What do lawyers do with their precious non-billable hours? In the new issue of Bar News, we hear from six lawyer artists about their creative processes and how their legal training has influenced their music, poetry, photography, stage play directing, and even podcasting.
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WSBA Chief Disciplinary Counsel Doug Ende is an eclectic personality on top of being a meticulous and measured legal ethics professional. This certainly was not lost on the National Organization of Bar Counsel (NOBC), which presented Ende with the 2020 NOBC President’s Award virtually on July 30.
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The 1916 Washington Supreme Court decision in State v. Towessnute opens with the words, “The prior occupancy of American soil by the Indian tribes did not vest them with sovereignty or any title to the land that was ever recognized by the white race, the Indian being merely an occupant with possessory uses for subsistence, and a favored ward of the Federal government.”
Then it gets worse…
Professional liability policies for lawyers and law firms often distinguish between disciplinary and malpractice defense. Some don’t cover disciplinary defense or, if they do, include a much lower coverage limit. A recent decision from the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington underscored the practical impact of the distinction between disciplinary and malpractice coverage.
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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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COVID-19, especially in Washington state, poses a threat on the legal profession and the world. We dive into the current circumstances and look at ways to prepare for pandemic.
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Timothy MB Farrell, counsel to MBI Health Services, LLC, shares his pro bono experience protecting women and girls, LGBT people, sex workers, and political activists in Uganda.
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Past experience informs us that the predicted eviction onslaught will more likely be a steady inundation of evictions on the civil dockets. Nonetheless, landlord-tenant practitioners and the courts will be navigating a rapidly evolving area of law. Here’s what you should know.
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Let me be abundantly clear: In my hiring decisions I will never ever care whether someone took the bar exam. The best data available, through comparative tests, malpractice suits, and ethics complaints, indicates that passing the bar exam has zero correlation with being a good lawyer. But that doesn’t mean I won’t ask if interviewees took the exam.
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When Washington’s stay-at-home order went into effect March 23, the uncertainty of where my firm, Navigate Law Group, might be when the dust settled weighed heavily on all of us. Similar concerns were felt throughout the legal community, and the ability of firms to embrace technology became a pressing issue.
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The WSBA Summer Sale is upon us again. This year, to better assist our members with the hardships posed by the COVID-19 pandemic, the discount will be increased to 50 percent for on-demand Continuing Legal Education (CLE) courses and webinars, the sale will run longer than before, and more CLEs are available at rock-bottom prices. Scroll down to see some of the top streamable content that you can binge watch without the guilt.
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We are all human beings and we all have frailties, it is important lawyers recognize this in themselves and that we support each other with this understanding.
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For WSBA President Rajeev Majumdar, taking the step to go to therapy meant treading down a path that, to him, initially felt like failure. Recently, Majumdar took a little more time to speak with us about his mental health journey and what he hopes sharing it will do for others in the legal profession.
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Oregon recently addressed a very practical problem confronting lawyers who are relocating there: can they practice while their reciprocal admission applications are pending? The Oregon Supreme Court in In re Harris, answered “yes”—as long as the lawyer fits within one of the “safe harbors” authorizing temporary practice under Oregon’s version of ABA Model Rule 5.5.
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Everything from social distancing in a jury trial to managing a backlog of cases remain top of mind for officials at all levels of the state court system. A review of county superior court websites reveals that many courts continue to prioritize virtual proceedings while developing methods to handle in-person interactions safely.
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Clients will expect technology platforms to help avoid in-person consultations, and they will want electronic documents. With the ongoing economic hardships, potential clients may wish to pay for services via a flat fee rather than by the hour. They may also wish to handle matters mostly on their own with just a little guidance from their attorney. To answer these needs, lawyers and law firms will have to put the client and customer first. This is customer-centric business and there is really no way to get around it.
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For legal professionals, the economic impacts of COVID-19 may have been behind national trends, but in the weeks following the unprecedented nationwide shutdown, unemployment in the legal field too began its uptick.
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