Throughout its history, the King County Bar Association has been a leader in its efforts to improve social justice, public policy and the administration of justice in King County.
The association was founded in 1886 by 24 members who drafted its constitution and by-laws. The organization was founded in part to censure vigilante attorneys who had participated in the anti-Chinese riots of February 1886. By 1887, the association was involved in determining the best length of terms for the probate court, implementing plans for a law library, providing rooms for bar meetings and establishing a municipal court in Seattle. In 1895, KCBA members organized the Seattle Law Library Association and funded it with $25,000 from the sale of capital stock in the association.
In the summer of 1906, the Seattle Bar Association was incorporated. Its constitution was aligned with that of the American Bar Association and stated that the association was “established to maintain the honor and dignity of the profession of the law, to increase its usefulness in promoting the due administration of justice, and to cultivate social intercourse among its members.”
The association would continue to make its mark over the next several decades as it witnessed social eruptions that would divide its members: the organization of unions, WWI, the Seattle general strike, Prohibition, the stock market crash, the Depression and eventually WWII. In response to the effects of the Great Depression, in 1938 the association was the first entity in Washington to establish a legal aid bureau to provide legal services for the poor.
During 1948, the association began polling its members to rate candidates for the King County Superior Court and the Washington Supreme Court. The association made significant changes in 1957 by forming sections that were aimed at specific areas of the law as a service to its members and by setting up a number of standing committees, including ones devoted to continuing legal education, uniform jury instructions and judicial selection.
On June 4, 1958, the board amended the articles of incorporation, changing the association’s name to the Seattle-King County Bar Association. In December 1960, a new publication — the Bar Bulletin — was begun. Activities of the bar continued to grow, change and come full circle. In March 1993, the association embraced its rich, long history and returned to its original name, the King County Bar Association.
As the 2007-08 membership year comes to a close, we are proud of the contributions we have made to the ongoing history of the association. Our sections have provided top-notch continuing legal education programs to their members; a new section on Collaborative Law was created at member request; and the KCBA Board approved an Appellate Law Section recommendation to allow its executive committee and designees to serve as an amicus committee. To date, we have received two requests for the KCBA to file amicus briefs.
Forty years after its inception, the Judicial Screening Committee continues to rate candidates for appointment or election to King County and state appellate courts for contested elections. In the past year, the Committee has rated 25 judicial candidates. In March and April, the co-chairs also coordinated an advisory process for King County Superior Court to review commissioner candidates for appointment.
KCBA made history when we received a call to action from the ABA late on Friday, November 9, urging attorneys across the country to gather on Wednesday, November 14 to show their solidarity with the jailed lawyers and judges in Pakistan and to defend the rule of law. With only 1½ days for planning and to obtain permits, KCBA met the challenge and organized a rally of approximately 350 attorneys at the federal courthouse in Seattle that received national coverage on NPR radio.
Throughout the years, KCBA has continued to influence the legal profession in many ways. Although our mission has grown and expanded with time, it is still built on the principles that were institutionalized back in 1906. Today, the King County Bar Association’s mission is to:
provide support to its diverse membership; promote a just, collegial and accessible legal system and profession; work with the judiciary to achieve excellence in the administration of justice; strive to benefit the community through its own efforts and those of its Foundation; and offer opportunities for public service and input into matters of public policy.
Be a part of history and show your support for the association that continually strives to improve the practice of law in King County. Watch your mail in June and make sure you renew your membership to enjoy all the benefits and prestige that a membership in KCBA brings to your practice of law.
Note: Historical references are taken from the book, From Profanity Hill – King County Bar Association’s Story, by Marc Lampson (1993, Documentary Book Publishers Corp., Kirkland, WA).
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