Candidates for the 2008 KCBA Board of Trustees

President
        Daniel Gandara

First Vice President
        James Andrus

Second Vice President
        Mark T. Aoki-Fordham
        Karen W. Murray

Secretary/Trustee
        Timothy M. Moran
        Kim M. Tran

Central District Trustees
        Theodore (Theo) J. Angelis
        Kaustuv M. Das
        Michael S. Spearman
        Christine M. Tobin

East District Trustees
        Ted D. Billbe
        Orna A. Edgar

South Disrict Trustees
        Michael Ditchik
        Shana E. Thompson

One of the key challenges facing KCBA is how to increase its membership. Unlike mandatory bar associations, KCBA must provide a level of service, benefits and opportunities which motivate attorneys to join. Recently, the Association has experienced a slight reduction in membership. The national trend suggests that volunteer bar associations could see declining membership for the foreseeable future.

Some believe that this decline is due to the aging of the baby boomers. As baby boomers down-size their law practices and ultimately retire, we can expect that they will become less and less involved in bar activities. KCBA needs to recruit the many new attorneys entering the profession, in order to maintain its strong and diverse membership. We need to take a fresh look at the Association’s membership benefits, voluntary legal services programs, and networking and educational opportunities, to see what more the Association can do, to better serve its members and attract new ones. Hopefully, this self assessment will result in a noticeable improvement in all aspects of KCBA's programs and activities. Ultimately the Association must provide its members with the level of professional opportunities and community service which they expect to see in a voluntary bar association.

Please join me in working to make KCBA a better place for all of its members.

For the past three years, it has been an honor for me to serve as a trustee and an officer of KCBA. At KCBA, we aspire to be one of the best voluntary bar associations in the country. Given the wonderful diversity that we enjoy, it is virtually impossible to be all things to all people all of the time, but we want to be a practice and quality of life enhancer for each of our members. In order to achieve these goals, we must provide our members and prospective members with a substantial basket filled with the items they desire most from a local bar organization.

In recent years, KCBA has been recognized nationally for its work on drug policy, fair judicial elections, and its Future of the Law program. Our world class pro-bono programs are exceptional in matching members with clients in need. KCBA is an organization that makes a difference. As First Vice President, I will have many important duties to assist the President in doing KCBA’s work. None of those duties will be more important than working as the Chair of the Membership Committee.

Given the goals of KCBA, it is critically important that we maintain a vibrant membership to sustain the vitality of our organization. Please review the programs and services that are currently offered by KCBA at (www.kcba.org) and work with us to improve KCBA in the coming year. As First Vice President, I look forward to having you as a member of KCBA next year. Please send your comments and suggestions regarding what motivating things KCBA can do for our bar in the future to James.Andrus@KLGates.com.

It has been my privilege to serve the KCBA in leadership roles over the course of my career, including as trustee and Chair of the YLD, trustee of the KCBA, Chair of the Drug Policy Project and volunteer attorney in the Neighborhood Legal Clinics, Housing Justice Project and Kinship Care Solutions programs. I now appreciate the opportunity to run for Second Vice President.

Outside of the KCBA, I have served the ACLU of Washington as a board member, legal committee member and cooperating attorney, as a board member and vice president of the Washington State China Relations Council and as a board member of the Asian American Justice Center. I am fortunate to work as an in-house counsel at Starbucks Coffee Company and have worked with my department’s diversity and pro bono committees on efforts to improve the practice of law and provide legal services to the indigent.

The King County Bar Association has played a significant role in our community for over one hundred years. If elected, I will work with the trustees and you over the next three years to maintain and expand the incredible offerings of the KCBA, emphasizing: (1) excellence in pro bono and access to justice programs; (2) member services, including timely CLEs and vibrant committees; (3) continued leadership in administration of justice issues, including the Drug Policy Project and court funding; (4) strong diversity programs; (5) professionalism amongst the bench and bar; and (6) maintaining ongoing budgetary and organizational strength.

Thank you for your consideration.

I have had the honor and the privilege of being a member of the King County Bar Association Board of Trustees where I have worked with its staff and members in promoting its goals of improving the administration of justice and making legal services accessible for all persons regardless of their ability to pay. As co-chair of the KCBA’s Elder Law Clinic, and a member of the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Celebration and the King County Bar Foundation’s Future of the Law Institute Committees, I have first hand knowledge as to what a dedicated group can accomplish when its members believe in the organization’s mission.

