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BARBARA A. MADSEN
JUSTICE
TEMPLE OF JUSTICE
POST OFFICE Box 40929
OLYMPIA, WASHINGTON
98504?0929

(360) 357-2037
FAX (360) 357-2 IOB

March 13, 2019
sent via email
Re: Recent Actions by the BOG
Dear Board of Governors:

We urge this board to reconsider its decision to ?go in a different direction?
without first instituting a broad, open, and inclusive group of bar members, members of
the public, and members of the Supreme Court-appointed boards to study the future of
the bar, to determine whether a new direction is warranted, and in what direction the
profession should go. What we have heard to date is only a statement by a handful of
governors, without any explanation, that the bar is going in a ?different direction,?
apparently without obtaining the input and buy-in of the membership, the public, or the
court for this new direction.

In the past, when the BOG has believed a course change was necessary, it has
formed a task force or work group. Such a mechanism has allowed for broad
participation by knowledgeable, invested members of the profession and the public. The
governance task force is a representative example of such a BOG initiative. Another
example of the appropriate process is the current Supreme Court structures work group.
As you know, the court instituted a structures work group to evaluate the effect of such
important cases as Janus v. American Federation of State, County Maniczpal
Employees, Council 31 and North Carolina State Board ofDentaZ Examiners v. F. T. C.
Similarly, we urge this board to engage the membership and the public in developing its
?different direction.?

We are also urging this board to rescind its unwise decision to terminate Paula
Littlewood as the executive director. To separate a director who enjoys a strong,
positive, national reputation, and whose evaluations within the Washington legal
community have always yielded high marks makes no sense, particularly when the BOG
is considering taking a 40,000 member organization in a different direction. If this board
wishes to go in a new direction, and has appropriate input by the public and by members

WSBA BOG
March 13,2019
Page 2

who are affected, and can convince this court that the direction is to the bene?t of the
public and the profession, then it should do so with the strong leadership and resources
that the executive director, Ms. Littlewood, offers and has offered in the past.

The BOG should realize that it is only one of several oversight boards. There are
six other boards that were created by the Supreme Court and which also govern aspects
of the legal profession in Washington. We have seen no evidence that those boards,
which are independent from the BOG, have been consulted in any way in any of these
decisions. If this board wishes to go in a new direction it should do so with guidance and
an open, transparent process that includes members of the profession, members of the
public, and a knowledgeable executive director.

We are also concerned with the unprecedented requests we?ve received from
members this last year: former governors and presidents, bar staff, bar management, bar.
defense counsel contacting the court and asking for our intervention, a request that we
suspend the entire BOG, etc. All ofthis should be enough to convince you that the
?different direction? is the wrong direction.

Sincerely,

Barbara A. Madsen

 

Charles W. Johnson
Justice

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Charles K. Wiggins i 2
Justice
c: Justices
Bill Pickett, President, WSBA
Paula Littlewood, Exec. Dir., WSBA