MASTERS LAW GROUP PLL-C A T, 0 (206) 780?5033 . KENNETH W. MASTERS SHELBY R. FROST LEMMEL KARA R. MASTERS FAGSIMILE OF COUNSEL . 1 - (206) 842-5356 March 19, 2019' Mr. William D. Pickett President Washington State Bar Association 1 1325 Fourth Ave, Suite 600 Seattle, Washington 98101~2539 Re: Resignation as President of Washington State Bar FoundatiOH,? Effective March 31, 2019 Dear Bill: I write with a heavy heart to offer my resignation as President of the Washington State Bar FoundatiOn, effective March 31, 2019; I can'no longer tolerate the, actions of some members of the ?7 Board of Governors, and can nolonger serve this organizationwhile they go on unabated. As you know better than almost anyone, far too many terrible examples exist to name here. But I primarily must resign in protest of the secretive, unprincipled, and frankly inhuman manner in WhiCh the- board summarily terminated the ?nest Executive Director of any organization Wher'n I have ever known, Paula LittleWood.1 1 - - As you know Ihave continuously served the WSBA in Various capacities for rOughly 20 years. I ?rst served on and chaired the Amicus Committee. At that time too, there Were board members who felt they,?knew better? than the rest of us volunteer members, the staff, and even Bar Counsel- While it was tough. to take,~it wasnOWhere near as bad as it is now, so, I kept serving. I next served on and ultimately chaired the Rules Procedures Committee.? for ei'ght'years. This was a great learning experience, and I will always cherish the friendships I made, and remember - With pride the excellent work of that Committee Throughout my tenure on that committee, our work was trusted and reSpected by the then-Governors and the Supreme Court; we achieved some great things together. This was .due, to .ailarge extent, tothe tireless dedication Of the WSBA staff. 7 Watching the good Work of. so many dedicated volunteer members and outstanding staff being diminished, distained, and disregarded by the board-in recent years has been very disturbing. I was then elected to the Board of Governors, where I served from 2012 to .2015. This Was another- great learning experience, Where I again made friends among honOrable and insightful colleagues. I was honored to chair the Disciplinary Selection and Personnel Committees, and to be 241 Madison Avenue North Bainbridge Island, Washington 98i10 unanimously elected Treasurer. I also liaised with my beloved Rules Committee, and with the Outstanding Escalating Cost of Civil Litigation Task Force (ECCL), among other duties. Throughout all this time the staff continued its outstanding service But as a board,- We were hardly perfect We certainly made mistakes. But we listened, learned and then tried to lead. We did not simply disregard colleagues who disagreed with us Nor did we disregard abuse,? or secretly plot to oust staff who tried to steer us in the right direction. Nor did we fight with our Supreme COurt, - Which has plenary authority over the practice of law under our Constitution. We knew our place. One mistake I made was to reject some of the recommendations of the distinguished Governance Task, FOrce. We had a' strong and thoughtful board at that time,- and I simply did not foreseethe disasters that would befall the organization just a few years on. Others did. I now regret my lack of fOresight' and I urge the Supreme Court to revisit its excellent recommendations, which could go far 1n addressing the structural problems we currently face. Had we adopted it wholesale then, we WOuld not be in this mess now. 1, My next volunteer effort Was perhaps the most rewardingof them all: chairing the ECCL Rules Drafting Taskforcpe I was asked by one of your to help select '18 ?Rules Geeks? to write rules implementing the Board of Governors? recommendations regarding the Final Report recommendations eight years in the making. We had judges ?om the Federal Court, the Court of. Appeals, and the SuperiOr Court, at least two lawyer?volunteers who recently bebame judges, four former chairs of the Rules Committee, and a host of dedicated, hardworking, and experienced litigator-,3 not to mention the usual outstanding WSBA staff support, without whom none of us could accomplish much. - Because our goal was to create an even playing field for all citizens in our trial courts, this was a well? balanced group. For instance, the Washington State Assbciation for Justice appointed Jane: Morrow their own Rules Chair and the Washington Defense Trial Lawyers appointed Brad smith, just two among many excellent and accomplished trial lawyers. For two