The Washington Supreme Court has approved a new bar exam format and concept recommendations for additional pathways to attorney licensure, following 50 years of debate. The exam has historically disadvantaged marginalized groups. The latest issue of Washington State Bar News outlines the changes and features important legal topics, including risk management considerations for lawyers.
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When you look at the current state of public defense in the state of Washington—indeed, nationwide—you will encounter words like “crisis,” “languish,” and “collapse.” Specifically, there’s a crisis in our public defense system in which many people are left to languish indefinitely without representation and without a fundamental corrective shift the system itself is under […]
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In Spokane, a day in the life of public defender Dustin Howie consists of power walking, comforting clients, and navigating a chaotic court system. He juggles a hefty caseload with his wife Alex, also a public defender. Although the office is well-supported, understaffing remains a problem, leading to overwhelming workloads. Howie supports the idea of reduced caseloads but questions the feasibility given funding constraints.
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The WSBA Board of Governors adopted new caseload standards for indigent defense services, as recommended by the Council on Public Defense (CPD), aiming to mend the collapsing public defense system in Washington. The standards, not binding yet, recommend a significant drop in caseload limits for felony and misdemeanor cases. However, vacancy rates for defense attorneys pose a challenge, and the system remains overloaded, contributing to delays and concerns about fair representation.
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Whether or not you’re a lawyer or a doctor, most of us are familiar with a key law protecting patient privacy: HIPAA. Although it’s sometimes assumed that HIPAA provides consumer protections against the misuse of data by wellness, nutrition, and other health-related data, that’s not the case. HIPAA, explains business law attorney Nathaniel Gallegos, “only […]
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Today it has become fairly normal—in fact, expected in many instances—to remotely access things that used to be entirely in-person affairs. Speaker events offer webcasts in addition to physical spaces, work is a mix of in-office and virtual office, and courts have largely transitioned to virtual hearings. Although, the modern environment of a remote legal […]
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Women have not progressed as far as their male counterparts within Seattle’s legal profession. Though there are about as many women lawyers as men, women are less likely to become partners or serve in leadership roles. As parents, women lawyers are far more likely to have the responsibility of arranging childcare, far more likely to […]
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According to a survey by the management consulting firm McKinsey, “The state of AI in 2023,” one-third of respondents already use artificial intelligence tools “regularly in at least one business function.” Likewise, Above the Law reports that about 15 percent of lawyers currently use generative AI for work; however, 73 percent expect to incorporate these tools within the next year.
But you probably could’ve guessed that. AI is everywhere, and it’s almost impossible to avoid proclamations about its pending ubiquity in our daily lives—personally and professionally. Beyond the doomsday scenarios espoused by hyperbolic billionaires and the psychedelic silliness of AI-generated videos depicting celebrities eating spaghetti, there are myriad serious questions left to answer.
Writing in the cover story of the latest issue of Washington State Bar News, patent attorney Taylor Fairchild highlights and attempts to answer some of those questions.
Few academic milestones have achieved the same level of deserved notoriety as the bar exam. If graduating law school is a difficult achievement, passing the bar exam is a veritable stress caldron—one that distinguishes a licensed lawyer from a well-educated (and debt-riddled) law school grad.
“When it comes to assessing lawyer competence, we saw again and again and again in our research conclusive evidence that the existing bar exam is far from a foolproof or even reliable measure of competence; and, to the detriment of both candidates and the profession, it replicates and perpetuates bias,” Seattle University School of Law Dean Anthony E. Varona says in the latest issue of Washington State Bar News.
October changes are abundant. Foliage transforming. Air crisping. Lattes pumpkin-spicing.
At the WSBA, the autumnal transition also signifies the annual changing of the guard on the Board of Governors. With the start of the new fiscal year in October, those governors who finished their terms welcome their replacements, and new Board officers assume their roles in the seats of president, president-elect, outgoing president, and treasurer.
It’s all highlighted in Washington State Bar News—this year, there is even a change to note in that regard.
The new issue of Bar News focuses on Indian Law; it was developed with the help of the Bar News Editorial Advisory Committee and members of the WSBA Indian Law Section.
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The 2023 Washington legislative session was a veritable who’s who list of divisive political issues. Affordable housing, assault weapons, drug possession, the death penalty—all were on the docket this year in Olympia. Indeed, over the 105-day session, followed by a brief special session, the WSBA Legislative Affairs Team tracked roughly 500 bills.
In addition to a brief glimpse at the hundreds of bills the Legislative Affairs Team tracked for WSBA sections, Walvekar also provides an overview of the WSBA’s Bar-request legislation, a look at the special session to address statewide drug possession law, and some of the expected issues to watch when the Legislature reconvenes in January 2024.
The June issue of Bar News also explores a bevy of Washington laws, policies, and organizations of relevance to the state’s legal profession.
Every year, we at the state Bar put our heads together to think up new ways to spread the word about volunteering. Particularly in recent years, we have experienced both sides of what WSBA Executive Director Terra Nevitt calls the “volunteerism tug-of-war.”
“Volunteers are the backbone of our work, and they, by and large, express satisfaction from their ability to shape and guide the profession through their work with the WSBA,” Nevitt writes in the new issue of Washington State Bar News, noting that a AmeriCorps/U.S. Census survey reveals how formal volunteerism with organizations dropped 7 percentage points from 2019 to 2021. “Simultaneously, engaging new volunteers and filling our many volunteer roles has become a heavier lift in recent years.”
It’s March, and for many it’s the month that only means one thing: a competition to rank the best courthouses in the state of Washington. Also, there’s some sort of sporting event.
Unlike other March-themed competitions, the WSBA’s Municipal Mayhem doesn’t take place on the court, but is a battle literally about the court(s). This battle of bureaucracy, this clash of courthouses, indeed this joust for justice will be left to WSBA members to determine, once and for all (and probably for the first time), which county hosts the courtiest courthouse. Of course, those aren’t the actual criteria upon which we will name the winner. You can find out all about the competition, how to fill out a bracket, and ways you can help your favorite courthouse shine by reading the cover story of the latest issue of Washington State Bar News.
A little over one year ago, the Harvard Business Review said that “virtually all of the world’s largest companies now issue a sustainability report and set goals; more than 2,000 companies have set a science-based carbon target; and about one-third of Europe’s largest public companies have pledged to reach net zero by 2050.” In other words, ESG is now the standard. But, of course, what the hell is ESG? Seattle-based attorney and sustainability consultant Nicole DeNamur explains in the newest issue of Washington State Bar News that ESG—which stands for Environmental, Social, and Governance—describes data and reporting that is steadily gaining in market demand and federal regulatory oversight.
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In the case of Kennedy v. Bremerton School District, the U.S. Supreme Court was presented with a First Amendment controversy after a high school football coach began praying on the sidelines. When asked to decide whether such actions were protected speech or an unsanctioned blending of religious activities and public institutions, a 6-3 majority found that the coach’s First Amendment rights had been suppressed and reversed the lower court’s decision.
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