“Solidarity does not assume that our struggles are the same struggles, or that our pain is the same pain, or that our hope is for the same future. Solidarity involves commitment, and work, as well as the recognition that even if we do not have the same feelings, or the same lives, or the same bodies, we do live on common ground.” —Sara Ahmed
“The King County Bar Association’s mission is to connect and serve our diverse legal community, promote professional and judicial excellence, engage in public policy, and increase access to justice.” —KCBA mission statement
As my year serving as Board President draws to a close, I am naturally reflective. I will miss many things about working with the board, staff, and members of this storied organization. I’ll miss the people who dedicate every day to bringing our programs and services to members and the public. I’ll miss the spirited discussions and problem-solving mentality of our Board, Sections, and Committees. I’ll miss the CLEs, events, and social occasions where we come together to celebrate, to learn, and to honor.
But more than anything, I will miss the sense of common purpose and mission that KCBA inspires. This modern world tends to divide us in so many ways, both physically[1] and in spirit. It becomes all too easy to forget that we have much more in common with each other than we have meaningful differences. Being a part of this happy band of legal warriors dedicated to the organization’s mission is a privilege and a salve to many weary souls, including mine.
This is not to say that we all agree on every decision, course of action, or goal that this shared community undertakes. As Ms. Ahmed wisely notes in the above quotation, solidarity of purpose does not require uniformity of perspective or opinion. In fact, solidarity that is built between people despite differing views can in many ways be more resilient than solidarity based on superficial perceptions of agreement.
Every lawyer, even those of us who did not practice in the criminal justice system, took 1L Crim Law where we learned about criminal “common purpose.” In a criminal enterprise, “common purpose” imputes criminal liability to each participant in the enterprise for any reasonably expected resulting crime committed by the others. I like to think this can also be true in the positive sense: every member of a sports team can feel pride in a victory; every member of a NASA project can be joyous at its successful execution — because everyone joined together in common cause to achieve the goal.
So everyone reading this who is involved with KCBA, consider yourselves responsible for all of the good things this community has joined together to achieve in common purpose.
This year, despite our disagreements as individuals, we have united to protect the rule of law, defend human and legal rights, keep people in their homes, provide LSAT and law school scholarships to students historically underrepresented in the legal profession, address domestic violence including gun violence, vacate criminal convictions and clean records to open pathways so those who have paid their debts can find employment and housing, help relatives care for children to keep them out of foster care, learn how to be better lawyers, and much, much more.
None of this was achievable without a commonality of purpose and passion for KCBA’s mission on the part of each of you.
And now, more than ever, it is important that this common cause inspires our collective action going forward. With so many challenges large and small facing our community and our society, and so many legitimate disagreements as to how to address them, it is easy to focus on what divides us. But this division only fuels hopelessness and dampens spirits for the fights to come.
KCBA can, if you let it, be a strong foundation for finding common cause with people you might otherwise dismiss as too different from you in background or beliefs. That’s what it has been for me, and I am proud to have contributed, along with all of you, to this organization’s mission and programs. If you are reading this, you have already demonstrated that you can set aside differences toward achieving a larger goal. I hope you will all be ambassadors not just for KCBA, but for the very concepts of common cause and solidarity to create positive change.
I want to thank every single person who has supported me as I have tried my best to help KCBA. The individuals with whom I have worked and interacted are too numerous to name, and I’m certain I would accidentally omit some if I tried. And besides, even if I never met you, we have KCBA in common, and I thank you for that.
[1] Yes, I am well aware of the irony that I am writing this from Canberra, Australia, having physically separated from all of you in a rather extreme sense. All I can say is that I remain there in spirit and on Zoom.
