January 19, 2005 Board Meeting
By Joseph E. Bringman
The following is a summary of key actions taken at the KCBA Board of Trustees’ meeting of January 19, 2005. Complete minutes of this and other Board meetings are available from the KCBA office.
Appointment of Directors for The Defender Association. The Board of Trustees appointed Janet Ainsworth (Associate Dean of the Seattle University School of Law), Bruce Erickson (a sole practitioner and former staff member of The Defender Association), Fabienne Brooks (former Chief of the Criminal Investigations Division of the King County Sheriff’s Office), and Steven Scott (retired King County Superior Court Judge) to the Board of Directors of The Defender Association. Under The Defender Association’s charter, KCBA is entitled to appoint four of its twelve directors.
Drug Policy Project Resolution. The Board passed the Drug Policy Project’s Resolution on the Establish-ment of a Special Consultative Body on Drug Regulation and Control. The vote culminated a five to six month process during which the Director of the Drug Policy Project and representatives of the medical profession, the King County Prosecutor’s Office, and the U.S. Attorney’s Office made detailed presentations to the Board concerning the proposal to request the Washington Legislature to establish a special consultative body to consider potential state regulation and control of psychoactive substances, in the hope of initiating a conversation on new ways to address drug abuse issues.
Passage of this resolution is consistent with the leading role that KCBA long has played on drug issues. Almost all Association members who commented on the resolution--which was posted on the KCBA website and was the subject of an e-mail to members inviting their comments--were supportive of the resolution.
Approval of Budget Requests from Outside Organizations. The Board approved requests from 1) the Northwest Indian Bar Association to sponsor a celebration of the WSBA’s decision to include on the Washington State Bar Examination questions concerning Indian law jurisdiction; and 2) Judge J. Wesley Saint Clair to sponsor the Superior Court’s Annual Thurgood Marshall Program. For both events, the Board approved a contribution by KCBA of $250.
Resignation of Trustee Mark Aoki-Fordham. President John Cary advised the Board that, due to an impending work assignment that will require him temporarily to relocate to Japan, Mark Aoki-Fordham will resign his position as a KCBA trustee. Because Mr. Aoki-Fordham’s term expires in June 2005, the Board accepted the Officers’ recommendation not to appoint a replacement trustee but to allow one of the new trustees who will be elected this Spring to begin serving his or her term immediately. In addition to serving on the KCBA Board, Mr. Aoki-Fordham is a former trustee of the KCBA Young Lawyers’ Division and served as Chair of the Drug Policy Project. n
Joseph E. Bringman is a member of the KCBA Board of Trustees and former KCBA Secretary. In his other life, Joe is a commercial litigator with the Perkins Coie law firm, focusing primarily on corporate governance and securities law issues. He can be reached at (206) 359-8501 or at JBringman@perkinscoie. com.
