What felt like just yesterday, the King County Law Library announced the “arrival” of our new baby, the King County Law Library Foundation, in these very pages.
The Law Library is pleased to announce the birth of our new foundation. The King County Law Library Foundation made its debut this spring weighing in at a whopping 501(c)(3). We’d like to thank all the current and former King County Law Library trustees who supported the foundation start-up campaign to ensure a vibrant start for our fledgling entity.
That was in 2018 and as with many new parents you look back and find it hard to believe that they let you out of the hospital with the baby — didn’t they realize you had no idea what you were doing? With a few years under your belt though, things start to look much different. Instead of always feeling like you are flying by the seat of your pants — you are more confident and steady-
handed. At this point, a more apt analogy for the Foundation’s progress is erecting a building that will stand the test of time. With that in mind, here are some updates on the Foundation’s progress.
Laying the Cornerstone
We could never have got this project off the ground without the assistance of Law Library Trustee Joe Bringman. Joe facilitated wonderful pro bono assistance from Perkins Coie to get the Foundation from idea to entity with the wise counsel of Andrea Templeton, Emily Klick, Lorri Dunsmore, Nisha Nariya, and Kelly Finn
Our stellar slate of founding officers included Mary Jo Newhouse (President), Maureen Quigley (Vice-
President), Dan Fiorito (Secretary), and Oliver Enquist (Treasurer). The founding officers were instrumental in shaping and guiding the Foundation’s mission and vision. On paper the mission of supporting Law Library services and programs seems simple enough, but the reality is anything but.
The Law Library’s funding model is based on a 100-year-old statute that is inadequate to support the operations of a law library in a technologically advanced, modern environment. RCW chapter 27.24 allocates a small portion of civil filing fees to support Library operations. When this statute was enacted in 1919, filing fees were sufficient to maintain a law library. As events and the practice of law evolved over the past century, the filing fee revenue no longer supports the full cost of running one law library let alone both the downtown Seattle and Kent branches. Filing fees began their decline about 10 years ago and have continued to drop steadily since then. As filing fees have declined, other costs, most notably legal publisher prices and subscriptions for electronic legal research databases, have surged. As a colleague lamented about a funding mechanism from a century old statute, it’s like being asked to navigate the autobahn with a horse and buggy.
Architect and Engineer
In fleshing out the mission and vision, the Foundation board placed co-equal emphasis on the goals of a) ensuring the long-term financial viability of the Law Library and b) financial support for innovative programs and services. As the complexity of the mission increased it became apparent that the Foundation needed a steady hand to guide us. Kristie Thompson was tapped as the Executive Director in 2020. Kristie comes to the Foundation with a wide-ranging background working with nonprofits and has spent significant time working and travelling internationally. She’s been invaluable in organizing administrative and fund-raising efforts as well as providing strategic planning for Foundation initiatives. Kristie was instrumental in assisting with grant and donor campaigns for our public computer replacement project.
Building New Additions
By the end of 2023 most of our founding board members had cycled off the board. We are tremendously grateful for the time and effort that they put into getting the Foundation off the ground. We now have a (mostly) new crew of officers including Erin Rance (President), Dan Hsieh (Vice President) and Karen Whitney (Secretary). Oliver Enquist (Treasurer) is our sole remaining founding officer. He’s been a fantastic source of financial guidance and institutional memory for our newer officers.
In addition to the current slate of officers we also have board members Carly Eyler and Lachlan Huck. We’re so grateful for the energy, passion and creativity of our new officers and board members.
Building on Our Successes
The major achievement of the Foundation over the last couple of years has been the replacement of all the staff and public patron computers. Astoundingly, the last time that the law library was able to purchase new public patron computers was in 2002. The public patron computers most recently in use were installed in 2013 at the ripe old age of 7 after having outlived their useful purpose as law library staff computers. The law library managed to keep them ticking with gum and string for 18 (!!) years but it was clearly only a matter of time before the wheels came off. In 2022, with a $5000 grant from the American Rescue Plan Act and a $10,000 grant from the KCLL Foundation, the law library was able to move the ball forward with replacing the public patron computers. Significant contributions by KCLL Foundation donor Eric Long were critical to the project’s success. As Eric says: “There is no justice until everyone has an equal playing field. So, I will continue to give to the law library.” We thank Eric for his incredibly generous donations to the library and his on-going support of our mission — Without access to information, there is no justice.
Setting Up Scaffolding —New Programs
The Family Law Forms Drafting Lab is the law library’s newest initiative. As with most of our programs the Drafting Lab was the result of seeing a gap in services and trying to figure out how to fill it. The most requested service from our non-attorney patrons is for help finding forms. The second most requested service is for help filling out forms. The law library partnered with the KCBA, the Seattle U. Law School’s Family Law Center, and the King County Family Law Facilitators (FLIC) to launch the Family Law Forms Drafting Lab. The idea behind the drafting lab is that patrons will work on their forms in a group setting (with the understanding that there is no expectation of privacy or confidentiality and no attorney/ client relationship). As questions arise, they can flag down one of the law student interns from the SU Family Law Help Center who will then answer the question or send it along to the volunteer attorney. This format allows more people to be helped simultaneously and has the synergistic effect of allowing others with similar questions to benefit from hearing the answer.
Recent, generous donations from Perkins Coie and Lane Powell are helping to expand the services we are able to offer at the Drafting Lab. An enormous thank you to Perkins Coie and Lane Powell!!
Grab a Hammer (We Need You!)
In order to make the Foundation’s vision for the future a reality, we need you. The KCLLF Board of Directors is transitioning to a working board. We are looking for new board members with knowledge and experience in fundraising, philanthropy, advocacy, equity and diversity issues, and building community engagement. The Board of Directors currently meets quarterly over Zoom, though we anticipate returning to in-person meetings in the future. Prior board service is not required to apply. Applications will be accepted on a rolling basis.
If you are interested, please forward a current resume and a brief statement of interest to KCLLF Executive Director Kristie Thompson thompsonk@kcllfoundation.org.
Other Ways to Pitch In
If you don’t have time to serve on the board, there are many other ways to support the foundation. Please consider making a one-time or on-going donation to the Foundation or volunteering in other capacities. https://kcllfoundation.org/ways-to-give/
Help us use this solid foundation to create a structure that can soar to new heights.