My professional and volunteer experience has always been in the public sector. For the last sixteen years I have practiced as a Public Defender at Associated Counsel for the Accused representing indigent clients in criminal matters. I have also served as a Board Member of the Washington Women Lawyers, King County Washington Women Lawyers, University District Food Bank, President of the Loren Miller Bar Association, and as a committee member of the Statewide Diversity Conference. I currently serve as a member of Washington State Minority and Justice Commission and as a Katrina Volunteer.

I truly believe the words of anthropologist Margaret Mead: “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has.” For over 100 years the King County Bar Association has done just that. If you elect me as second vice president, I will work hard to continue to promote the KCBA’s mission and goals.

Thank you for your support.

I am honored to be among the nominees for the KCBA Board, which is an extremely dedicated and impressive group of individuals. I am proud to be a member of an organization that not only considers, but actually takes a stand on, controversial topics such as the Drug Policy Project’s recent marijuana resolution. In so doing, the KCBA continues its honorable reputation, begun 122 years ago, when it was formed to condemn and censure attorneys who participated in anti-Chinese riots.

While over 1,500 attorneys participate each year in the Association’s pro bono, Committee and Section work, that represents only slightly more than a quarter of KCBA’s membership. I would like to see that percentage increase. Many of us do not realize, until we step in and roll up our sleeves, how much a few dedicated individuals and groups can accomplish with some effort, and how satisfying that work can be. KCBA’s excellent Professionalism Peer Mentoring program and the new Collaborative Law Section are but a few examples of what can happen when a few individuals decide to act to fulfill a need.

I spent nearly seven and one-half years as a public defender at The Defender Association, and I currently have a civil litigation practice. I served three years as Board Secretary of the Wallingford Community Council, and am currently the Vice President. I am a member of various KCBA Sections and Committees, including the Drug Policy Project, and look forward to contributing to the Association’s great work.

KCBA’s current priorities still reflect its founding principles of equality and fairness. KCBA’s commitment to providing access to justice to those who may face financial, linguistic and cultural barriers demonstrates a unique attribute of our profession. I have served as International District Legal Clinic Coordinator (a KCBA Neighborhood Legal Clinic) and continue to volunteer there. I am inspired by KCBA’s willingness to support issues of equality such as same-sex marriage and drug policy reform. I believe in KCBA’s determination to remain relevant as exemplified by the “call to action” to support attorneys in Pakistan standing for the rule of law. I applaud KCBA’s ability to build partnerships and launch a website to assist voters in judicial elections. As KCBA Secretary/Trustee I would support these initiatives and cultivate future projects to stimulate our community.

In addition to my commitment to the KCBA, I have leadership experience as Asian Bar Association of Washington President; Vietnamese American Bar Association Board Member and Statewide Diversity Conference Co-Founder. My commitment to WSBA includes service as: Special Disciplinary Counsel, Pro Bono and Legal Aid Committee Member and Leadership Institute Fellow. I serve on the National Asian Pacific American Bar Association Legal Foundation Board. Beyond the legal community, I am appointed to the Seattle Women’s Commission and serve as Board President for the Asian Counseling Referral Service, a social service agency serving the API community, where I teach a naturalization class.

I am a shareholder at Stafford Frey Cooper with a focus on employment law.

Each year, KCBA matches thousands of legal professionals with public service opportunities. If selected as Trustee, I will work passionately to expand and improve existing programs, in hopes of satisfying more of our community’s massive, unmet needs.

I am proud to have supported KCBA’s current programs for more than seven years. As Editor of the Washington Lawyers Practice Manual (“WLPM”), I led a 3-year strategy to improve the WLPM, increase sales, and generate new revenue, all of which is used to fund the Neighborhood Legal Clinics. I also am a founding member of the Civil Rights Clinic—jointly run by KCBA and the Federal Bar Association.

Outside of the KCBA, I have devoted significant time to: (i) improving child safety by co-chairing the law enforcement committee of the Washington Youth Internet Safety Task Force; (ii) promoting the Rule of Law by drafting an ABA White Paper guiding reform efforts around the world; (iii) working with local governments to promote harmonious relationships with Tribes; (iv) mentoring a diverse group of young attorneys, law students, and high school students; (v) spending hundreds of hours each year in pro bono representations; (vi) serving as a leader in the local Greek community; (vii) participating in the Leadership Tomorrow program; and (viii) volunteering for community organizations including United Way and Learning for Life. I also am the recipient of the KCBA’s 2006 Outstanding Young Lawyer Award and the WSBA’s Random Acts of Professionalism Award.

