From: Steven G.Toole <steve at sgtoolelaw.com>
Sent: Sunday, March 24, 2019 10:57 AM
To: Diversity Stakeholders <diversity-stakeholders at list.wsba.org>
Subject: [diversity-stakeholders] BAR referendum Petition

I don't know if this is a proper use of this list serve.  If it isn't, then I will apologize in advance.  However, this concerns matters that are imperative for the health of the Diversity Stakeholders in the State of Washington.  I know all of you are aware of the chaos regarding the WSBA and its Board of Governors, as well as the BOG's decision to terminate the services of Paula Littlewood as Executive Director, effective April 1.  If not, then I suggest you read the two attached letters.  One was penned by Justice Madsen and the other is a letter from Ken Masters, resigning as President of the Washington State Bar Foundation, in protest of the actions of this Board of Governors.

Although I certainly don't claim to speak for many, if any of you, I strongly suspect that the vast majority of those receiving this email who are WSBA members, do not support the radical change of direction being taken by our current BOG and, to the contrary, do not want to see Paula fired as Executive Director.  It is not too late to take action that can prevent this from occurring, but you all must act NOW.  If anyone is telling you it's too late to prevent Paula's termination, they are wrong.

The most immediate action is a very simple one: click on the below link and vote in favor of the Petition for Referendum of the decision of the WSBA Board of Governors to fire Executive Director Paula Littlewood.  As president of the WSBA in 2010-2011, I worked closely with Paula and know first-hand how incredible an executive director she has been and still is.  I know first-hand of how revered she is by the leadership of bar associations throughout this country.  However, if for no other reasons than those set forth by Justice Madsen in her attached letter, please sign the Petition.  We need about 1,700 signatures and since Paula's last day on the job is March 31st, we would like to be able to file the Petition before she is officially terminated.

The other thing I would encourage you to do, is to forward this email and the attachments to any WSBA lawyers you may have contact with on an email list and urge them to also sign the Petition.

LINK FOR SIGNING PETITION FOR REFERENDUM: https://www.gopetition.com/petitions/wsba-referendum-re-executive-director-termination.html<https://nam04.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.gopetition.com%2Fpetitions%2Fwsba-referendum-re-executive-director-termination.html&data=02%7C01%7Cggibbs%40andersonhunterlaw.com%7C9deb9d768acb49cb72e808d6b0822f32%7Ccfd348433b124bd6850ebd6b59fd6f90%7C0%7C0%7C636890470544821420&sdata=4Gpuf%2BuWQqdAXhpPFg5u8iaiG1EeKj1dgz2BvA47bu4%3D&reserved=0>
YOU WILL NOTE THAT BY SIGNING THE PETITION, IT DOES NOT MEAN THAT THE BOG CAN'T TERMINATE PAULA AS WSBA EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, BUT THEY WILL HAVE TO GO THROUGH PROPER DUE PROCESS AND PRESUMABLY WILL GET FEEDBACK FROM OTHER GROUPS, ENTITIES, BOARDS AND MEMBERSHIP BEFORE DOING SO.

Thank you.        STEVE TOOLE, WSBA President, 2010-2011

Steve Toole
Steven G. Toole Mediation Service
PO Box 50008
Bellevue, WA 98015-0008
p: (425) 455-1570 | f: (425) 455-1954
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