Thank You for Your Support
When I started my term a year ago, I certainly did not anticipate that we would be called upon to offer statements of support and join amicus briefs for law firms in our community, pushing back against sanctions from Executive Orders directed at these firms. I knew I would be attending the ceremonies where our newest members of the Washington bar take their oath, led by our Presiding Judge, Ketu Shah. The oath ceremony is one of the best events I get invited to as a member of the KCBA Board. Our new members exude such positive energy, and it’s really very exciting to think about all the contributions they will make in years to come. I definitely did not predict how these events would ultimately be linked, but it turned out to be a high point of my term.
At the start of last month, on Law Day, hundreds of you joined us in a new version of the oath ceremony and reaffirmed your commitment to the rule of law and the independence of the judiciary. In my mind, you also confirmed the core values of KCBA. It was quite a sight to look out from the front of the presiding courtroom and see so many of you that we could not see the rear wall. Every seat was taken, and we brought in chairs so that all members of our bench in the Seattle courthouse could join us.
To aid the Washington State Bar Association with a local event, KCBA hurriedly reprinted copies of the Oath of Attorney, which had been recently administered to our newest members just weeks before, to have on hand, not knowing how many of you would actually show up.
This was the first event of its kind, to my knowledge. KCBA started getting the word out a couple of weeks prior to May 1, and I hoped we would see at least a hundred people. In the end, it was three times that amount just in our presiding court. There were simultaneous events in other parts of our city, at our Regional Justice Center, throughout our state, and more across the country.
You all came to demonstrate that your oath has meaning, that you take your promises made to uphold the state and federal constitutions seriously, and that you also believe in the respect due to the court and its judicial officers. I think this is exactly what we needed at this moment.
In recent months I heard from you in emails and in phone calls. I received it as rising concern over events that threaten our process-driven and rule-driven profession. We expect that precedent will be acknowledged and that we all can agree on some fundamental points. So, it was surprising to many to see birthright citizenship challenged; to see speech from university students and law firms met with significant consequences; and to watch judicial officers being attacked for doing the work of interpreting and applying the law. Law Day offered a chance for all of us to meet briefly and join in a demonstration of the values we hold as legal professionals. I am proud to be in partnership with you, and I thank you for joining us for Law Day.
While lingering in the elevator lobby afterward, I heard many people comment that they are interested in doing something more. I am not surprised and am happy that we can provide opportunities for you to do something more. We are collaborating with the bench and developing a program to get the word out to anyone who wants to better understand the rule of law and how it is meant to apply to us all. If there are schools or social clubs or organized groups that need more information, we want to provide it. Your participation will determine how successful we can be at educating our community on what the rule of law means for them.
We will be reaching out in the coming month with details and an opportunity to sign up to be on our Rule of Law Outreach team. If you choose to participate, we will provide a PowerPoint template, talking points, and access to additional resources that you can use as a member of the outreach team. KCBA will be a point of contact for any group that seeks more information on the rule of law, which will be provided by volunteer speakers from our bench and bar. As KCBA receives requests for speakers, members of the outreach project will contact volunteers to see who is available to fill that need. If you are still thinking about what else you can personally do to support the rule of law, I hope you will consider working on this outreach project.
I want to thank Bridget Schuster and Sophie Petersen of KCBA for all the work they did to pull together the oath renewal event on short notice. I also appreciate the partnership with King County Superior Court Presiding Judge Shah, who promoted the event and took on this additional ceremony with little notice and great enthusiasm.
We are fortunate to work in this community and to have the knowledge and ability to spread the word about why hundreds of lawyers will drop what they are doing in support of the rule of law. We are lawyers who believe in the rule of law and all that it protects and preserves.
