The WSBA literally would not function without the hundreds upon hundreds of dedicated volunteers who often work behind the scenes to keep the legal profession on a path of progression.
Serving selflessly in everything from committees to boards to sections, WSBA volunteers are the propulsive force behind issues that touch the lives of lawyers, LPOs, LLLTs, judges, legislators, law enforcement, and indeed all Washingtonians. They devote their time, their expertise, and their creativity to improve the profession and the practice of law in our state—and in the latest issue of NWLawyer, you can hear from a few of the many, many WSBA volunteers (1,558 last year, to be exact) to learn what they do and why they do it.
In addition to meeting these volunteers, we also must say goodbye in this issue: Washington Supreme Court Chief Justice Mary E. Fairhurst is set to retire as of January 2020, following a long and storied legal career of 35 years, including a stint as WSBA president in the late ’90s, several years serving Washingtonians in the Attorney General’s Office, 17 years as a Justice of the Court, and the past three years as Chief Justice. In her final column, Chief Justice Fairhurst opines on what it means for legal professionals to be “stewards of justice.”
And you could find no better stewards of justice than the people recently honored at the 2019 WSBA APEX Awards. Check our APEX Awards feature to learn about their individual stories and accomplishments , as well as a recap of the annual awards festivities. Then look back 50 years as we celebrate members who first entered the profession in the milestone year of 1969. Hear from a few of those members and take a blast to the past when humans first landed on the moon, a gallon of gas cost 35 cents, and 100 law school graduates were sworn in to the legal profession.
Also in this issue: former WSBA president Bill Pickett honors four teams with the 2019 President’s Award, WSBA’s own Practice Management Advisor Destinee Evers shares tips for choosing law firm technology, Lisa Mansfield dives into David M. Skover’s work about free speech theory for robots, Mark Fucile explores corporate affiliate conflicts, University of Washington School of Law Professor Helen A. Anderson shows you how to be strategic with your written grammar, plus the usual bevy of legal news and analysis.
