Last week’s main event was the Board of Governors meeting in Seattle; my first meeting as WSBA’s president.
One of the most interesting topics was the new amendments to the Mandatory Continuing Education Rules. The proposed changes would allow a greater number of credits for doing pro bono work, but the credits would be counted in the audio-visual category and subject to the 22.5 hour cap on AV credits. The proposal would also create new categories for topics such as leadership training, work/life balance, and communications, each subject to a cap.
The proposal now goes to the Supreme Court for their review. I would urge you to weigh in with the Court when it publishes the proposal. Judging from the comments we got at the Board of Governors meeting, our members have strong views on CLE. Most members we heard from wanted more flexibility as to subject matter, but there are also members who feel strongly that CLE should only be used to develop and sustain our subject matter expertise.
The Board also adopted three bills as its legislative program for the upcoming session. We will sponsor a bill to protect military personnel who are attending Washington colleges and universities from being penalized academically when they are required to report for active duty. This bill came from WSBA’s Legal Assistance to Military Personnel Section (LAMP). We will also sponsor a bill revising the Trust Act that was brought by the Real Property, Probate & Trust Section. And finally, we will sponsor a bill making changes to Dissenters Rights under the Corporate Act, a proposal from the Business Law Section.
If you are interested more in the topics covered at the Board meeting or ever have any comments or questions, I encourage you to reach out to me or your representative on the Board.
Wishing all of you and your families a Happy Thanksgiving. I hope you can take a little time to reflect on the good things that come with being a lawyer.
Michele Radosevich. 2012-13 WSBA President Michele Radosevich received her J.D. summa cum laude from the University of Puget Sound School of Law (now Seattle University School of Law) and her B.A. in political science from Marquette University in Milwaukee. She is a partner at Davis Wright Tremaine, where she has worked in the commercial litigation department since 1995. Her primary focus is on state and local tax litigation. One of Michele’s areas of expertise is working with the Legislature and on legislative issues. A former Wisconsin state senator, she has continued to hone her skills and pursue her interest in this area.