I thank you for your consideration and ask for your support.

My volunteer work mirrors the KCBA’s three main goals – promote access to justice, provide support to its diverse membership, and improve the justice system.

I volunteer at the Housing Justice Project and was recognized as its Attorney of the Year in 2004. I currently serve as Co-Chair of the Community Legal Services Committee, which oversees the KCBA’s various pro bono programs. In addition to coordinating the Committee’s activities, I have written numerous articles relating to pro bono service, worked with the Trustees of the KCBF to respond to a proposal for a statewide pro bono organization, and helped draft legislation protecting the rights of indigent tenants.

I am the Treasurer of the South Asian Bar Association of Washington. I have judged moot court competitions at both the University of Washington and Seattle University, conducted mock interviews for law students, and mentored minority law students. As a member of the KCBA Executive Director Search Committee, I got to know our new Executive Director well and was exposed to the KCBA’s great strengths and the challenges it faces.

As a member, and currently Chair, of the Joint Asian Judicial Evaluation Committee, I am cognizant of the issues that we face as we work towards a bench that reflects our community’s strength, talent, and diversity.

It is an honor to be nominated for a position as a Trustee. I believe I have an extensive record of service in promotion of the KCBA’s goals. If elected, I would continue working towards those goals.

It is an honor to be nominated to serve as Central District Trustee of the King County Bar Association, and I thank you for considering my candidacy. I accepted the nomination because I share KCBA’s commitment to its members, to our judicial system and to the public. Among its stated goals, KCBA is committed to ensuring that the courts are accessible to all, to working with the judiciary to achieve excellence in court administration and to offering opportunities for public service. If elected, I will join with KCBA’s members and officers to find new and innovative ways to continue KCBA’s leadership in these areas.

For the last 14 years I was an active member of the King County Superior Court bench. I served as a member of the court’s Executive Committee for 9 years, and during my last 2 years there, I served as Assistant Presiding Judge. I sat as a judge in every department; civil, criminal (including a stint as chief of the department), Unified Family Court, juvenile and in both the downtown courthouse and the Maleng Regional Justice Center. Given that KCBA’s mission and that of the court overlap in many significant ways, I believe that my experience on the bench will enhance my ability to serve as an effective trustee.

KCBA has always provided a valuable and necessary forum for the open exchange of ideas regarding the issues confronting our profession and our community. As your trustee, I will be committed to continuing this tradition. I appreciate your vote.

Michael Spearman currently provides mediation and arbitration services for Judicial Dispute Resolution, LLC. Prior to joining JDR in September 2007, he was a King County Superior Court judge for 14 years. While on the bench, Judge Spearman served in all of the court’s departments including three years as the Chief Judge of the Criminal Department, eight years on the court’s Executive Committee and two years as Assistant Presiding Judge. Judge Spearman has also been actively involved in efforts to improve the judicial system. He has served as a member of the board of the National Center for State Courts and as a commissioner on the State of Washington’s Sentencing Guidelines Commission and Interpreter Certification Commission. He is also on the boards of Seadrunar and the CASA program.

Prior to his appointment to the bench, Judge Spearman was a trial lawyer for 12 years, in the areas of criminal defense, family law and personal injury. He holds an undergraduate degree from Brown University and a J.D. from New York University School of Law. He resides on Capitol Hill with his wife, King County District Court judge Mariane Spearman, their two teenage children, Samantha and Mike, and Diego, the family hound.

I began volunteering in the King County Bar Association's neighborhood legal clinic in 1998 and have gradually become more deeply involved in the KCBA. I was elected as an officer of the KCBA's thriving Bankruptcy Section in 2003, and completed my term as Chair in May 2007. As a section leader, I helped to organize KCBA's first and two subsequent I ♥ Coffee, Chocolate, Cabernet & Cheese events. My work on that annual project led to my joining the KCBA Membership Development Committee in 2005.

In addition to my working directly with the KCBA, I have served as a mentor to Seattle University law students providing pro bono legal services to consumer bankruptcy debtors and am a member of the Consumer Education and Training Services ("CENTS") event planning committee, which raises substantial funds for programs designed to address the gaps in services available to financially troubled consumers.

I am a partner at the firm of Bush Strout & Kornfeld where my practice emphasizes commercial creditor-debtor issues, primarily representation of Chapter 11 debtors.

