Last week was a busy one. The Governance Task Force met on Tuesday. The Governance Task Force is looking at ways to improve the operations of the Board of Governors. Two of the ideas being discussed are to shrink the size of the board from 15 down to around 10 and to use a nominating committee rather than self-selection to get the candidates. The task force will be making a report at the next BOG meeting and there will be time for discussion about the BOG’s representative role and whether and how to facilitate that role. I hope that our discussion will provide guidance to the task force going forward.
On Valentine’s Day, the officers met to plan the BOG meeting and the Budget and Audit Committee met to outline the budget discussion for the Board retreat in March. There were no surprises on either front.
Friday was the fun day! It started with the Goldmark Lunch, which this year honored retiring Judge Anne Ellington. Judge Ellington characterized the gathering as an annual day to rededicate ourselves to providing legal services to those who cannot afford them. It certainly serves that purpose for me. Seeing all the other attorneys doing great things always inspires me to try a little harder.
In the afternoon, I moderated a panel discussion that included seven members of the Supreme Court, who were kind enough to share their views on topics of concern and take audience questions. We are fortunate to have a Court that is sincerely interested in input.
And finally, I attended the Tacoma-Pierce County Bar’s Lincoln Day Dinner. The Dinner is a grand celebration of attorneys—the good things they do for the community and the support they provide one another. I congratulate the TPCBA’s leadership on fostering such a vibrant and caring atmosphere within their bar.
As always, if you have any input or questions on anything I’ve highlighted above, please feel free to contact me, michelradosevich@dwt.com.
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.
Carol S.
Does the nominating committee preclude others from running for BOG positions? I’m all in favor of shrinking the BOG size to just the Congressional districts, but since the BOG doesn’t currently represent the members why preclude us from running candidates who are more pro-members and less-“Lets travel to Hawaii” folks?