After President Overbey called the meeting to order and minutes from the last meeting were approved, she expressed her appreciation to the board members for their care, commitment, and engagement this year, and offered well wishes to the new board for the coming year. She also encouraged trustees to attend the annual awards reception on June 26 to help celebrate this year’s winners.

With September now here, I find myself scrambling to fit in a few more summer activities — another hike, a trip to the lake, or final scoop of ice cream from the local stand. I hope I’m not alone in trying to make the most of these last precious days of a Pacific Northwest summer. Though the season flew by in a blur, leaving that all-too-familiar feeling that there was never quite enough time for everything, I look forward to the golden months of autumn ahead — the crisp air, colorful leaves, and slower pace that fall so naturally brings.

KCBA CLASSIFIEDS

Each August during Seafair, when the Navy’s Blue Angels streak above Lake Washington, I instinctively cover my ears and grimace as they roar overhead. And yes, I sometimes find myself stuck in the traffic mess near Genesee Park, despite knowing better.
 

If you wonder whether AI can summarize cases as well as a lawyer, check out this edition of Always Appealing. The lawyers of Smith Goodfriend put tools like ChatGPT and Claude to the test — using cases they've actually worked on. The results were ... odd. Find out what happened when they let AI do the heavy thinking.

How do jurors make murky decisions when it comes to proximate cause? A nationwide study of 800 mock jurors by Sound Jury Consulting reveals unexpected insights. From how verdict forms are structured to the way defense attorneys frame their arguments, subtle choices can make, or break, a case.

“We have become not a melting pot but a beautiful mosaic. Different people, different beliefs, different yearnings, different hopes, different dreams.”
— Jimmy Carter, 39th President of the United States

“We are a nation of communities ... a brilliant diversity spread like stars, like a thousand points of light in a broad and peaceful sky.”
— George H.W. Bush, 41st President of the United States

It was not so long ago that presidents from both major political parties believed in celebrating and encouraging diversity, equity, and inclusion in our country’s civil society. Doing so was wise, just, and beneficial in many ways. There was a broad, though not unanimous, consensus in the United States that much of our global cultural and economic influence stemmed from the diversity of our people.

What sparked the creation of a resource that would become indispensable to generations of lawyers? How did a snowy day in the early 1970s lead to the birth of the Washington Lawyer’s Practice Manual? And how has a project that began as three volumes for young lawyers grown into a cornerstone of professional development and a vital source of support for all attorneys?

From the courtroom to the classroom — and even a Taekwondo studio, improving a chagi — Ada K. Wong brings her unwavering dedication, intent presence, and good humor. Nicole Gainey explores the motivation behind Ada’s commitment to her clients, colleagues, and community.

In How Safetyism Shapes Today’s Culture of Risk Aversion, Thomas O’Toole and Kevin Boully examine how jurors increasingly expect perfect safety and punish defendants who fall short. They urge trial lawyers to simplify defense narratives, align with jurors’ values, and adapt to shifting attitudes that link safety to personal and political identity.