Category: NWLawyer

The traditional path to becoming a lawyer is costly and limited in rural areas, prompting the WSBA’s APR 6 Law Clerk Program as an alternative. Participants gain practical experience under experienced lawyers, allowing them to serve their communities. The latest WSBA issue also covers legal technology recommendations and various member news and awards.

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.

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.

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.

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.