The 2023 Member Demographic Study will be used to inform how to improve the legal profession in Washington, including how to better support underrepresented and historically marginalized legal professionals.
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The Diversity Pipeline Program (DPP) is an innovative legal internship and skills development program in tech, media, and telecom (TMT) law, created by members of the Federal Communications Bar Association (FCBA). The program provides 1L law students from historically underrepresented communities, and who are interested in TMT law and policy, with training and internship placements in law firms, the public and private sectors, nonprofits, and trade associations. The DPP is the inspiration of Rudy Brioché, Comcast’s vice president and global policy counsel based in Washington, D.C., and a member of the executive committee of the FCBA. Comcast and the FCBA got behind the idea early and actively shaped and launched the program.
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Mistakes were made. That was the assessment the state’s Liquor and Cannabis Board (LCB) made in 2020, eight years after Washington voters approved Initiative 502, which legalized recreational marijuana in the state; six years after the first marijuana retailers were licensed; four years after the state stopped issuing new retail licenses; and three years before the state would try to correct its mistakes.
For many, especially people of color, marijuana had for years meant incarceration, destroyed families, and uprooted lives. Today, the substance is mostly a great way to get rich without the same risk, and especially if you’re white.
In the latest issue of Washington State Bar News, we try to shed more light on the state of the legal profession in rural Washington. The November issue features a variety of profiles on rural practitioners, focusing on three law practices in Dayton, South Bend, and Colville. And you can learn more about the history of the STAR Committee and hear from past Committee Chair Hunter Abell, along with a primer from attorney Allison R. Foreman on 10 statutes to know and understand when going into rural practice.
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Afew minutes after entering the offices of McGrane & Schuerman, PLLC, it occurs to me that Alison McGrane has barely sat down. Even on her first day back at work after a San Diego vacation with her husband, daughter, and son, she was scurrying from one end of the office to another, walking and talking, standing and talking, standing and reading, standing and signing.
Picture the high-velocity energy of a character in an Aaron Sorkin show.
Except that when you compare this image to that of a rural attorney stereotype, things don’t square up. McGrane has been on the receiving end of these stereotypes. Lawyers from big cities are sometimes prone to treating their rural counterparts as less capable in the law, simpler, less complex—in other words, stupid. That type of assumption is, of course, stupid in itself, and despite the extreme ruralness of the place McGrane calls home, she and the rest of the team at McGrane & Schuerman are anything but stupid.
It’s a brisk Tuesday morning in South Bend and the big case on the morning docket at Pacific County North District Court is a charge against four defendants for selling shellfish without a label. A few moments before, the state opted to drop charges on another case described as an assault “involving raw eggs.” Throughout the morning there are a few other cases to tie up, like a name change, and quashing warrants, possible probation violations. The Pacific County Courthouse sits atop a hill that offers wide views of the Willapa River, which bleeds into the Willapa Bay and out to the Pacific Ocean where it crashes against the shores of Long Beach, Klipsan, and other parts of south county that folks in South Bend simply refer to as “the beach.”
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If you ignore the weekly migraines, the debt, the stupidly high cost of living, and the fact that he barely saw his family, you could say that Ryan Ortuno had it all. In many ways—at least the ways you learn in law school, Ortuno explained—he had found success. Except the reality—most of his clients were insurance reps and business execs—fell short of the romantic ideal Ortuno had of being a lawyer who helps real people.
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In 2019, a group of WSBA volunteers and staff began what was then called the Rural Practice Project (RRP) to analyze the state of legal services available in rural Washington, as well as other jurisdictions in the country, better understand the problems, and identify potential paths forward that the WSBA could take to address access to justice gaps in Washington’s rural communities. In 2021, upon the RPP group’s recommendation and with a unanimous vote and approved budget from the WSBA Board of Governors, the Small Town and Rural Practice (STAR) Committee was formed to build upon the work of the RPP as a long-term, multi-faceted endeavor of the WSBA.
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Our language, a shared communication tool, reflects our society. As such, we can use it to create a more inclusive environment where all belong. Part of this work is actively and continuously creating a space where gender and pronouns are not assumed. For lawyers especially, this is a critical part of ensuring a healthy workplace and happy clients.
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I adore pit bulls. With small exception, they are energetic, resourceful, agile, and loyal. They are an opposable thumb and bark translator away from making great attorneys. So why do I cringe when I am compared to one? The answer is not complicated. I cringe because I am a woman and because pit bulls are, well, dogs.
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I am the managing shareholder of a 50+ attorney business law firm with 29 equity partners: 16 women and 13 men. Stokes Lawrence was founded 40 years ago by two men. While we did not consciously seek to be majority women owned, we have always attracted and been successful retaining women lawyers. In fact, our firm was recently admitted to the National Association of Women and Minority Owned Law Firms
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Six months after an unsuccessful effort to incorporate new mandatory subject areas within the ethics education requirements for Washington legal professionals, the Washington Supreme Court MCLE Board has suggested a similar but more narrowly focused amendment that is so far being viewed more favorably by WSBA members.
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Historically, most accessibility lawsuits concern inaccessible physical public accommodations. In recent years, the Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA)—which was passed 30 years ago this week—has brought the fight for civil rights to the internet.
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This year marks the 30th anniversary of the ADA. The passage of the ADA was a major milestone in the fight for civil rights of people with disabilities. People with disabilities banded together and forced Congress to pass legislation.
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The ERA battle is very much alive in court. To get a handle on the trio of lawsuits surrounding it, you first need to know a little about David Ferriero.
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Next week, the Access to Justice Board will honor a legal organization with a passion for expanding access to justice. The ATJ Board will present its inaugural Promoter of Justice Award to Chelan-Douglas County Volunteer Attorney Services (CDCVAS).
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