Uncategorized – NWSidebar

State Law Change Allows First Responders to Win L&I PTSD Claims

For decades Washington L&I has denied first responders’ claims of PTSD. Now, a recent change in state law is giving them hope.

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Learning the Business of Being a Lawyer: How I Started My Second-Career Solo Practice

Attorney Eleanor Doermann explains how she used her business experience as a physical therapist to become a private-practice lawyer helping LGBTQ seniors.

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Top Recent Developments in Ethics Rules Every Washington Lawyer Should Know

Get the latest updates on ethics amid new challenges to the rule of law. And take advantage of the last chance to save on related on-demand CLEs.

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5 Things IP Practitioners Should Do to Avoid U.S. Patent and Trademark Office Discipline

Whether you have been practicing law for many years or are just starting in the field of IP law, here are five things you can do to reduce the risk that you’ll be on the receiving end of a complaint.

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When AI Goes Bad: The Inherent Legal Risks of ‘Intelligent’ Systems

You provide the neural net with a learning set: a large collection of items related to the pattern you want the neural network to recognize for which you tell the program the correct answer.

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Rainmaking for Small and Solo Firms: 5 Essential Tips

Rainmaking, bringing home the bacon, chasing cheddar—whatever you want to call it, most lawyers want to find clients, build trust, and attract new business. But most lawyers are also heads down in practicing law, not marketing themselves. There is no one-size-fits-all approach, especially for solo and small firms, but there are definitely tricks of the […]

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What You Should Know about Childhood Injury Cases

There is nothing more heartrending than seeing a child injured, and for the parents it can be devastating. This is why prevention concerns all of us. Millions of children suffer some kind of injury requiring medical treatment every year in the U.S. According to Child Trends, there were more than 9 million unintentional injuries in […]

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The Intake Process: What Lawyers Can Learn From a Mexico City Ceviche Delivery

We were holed up in our apartment in Ciudad de Mexico as rain turned the streets into navigable waterways. Although the city is nestled in a vast mountain valley, “CDMX” has a great seafood scene and our hearts were set on ceviche. That we were apartment-bound turned out to be no problem. I scrolled through […]

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Friday 5: A taste of the 300+ on-demand CLEs on sale now

Rejoice, for summer has returned to the Pacific Northwest! Breathe deeply as the scent of charring meats fills the air, dive into waters that no longer induce hypothermia, and welcome the return of the CLE Annual Summer Sale.

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Familial DNA Searching: Troubling Civil Liberties Challenges

The technique of familial DNA searching has been in the news lately for having resulted in the arrest of a suspected serial killer in California, as well as an arrest in a recent Washington homicide case, but the use of such techniques raises significant civil liberties concerns. In both cases, police uploaded crime scene data […]

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New Law Opens Dental Practice Ownership to Those Not Licensed to Practice

Dental support organizations are typically not owned by dentists, so historically they use creative methods to operate in Washington. Until recently, state law required any entity providing dental services to be owned and controlled by licensed dentists. A new law opens that door, while placing clear restrictions and patient protections. Effective July 23, 2017, the […]

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Is “Diverse” Really What You Mean?

Language matters—I mean really, really matters. The words we choose can make a huge difference to the overall meaning of something we are communicating. Even little connotations and implications can have a big impact on the meaning. For example, if I were to write the sentences, “His actions were youthful,” and, “His actions were childish,” […]

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TAP Scholarship Recipient Recalls 5 Moments of Insight

Are you a new or young lawyer who would like to participate in this year’s Trial Advocacy Program (TAP)? Apply for the New Lawyer Programs Scholarship by Friday, Sept. 15, 2017. If you haven’t heard of WSBA’s Trial Advocacy Program, it’s a two-day intensive trial-skills training seminar led by local trial attorneys. It culminates in […]

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Meet the New WSBA Law School Representatives

Each of the three law schools in Washington state has a student government position dedicated to connecting law students with WSBA programs and initiatives and to support the broader legal community. WSBA is excited to introduce you to the law student representatives elected this spring to serve during the 2017-2018 school year!

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Court of Appeals Underscores Significance of Written Fee Agreement

A recent decision by Division I of the Washington Court of Appeals highlights the importance of a written fee agreement. Davis Wright Tremaine LLP v. Peterson, 2017 WL 1593009 (Wn. App. May 1, 2017) (unpublished), was a fee collection case by a law firm against a client. The law firm had represented the client in […]

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Legislative Update: Impact of New Budget on WSBA Priorities

Late on June 30, the legislature avoided a partial government shutdown by passing, and Gov. Inslee signing, an operating budget. The budget appropriates $43.7 billion over the next biennium.