In August 1957, the first Bar Bulletin was published and the paper’s first editors in chief were the Honorable Betty B. Fletcher and Louis H. Pepper. What began as an 8 ½” x 11” four-page publication has by now grown into a 28-page booklet/magazine style publication, with a set publication schedule that is established each year. The schedule allows everyone involved in the production process including the volunteer authors, advertisers, design manager, KCBA staff and Editor to complete their piece of the puzzle to ensure we meet the printer’s upload deadline each month.
In the almost 68 years since the first edition was published, the Bar Bulletin has had 27 dedicated members serve as Editor of this outstanding publication. Some served for a year or two while others served for four or more years. Our longest serving editor was Gene Barton, a former Journalist who served from September 2005 through January 2019 and again as interim editor from October 2020 through March of 2021.
For the past 14 months in addition to all my responsibilities as the Associate Executive Director and now as your Executive Director I have also had the honor to serve as your Bar Bulletin editor. To everyone on the publications team (you know who you are) I appreciate the challenges I presented when you had to continually adjust the schedule based on my juggling of responsibilities, I am proud to say we didn’t miss a single publication deadline. Thank You!
It is for this reason and many more, that I am extremely excited to introduce you to our next Bar Bulletin Editor, Lee Nacozy. Lee is a longtime journalist and editor. She started her career in 2003 as a fact-checker and archivist at Austin’s daily newspaper until she left for law school at Texas Tech where she served as a law review editor. After law school she served for nine years writing and editing publications for the Texas Criminal Defense Lawyers Association, which has one of the largest elective memberships of lawyers in the country. She added to that by working for her former manager from Austin producing content for MSN.com. She moved to Seattle, then in 2015 became a member of the Washington Bar.
After nine years with TCDLA, she became the editor of Real Change — Seattle’s popular, weekly street newspaper with one of the highest circulations for a street paper worldwide. She transitioned from that to return to freelance editing in 2021 and has done so for regional law firms and the Prison Journalism Project for the past several years. When not working as an editor, Lee has done pro bono work and community organizing, including with the QLaw Foundation and its KCBA-sponsored clinic.
Lee has told me she is an “avid reader of community newspapers and assures us she is thrilled to bring her zest and journalism experience to the Bar Bulletin”. I hope you join me in welcoming Lee to her new position. Lee will take over the editorial work beginning with the May issue. If you are interested in volunteering to write an article, have suggestions for profile articles or themes you would like to see, please contact Lee directly at barbulletineditor@kcba.org. I know Lee will do an excellent job as editor of the Bar Bulletin and I look forward to working with her for many years to come.
Membership Meeting Update
In last month’s column, I was able to provide highlights of the proposed bylaw amendments that require a vote of the Membership at an upcoming meeting. At that time, I noted to stay tuned to this space for updated information regarding the date and time of the “upcoming membership meeting where the vote will take place”. I am pleased to report that we will be holding a Member Mixer on Wednesday, April 23rd from 5:00pm to 7:00pm at the KCBA Office. This is the perfect opportunity to meet our Board, give us feedback and engage with us about how the KCBA can help support you in the current climate. To learn more about the bylaw vote or to download a proxy form, please follow this link https://www.kcba.org/MemberVote to the KCBA website. While you are visiting the website be sure to register for the Member Mixer. Hope to see you there!
