Lawyers are creatively utilizing TikTok, specifically through the #LawTok hashtag, to share legal insights and connect with audiences, transforming legal education by providing accessible information. Additionally, the Washington State Bar News features Law Rocks Seattle, a musical event for legal professionals, showcasing their talents while supporting charitable causes.
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Americans are increasingly polarized with concerns about the future of the country deepening. The WSBA’s Rule of Law Ambassador Program seeks to unite legal professionals across political divides. The latest Washington State Bar News also features an interview with Washington Supreme Court Justice Salvador Mungia and acknowledges nearly 1,000 volunteers’ contributions.
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In May 2020, the WSBA identified needs for rural legal practitioners, leading to the 2024 STAR Council pilot program offering grants to law students for internships in rural areas. It aims to address the legal services gap. The latest Bar News features insights from interns in rural law, legislative updates, and ethical analyses.
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The crisis in public defense is exacerbated by a shortage of applicants for both public defenders and prosecutors, leading to court backlogs and unrepresented citizens. The latest Washington State Bar News addresses these hiring challenges, highlighting perceptions of prosecutorial roles, as well as experiences of Asian American female litigators facing biases in the courtroom.
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Across the country, prosecutors’ offices are struggling. With many prosecutors saying they are underpaid and overworked, offices from Houston to Los Angeles to Yakima are experiencing the consequences of a mounting problem. People just don’t seem to want the job anymore. “What we’re seeing out of law schools, especially in younger attorneys, is they’re really […]
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Chances are, as a land dweller, you haven’t given much thought to the laws of the high seas. Maybe you’ve stumbled across the subject of maritime law in your time in the legal profession or merely found yourself curious about the ins and outs of the law when aquatic matters are involved. Whatever you know […]
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The 21st century is almost one-quarter complete. When the calendar switches over and 2024 moves aside for 2025, it’s hard not to think about where we were 25 years ago. Back then we were worried about Y2K and a technological apocalypse; today our lives have been infiltrated by artificial intelligence. Then we were raising the […]
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The Washington State Bar Association is launching a new demographic study to enhance diversity, equity, and inclusion within the legal profession, following a previous study conducted twelve years ago. The Bar wants your feedback on the draft Equity and Justice Plan. Additionally, the November issue of Bar News magazine covers generative AI’s impact on law.
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A federal district court in Seattle ordered a lawyer to release a client’s file following a motion to compel. The court emphasized that under Washington RPC 1.16(d), the file belongs to the client, not the lawyer. The ruling reinforced WSBA advisory opinions regarding file transition obligations when a lawyer withdraws. The lawyer must comply within five days.
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These are the questions behind a proposed pilot project to test entity regulation that is being advanced by leaders of the Practice of Law Board (POLB) and the Washington State Bar Association (WSBA). Under the Court’s guidance, the POLB has been working on this concept for years, and by the end of September 2024, they plan to present their proposal to the Court in the form of a draft order.
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Knowing when to withdraw is often a difficult exercise. A recent decision by Division I of the Washington Court of Appeals in Seattle, however, underscored the risks of waiting too long. In Atlas Debt Holdings, LLC v. Seafood Express, LLC, 2024 WL 3650246 (Wn. App. Aug. 5, 2024) (unpublished), a law firm was careful not […]
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The Alaska Supreme Court recently affirmed the dismissal of claims for legal malpractice and negligence brought by an estate beneficiary against the attorney for a prior personal representative. Guerra v. Wallace, 542 P.3 654 (Alaska 2024), involved a deceased entrepreneur’s estate that had “languished in probate for years.” Eventually, the personal representative was removed and […]
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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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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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The Washington Legislature adjourned Sine Die after a 60-day session, with the WSBA Legislative Affairs team monitoring and acting on nearly 300 bills. Key bills include the Uniform Electronic Estate Planning Documents Act and amendments to the Business Corporations Act. Legislation passed includes ending child marriage and creating a task force for studying artificial intelligence issues.
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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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