I thought I would take a moment to update you on highlights of events around the bar.
On March 10, the officers and some governors met with the King County Superior Court bench at the Regional Justice Center in Kent. I am happy to report that nearly the entire Superior Court bench appeared. We had a lively discussion on a wide range of topics from diversity, to the escalating costs of litigation, and discussed the future of the court system. We are blessed to have an active Superior Court bench and it was a pleasure to have the chance to communicate with them. I offered to meet with them more frequently to create an ongoing dialogue with them to solve the problems that are faced by the bench and bar.
On March 12, we had our first online chat regarding the future of the profession. These online chats are fascinating and are really fast paced. We had a strong showing by members interested in the future of the bar. We heard many thoughtful comments and good ideas. I am inspired by the caliber of lawyers we have in our bar. It is always a pleasure to engage members in discussion. I think that our chat was quite fruitful.
The next day, a subgroup of our Future of the Profession Workgroup met for purposes of planning a daylong symposium. I have to tell you, this is some of the most exciting work that I have done at the bar. I look forward to giving you a full report on the work that is being done by the future’s workgroup. I will share with you the topics for this event and the delivery logistics in the future, when things are in place. However, I can tell you that we will present new and dynamic topics that are critical to retooling our profession for the 21st century and providing the skills and the understanding that all of our members need to succeed.
On the 19th, I attended the King County Bar Foundation’s 14th Annual Breakfast with Champions. Kudos to the King County Bar Foundation for growing a breakfast that now boasts 1,000 guests. The goal for the breakfast was to raise $300,000.This is an extraordinary goal for an ambitious foundation that provides a laundry list of meaningful volunteer legal services to members of our community who need help. Congratulations to the King County Bar Foundation. Well done.
Additionally, I want to again congratulate the (former) President of the Loren Miller Bar and now WSBA Governor Elijah Forde. It is a pleasure to welcome Governor Forde to the table. I know him to be a quick study and look forward to his voice and perspective.
Finally, I want to encourage all of you to actively participate in the Board of Governors election process. There are three competitive races for the Board of Governors in the 3rd, 6th and 7th Districts. All of the ballots were emailed out on March 14 and must all be received, including paper ballots by 5 p.m., April 15. It is important that members of our bar feel connected. Please make this election a talking point during your public speeches, add it to your emails and spread the word around your offices and among the members of the bar in your community. I would love to see higher turnouts in every district. In some ways, this is a barometer for the WSBA and I would love to see a good report card with higher than normal participation in this election.
We are also seeking candidates for the 8th District. Because no candidates filed for this position, per the WSBA Bylaws the board will elect a candidate at our meeting on April 25, in Moses Lake. If you or anyone you know is interested in running a letter of interest and a resume is due by April 8. You can find more details on WSBA’s election page.
Next week many of us head to the Western States Bar Conference. I look forward to this conference every year as an opportunity to trade ideas with leadership of other bars, to problem solve and to bring home new ideas, programs and solutions to our state. I look forward to seeing many of you at the conference.
As always, if you have ideas, opinions to share, or questions, please feel free to reach out to me, patrick@palacelaw.com, 253-627-3883 or @palacelaw.
Patrick Palace. Patrick opened Palace Law Offices in 1995, a firm that emphasizes workers’ compensation, civil rights, and personal injury matters. Palace is President of the WSBA Board of Governors. He will assume the WSBA presidency in September 2013.
Palace served on the WSBA Board of Governors for the Sixth District from 2008–2011. He was also the WSBA treasurer from 2010–2011. Prior to serving as WSBA governor, he was president of the WSBA Young Lawyers Division (1999–2000) and served on the Public Legal Education Workgroup Task Force and the WSBA President’s Advisory Committee, which was created to promote judicial independence.
He received his bachelor’s degree from the University of Washington in International Business and his law degree from Loyola University of Chicago School of Law.
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