years, these . outstanding volunteers drafted, scrubbed, and thoroughly vetted (to many, many judges, lawyers, and other stakeholders) several rules proposals. Most significantly, they included rules mandating I .I cooperation among attorneys in conducting discovery, in hopes of ending the eVer?escalating costs of disCovery sanctions, and reducing the ever- -escalating costs of civil litigation. As you well know, these cuttingnedge propOSals Were received with a resoundingthud at the Board of Governors, who quite clearly did not understand themm?even though there had already been a prior?f1rst reading,? and though these proposals-were on for ?action? at' the September 2018 meetingThe myriad uninformedquestions the Governors asked were disheartening, particularly 1 from a board that routinely substitutes its judgment? for that of the commutees, taSk forces, and staff who come before it. And as is equally routine with this board, many months haVe gone by . 1 With. no action on the prOposals. As usual, this board ?knows better? than the dozens of volunteer experts who brought these exciting ideas forward. But the board? 5 failure to act on these prOposals is nothing compared to its troubling recent actions. Reading in the Seattle Times that a Governorwas accused of sexually harassing a staff member,, that an outside investigator-found the allegations credible, and that the board? then ?responded? by elevating him to Treasurer, was astounding. Seeing him ?temporarily? removed as Treasurer, only 7 to be reinstated by a board that voted to say it had no authority to remove him in the first place is - unconscionable. it potentially exposes Bar Members to a retaliation suit from the very Governor accused of harassment. As a former PerSonnel Chair, I can tell you that this 13 not how allegations "of Sexual harassment should be handled. But of course, as a decent, experienced and principled leader among lawyers, you already know that 7 Paula Littlewood has served this organization with distinction for all of my years as a volunteer i and many more. She is nationally recognized as among the ?nest if not hands- down the ?nest Bar ED in the United States. She? has long been in demand to traVel' internationally on her own dime ?'toshare her deep insights on the practice of law around the world. I have personally . 7 observed Presidents of the American Bar Association, leaders of, the British, New South Wales, and. several Canadian bars, and Bar Presidents and other Eds from around this Country, speak of Paula with awe. She is not just the best bar ED, but the best ED I have ever had the honor to work beside. Or perhaps I should say, to learn from . _Why did the board dismiss a woman of her caliber? Amazingly, we don know. Such opacity regarding this momentous decision for our Bar 13 intolerable. In light of what Justices Madsen, Wiggins, and Johnson, recently wrote to the Bar, claims that we are going in a ?new direction? -- coming from Governors who have offered no new direction and no transition plan 4" leave the WSBA adrift, and dangerously close to running aground. At a time like this, heedlessly throwing overboard a great leader like Paula LittlewOod? whose foresight regarding the broad trends 1n Our profession has bordered on the miraculous suggests the concerning absence of a moral compass. do not suffer under the illusionthat my resignation will change anything. Nor do I relinquish this - honored poSition with its opportunities to support diversity and inclusion in the profession, citizens ?of moderate means, and active duty servicemen and servicewomen With anything but . profound regret. My wife and I have long supported diversity and inclusion and civil legal aid, and we will continue those efforts elsewhere. But listening to the staff speak during the last several - BOG meetings regarding the utter lack of support and even Oppression they have suffered under this board, leaVes me with the overwhelming 1mpression that my efforts, like theirs, are no longer welcome at the WSBA- . I Wish yOu the very best 1n all you do, Mr. President. I salute you, Paula, the WSBA Executive Management Team, and the wonderful WSBA staff and volunteers. I bid the WSBA fareWell. grew" 1 - . Keri-"Masters . cc: Executive Director Paula Littlewood Washington State Bar Foundation Chief Justice Mary Fairhurst, Assoc Chief Justice Charles Johnson, the Associate Justices of the supreme Court WSBA COunsel, Staff, and Governors The Hon. Jamie Pedersen Dean Annette Clark Andrew Prazuch EX. Dir. King County Bar Assoc. Paul Fj elstad Kitsap County Bar . - Editor, NW. LaWyer