2026-2027 KCBA Board Of Trustees Nominated Candidates
The King County Bar Association’s Leadership Development & Nominations Committee is pleased to announce the following slate of KCBA members for open positions on the Board of Trustees, effective July 1. Additional candidates may run for any of these offices through the petition process prescribed in the bylaws. If no petitions are received by April 10, the slate will be deemed elected. For more information, contact KCBA Executive Director Kathleen Jensen by email (kathleenj@kcba.org) or phone (206.267.7053).
Further details are online at www.kcba.org/board. The King County Bar Association expresses its gratitude to the 2025–2026 Leadership and Nominations Committee for its work in recruiting this slate of candidates: Shashi Vijay, Chair (VJ Law Firm), Joel Merkel Jr. (Washington Medicaid Fraud Control Division, ATG), Missy Mordy (Davis Wright Tremaine LLP) Amit Ranade (Snell & Wilmer), Neeta Saran (Microsoft), Thomas Tobin (Perkins Coie), Lawrence Ward (Dorsey Whitney LLP).
Mary Sakaguchi / Candidate for President/ Sakaguchi Felbeck Story & Reese PLLC
I am honored to be nominated as President of KCBA Board of Trustees. I am a partner in a boutique family law firm located in downtown Kirkland, focusing my practice on non-litigated pathways to resolving conflict, primarily in Family Law matters. I also live in east King County and am passionate about access to justice, equity and inclusion, and supporting new attorneys.
For over a decade, I served the public through various volunteer opportunities, primarily victims of domestic violence and low-income clients. I am a volunteer attorney and current Board member of Eastside Legal Assistance Program (ELAP), and I annually support the King County Bar Foundation by attending the Breakfast With Champions and MLK, Jr. Luncheon and ELAP through its annual Breakfast for Justice.
I am active in our legal community as well, as a former KCBA Trustee (2103–2017), representing east King County, current chair of KCBA Anti-Racism and Equity Committee, past co-chair of the KCBA Collaborative Law Section, and past member of the KCBA Membership Committee. I have also served on Boards for various other legal professional organizations as well.
I am proud to be a member of KCBA, where public service is a major cornerstone of its mission. I am inspired and excited by the work that the Anti-
Racism and Equity Committee undertakes to proactively address systemic inequality and achieve a truly inclusive profession. I invite you to share your ideas—let’s talk about how this bar association can be a critical part of your practice.
Cynthia B. Jones / Candidate for First Vice-President/ Jones Legal Group, LLC
This KCBA of ours, founded in 1886 in response to attorney involvement in a mob effort to deport Chinese citizens, an organization where 117 members gave up their practices to serve in World War I, where in 1941 the first woman officer was elected, and in 1970, it passed a resolution that no bar meetings be held in any “male-only” rule establishments, where in 1972 Betty Fletcher became the first female president, it is a great honor and delight to be nominated to serve the KCBA, to endeavor to further and foster its long-standing commitment to fairness, access to justice and the rule of law. At Jones Legal Group, I concentrate my practice on civil and criminal appeals in federal and state courts and handle matters at the trial level in both federal and state courts. I began my career clerking at the Washington Supreme Court for Justice Charles W. Johnson. Currently, I serve as an appointee to the Criminal Justice Act Panel for the Ninth Circuit and Western District of Washington and served as past chair of the KCBA Appellate Practice Section. I recently served as Chair of the Ninth Circuit’s Lawyer Representative Coordinating Committee and currently teach Federal Litigation as an adjunct professor at Seattle University School of Law.
Alexander A. Baehr / Candidate for Second Vice-President / Summit Law Group
I am honored to be nominated to serve on the KCBA’s Board of Trustees. I am a partner at Summit Law Group in Seattle, focusing on complex civil and commercial litigation and corporate counseling. I look forward to working with the KCBA in furthering its goals of serving its membership through the promotion of professional and judicial excellence and increasing access to justice for the public. For 30 years I have had the pleasure of working on and chairing various KCBA committees and look forward to promoting the KCBA to its membership and the general public. I look forward to meeting and speaking with the KCBA membership and the general public to further strengthen the KCBA’s ties to the greater King County community and its membership.
Jonathan O.A. Leptich / Candidate for Trustee/Secretary - Central/ Oxford Industries, Inc.
I am Deputy General Counsel at Oxford Industries, Inc., where I advise on a broad range of legal and business matters in support of a portfolio of lifestyle brands including Tommy Bahama, Lilly Pulitzer, Johnny Was, and Southern Tide. I would be honored to serve on the KCBA Board of Trustees as a Central Trustee. As an in-house attorney, I value staying connected to the broader legal community through bar programming, including CLEs and other ways to learn from and engage with lawyers across practices. I would welcome the chance to support KCBA’s work on behalf of both our profession and the broader community.
Mark A. Johnson / Candidate for Trustee - Central/ Johnson Flora Sprangers PLLC
My law practice consists primarily of representing plaintiffs in medical and legal malpractice and serious personal injury cases. I also consult with attorneys and law firms on ethics and risk management issues. I am a past governor, treasurer and president of the Washington State Bar Association, a past president of LAW Fund and the Legal Foundation of Washington, and an elected Fellow in the American College of Trial Lawyers.
I am honored for the timely opportunity to serve on the board of a bar association that was formed by courageous lawyers committed to using the rule of law to protect immigrants from racist violence and forced expulsion from a community that they helped build; a commitment that,140 years later, the current KCBA Board powerfully and brilliantly reaffirmed in its March 9, 2026 Statement on the Rule of Law.
Julissa Robles/ Candidate for Trustee - Central/ Perkins Coie LLP - Seattle
I am honored and grateful to be nominated to serve on the King County Bar Association Board of Trustees. As a lawyer at Perkins Coie, I have built strong relationships with corporate clients, particularly supporting large tech companies with legal risk reviews for new generative AI tools, corporate governance in Latin American jurisdictions, and global responses to prelitigation demands and legal process.
I look forward to advancing KCBA’s mission through intentional service. I bring a lifelong commitment to supporting and empowering immigrant communities, and dedication to pro bono work. I am privileged to serve Spanish-speaking clients through Perkins Coie’s monthly DACA clinics and the Eastside Legal Assistance Program’s quarterly Wills Clinic. I also bring a distinct perspective as a former world languages educator and moot court coach.
I am eager to contribute to KCBA’s 140-year legacy of promoting professional and judicial excellence, engaging in public policy, supporting new lawyers, and expanding meaningful access to justice for King County’s diverse communities.
Sherri M. Anderson / Candidate for Trustee - Eastside/ Law Offices of Sherri M. Anderson, Inc. P.S.
I have practiced family law in King County for over 30 years in both a large corporate law firm and in my own small firm. I am a former board member of Family Law CASA of King County and a current board member of the Edmonds College Foundation. I am passionate about protecting children in the family law process as well as understanding the needs of their families. Growing up, I never dreamed that I could earn a law degree. I am at a point in my life and career at which I have the time to use that degree to give back to the community. I’m excited to have this opportunity with KCBA Board of Trustees.
Ian P. Franzel / Candidate for Trustee - Southside/Franzel Law PLLC
I am a 16-year volunteer attorney at the KBCA, who is always eager to network with new attorneys, professionals, and business owners. My earlier trusteeship on the Young Lawyers Division Board imparted a host of valuable skills which I’ve applied to serving my clients and the community. As a trustee on the KCBA Board, I’m excited to learn from the many new and talented lawyers joining the KCBA, and, share its resources. I am always ecstatic to help young leaders develop their business skills and build their practices with a philosophy of service.