If elected to the Board of Trustees, I would be proud to take on even greater responsibility to further the interests of our legal community through KCBA's commitment to justice, access to legal services and high standards of professionalism for the bench and bar.

I am honored to have been nominated to serve on KCBA’s Board of Trustees. I hope you will consider giving me the opportunity to be of service. I was raised in Seattle and have practiced law since 1989. I have practiced civil litigation in the large firm context and for many years have focused my solo practice on family law matters. The practice of law is a challenging career. During my years as a member of the KBCA I have appreciated the excellent programs and services the Association offers to its members and to the public. I would very much like to assist the Board as a KCBA Trustee and would therefore appreciate your vote.

On my first day of law school, the Dean spoke of why the legal profession had lost the trust and respect it once had, and he exhorted us to earn back that trust and respect by holding ourselves to the highest moral and ethical standards in our personal and professional lives. On my last day of law school, a professor put aside his textbook and said: “The people of this state have given you a great gift. They have subsidized your law school education, and as you reap the benefits of that education, you should consider how you can give back.”

Those two exhortations—to foster trust and respect for our profession and to give back to our communities—have shaped my daily professional life and my career. The King County Bar Association works towards these goals, and that is why I would welcome the opportunity to serve as a Trustee. If elected, I would support all KCBA initiatives, but my personal areas of interest would include the Drug Policy Project, increasing diversity in the legal profession, and KCBA’s pro bono programs.

My professional and community experiences include: eight years of law firm practice; seven years as an in-house attorney for Microsoft Corporation; service on the diversity committee for Microsoft’s law department; and pro bono service for the Northwest Immigrant Rights Project, the Domestic Abuse Women’s Network, the Public Defenders Association, and KCBA Neighborhood Legal Clinics.

I would be honored to have your vote and to serve as a Trustee.

I am honored to be nominated as a candidate for the South District Trustee position. I am currently a Trustee for the South King County Bar Association and have been for many years. As such, I am well positioned to represent the interests of the south end bar.

I have been practicing law since 1987 and am admitted to practice in Washington, New York and the District of Columbia. Since moving to Seattle in 1995, I have demonstrated a firm commitment to service in the legal community. I am a long time member of the family law sections of both the WSBA and the KCBA, as well as a member of the newly formed Collaborative Law Section of the KCBA. I serve as a volunteer mediator in south King County and I am a longtime volunteer at the KCBA’s pro bono clinic in Kent. I have served as a supervising attorney/mentor in the KCBA’s Family Law Mentor Program for several years, as well. Some of you may also know me from the SKCBA’s yearly golf tournament in July (the “Phil Biege Open”), which I have been organizing and running for about five years now.

One of my primary goals is to address what is perceived by many attorneys as an increasing “disconnect” between the south end bar, the downtown bar and the east side bar. I will do my best to address this issue and to represent the interests of the small and mid-sized firms in the south end. One example of an issue that is sure to be in the forefront of discussions in coming years is the Family Law Center currently in the planning stages. Where it will be located is a major issue for many south end attorneys, similar to what we experienced when the RJC was in the planning stages. It is imperative that south end attorneys have a real voice in this project, as it will impact us all for decades to come.

I thank you, ask for your support and for your vote.

I am honored by the nomination and opportunity to serve as the South District Trustee of the King County Bar Association. I have long been active in the South King County Bar Association, having served as a trustee from 2002 to 2004, as Secretary from 2004 to 2005, as Vice President from 2005 to 2006, and as President from 2006 to 2007. I began practicing in Tukwila and have been in Kent at Curran Law Firm (formerly Curran Mendoza) for over five years. I would consider it an honor to represent South King County lawyers on the board of the KCBA.

Through my connections to the SKCBA, I will promote functions that increase collegiality and professionalism among lawyers within King County, and as a Trustee of the KCBA, I am committed to meeting the needs of our KCBA Neighborhood Legal Clinics. From 2000 to 2004, I volunteered at the Greenwood NLC, and from 2003 to the present, at the Kent NLC. So many members of our community would be lost within our legal system without the KCBA clinics. I have seen firsthand the many people that our legal clinics have helped make sense of an intimidating legal system. My goal as a Trustee will be to help the King County Bar Association continue to provide access to justice for the members of our community through these clinics. I would appreciate your vote so that I can assist the KCBA meet these goals in addition to meeting the goals of the KCBA Board representing you.