Earlier this year, former WSBA President Patrick Palace was named the president of the National Conference of Bar Presidents (NCBP), a position he hopes to leverage to both support lawyers in Washington and bring the successes from our state to bar associations around the country.
“Being the president of the NCBP I think gives Washington an opportunity to be in the spotlight,” Palace told NWSidebar.
Palace was sworn in at the NCBP 75th anniversary awards lunch in Toronto on Aug. 8, making him the first Washington lawyer to have the position in over 40 years and only the third Washington president in NCBP history. Originally formed in 1950, the NCBP was created “to provide information and training to state and local bar association leaders,” with a mission of “empowering, connecting, and inspiring bar leaders and organizations,” according to the NCBP website.
In his first message as president, Palace spoke to the many challenges that face lawyers and bar leaders, including new technology like AI, new cultural shifts in the country, and spreading political uncertainty.
“In moments like this, it is tempting to wait for the fog to lift before moving forward,” Palace wrote. “But as leaders, we don’t have that luxury. Leadership today is about stepping forward even when the footing is uncertain. Our job is to lead a movement; a movement that doesn’t give up or give in, a movement that believes in justice, inclusion and innovation.”
In many of these areas, Palace told NWSidebar, he sees Washington as a leader. At the most recent national conference, Palace brought WSBA Executive Director Terra Nevitt and former member of the WSBA Board of Governors, now chair of the WSBA Legal Technology Task Force, Jenny Durkan, to speak on our state’s AI policies. And in September Palace brought 25 members of the NCBP Executive Council to visit Oregon and Washington.
“It was really an opportunity to showcase what we do in our bar and show members what technology means in Washington and how we’re leveraging AI and technology,” Palace said. “… I’m not saying that I’m giving Washington something that they don’t deserve; it’s just that I’m so familiar with it and so proud of it … to show programs that are successful.”
Especially in modern times when institutions like the law are losing public trust, Palace thinks the NCBP will allow bar presidents and lawyers across the country to see how other bars are creating and fine-tuning policies on issues like DEI policy and AI.
“I think one of the largest challenges is the assault on the rule of law and the independence of the judiciary and the independence of the profession in standing up for the Constitution,” Palace said. “I think because of the unprecedented assaults … that we as lawyers, not in the distant future, but today and every day have to stand up for our oath—stand up for the things that we are charged to do as lawyers.”
The NCBP’s core values, as outlined in its strategic plan, include leadership; inclusion, accessibility, and belonging; collaboration; technology and innovation; the well-being and independence of the profession. In that first message to NCBP members, Palace reaffirmed his commitment to those values: “We will build trust across differences by addressing detractors with honesty and living our values, focus on inclusion and belonging, collaborate beyond boundaries, embrace innovation driven by needs, champion well-being of legal professionals, deliver practical programming, strengthen partnerships within and outside ABA, exemplify servant leadership, and lead by creating initiatives that promote the Rule of Law, judicial independence, access to legal services, and unity among leaders.”
It’s an unprecedented time in the legal profession, Palace told NWSidebar, but also a “blue-sky opportunity.”
“I think one of the important things that we can do … is to stand up for our judges, to stand up for the independence of our profession, to be clear that politics has no role here…. As lawyers when we stand up and defend these foundations of our democracy we help to gain back the trust, we show our consistency, and we bring back our voice that must be heard.”
Colin Rigley. Colin worked as a print news journalist and editor in California, as well as a content strategist in the Puget Sound area, before joining WSBA as the communications specialist in 2018. He can be reached at colinr@wsba.org.
