Business Law Section – NWSidebar

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WSBA Legislative Proposals

At its Nov. 3, 2023 meeting, the WSBA Board of Governors will consider two legislative proposals for Bar sponsorship.
Proposal from the Business Law Section. This proposal amends the Washington Business Corporation Act to replace the current RCW 23B.11 with a new chapter 11 that substantially mirrors the current version of the Model Business Corporations Act. The proposal also changes other sections of RCW 23B dealing with definitions, quorum, and voting requirements; removal of directors by shareholders; entity conversion; and other issues.
Proposal from the Real Property, Probate & Trust Section. This proposal eliminates the requirement that leases for more than one year must have the landlord’s signature acknowledged before a notary.
All feedback is welcome and can be sent to barleaders@wsba.org. Comments are also welcome during the Board meeting.

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What Happened in the 2023 Washington Legislative Session

The 105-day 2023 legislative session began on Jan. 9 and adjourned sine die on April 23. Legislators passed a two-year, $69.2 billion state operating budget providing funding increases for K-12 schools, with an emphasis on special education and programs to support affordable housing, as well as a $13.5 billion biennial transportation budget that supports improvements to the Washington State Ferry System, increases bicycle and pedestrian access to schools, and funds major highway construction projects statewide.

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Washington’s 2023 Legislative Session: What’s in Store at the WSBA

The 2023 session of the Washington State Legislature began with lawmakers returning to Olympia for the first in-person session in two years. Legislators will consider a variety of issues this year. However, a primary focus of the 120-day “long” session is to pass a state budget for the next two years. The first day of session was Jan. 9 and it will continue through April 23. Between now and then the Senate and House of Representatives have important dates ahead of them.

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What You Need to Know About the Washington Nonprofit Corporation Act

Earlier this year, the Washington Legislature adopted, and Gov. Jay Inslee signed into law, an all-new Washington Nonprofit Corporation Act (the “New Act”). The New Act, which will take effect Jan. 1, 2022, is a total replacement for the current Washington Nonprofit Corporation Act, Chapter 24.03 RCW. Washington lawyers who represent nonprofits will likely want […]

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What the WSBA is Tracking in Washington’s 2021 Legislative Session

The 2021 session of the Washington State Legislature is certainly like none in the history of the state—but so far things are going smoothly. With the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the Legislature like many other government bodies is conducting nearly all of its business virtually during the 105-day session. The first day of session was Jan. 11 and it will continue through April 25. Here’s what we’re watching.

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WSBA in Olympia: A Look at the 2020 Washington Legislative Session

The 2020 legislative session began Jan. 13. This session the Legislature will amend the 2019-21 operating, capital, and transportation budgets set during last year’s biennial “long” session.

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How a WSBA Section Committee Can Change the Rules of the Game

It was about 5 p.m. on a Friday, and I could see the jagged ridges of the Cascades clearly from my office. I took it as an unmistakable sign that it was time to head out for the day. But just as I was packing up, the phone rang. On the other end of the […]

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Highlights & Accomplishments in the Legislative Session

The 105-day 2019 regular session, the biennial “long session” in the Washington state Legislature, has come to an end. From the beginning in Jan. 14 through adjournment on April 28, legislators passed a myriad of policy measures, as well as a new 2019-2021 state operating budget (including plans for increased higher-education spending and a rebuild […]

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Update from Olympia: WSBA’s Request Legislation and More Headed to the Governor

The final weeks of the Washington state legislative session are marked by long nights on the chamber floors as legislators vote on bills from the opposite house before the April 17 cutoff and push to pass legislation by April 28, the last day of the scheduled regular session. WSBA’s request legislation—Senate Bill (SB) 5003—was a […]

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5 Ways to Advance Your Legal Career with WSBA’s Practice Primer Series

In 2018, John Kennedy and Sharon Wilcoxen met when they each attended the 2018 WSBA Practice Primer Series on Business Law. One year after that serendipitous meeting, they are now in the process of opening their own estate planning and business law firm: Kennedy Wilcoxen PLLC. At the time, Kennedy was working at a law […]

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The Paper Chase: Going Green in the Legal Field

This blog post is a reprint of the winning entry in the WSBA Business Law Section’s Green Writing Contest for law school students. This blog post is a reprint of the winning entry in the WSBA Business Law Section’s Green Writing Contest for law school students. The author, Greg Simpson, is in his final year […]

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Week 8: WSBA-Sponsored Bills March On

The Legislature closes week eight with bills, bills, and more bills. Lawmakers in both chambers have been working late to pass legislation out of the House and Senate before next week’s critical cutoff date. Bills still moving include legal financial obligation reform, the Voting Rights Act, pro bono services for military service members, and many […]

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Week 2: State Legislature Digs into Real Property and Business Regulations

Friday ended Week 2 of the 2017 Washington State Legislative Session and a healthy round of bill introductions, committee hearings, and press conferences probing the process of budget-sausage making. Both fiscal and policy committees continued to hold hearings to flesh out a variety of issues, including increasing penalties for driving under the influence, legal financial-obligation […]

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Comics, Creators, Copyrights and Collaboration

Representing comic book creators can be exciting: you get to use your JD to protect costumed heroes and villains! Given Hollywood’s love of the comic book property, attorneys who practice IP law and work in the entertainment industries should have a working knowledge of the legal issues comic book creators face each time they begin […]

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Appeals Court Holds No Duty to Non-client Trust Beneficiary in Legal Malpractice Case

This past fall Division II of the Court of Appeals concluded in a legal malpractice case that a lawyer who prepared a trust and a later amendment for his client did not owe a duty to a prospective beneficiary of the trust.

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The Lawyer as Business Partner

Attorney Henry Dixon explains how serving as both effective partner and proactive advisor heightens a lawyer’s value to business clients.