“The most important thing an institution does is not to prepare a student for a career but for a life as a citizen.”
— Frank Newman, American education reformer

“We cannot sustain a democratic republic with a citizenry that is completely uninformed about, and basically estranged from, our Constitution and our institutions.”
— Judge Douglas H. Ginsburg of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit

A few weeks ago, I was honored once again to attend KCBA’s fall swearing-in ceremony for new bar admittees. This is a wonderful, inspiring event that always makes me reflect. 

A few weeks ago, I was honored once again to attend KCBA’s fall swearing-in ceremony for new bar admittees. This is a wonderful, inspiring event that always makes me reflect. 

KCBA’s 2025 Bench-Bar Conference is fast approaching, a wonderful annual event that I hope members plan to attend. It is a chance to gather and learn about a wide range of topics relating to our judicial system and the practice of law in our state and federal courts. This year you will have the chance to hear from the Litigator’s Roundtable about the use of AI, trial readiness, and sanctions orders. We will have a Tribal Law update from the Seattle University Northwest Center for Indigenous Law. None other than Washington Supreme Court Chief Justice Debra Stephens will provide a Supreme Court update. A panel of distinguished federal district court and Washington state court judges will talk about our federal courts, state courts, and courts of limited jurisdiction. The program will conclude with a session about ethics and the rule of law.
 

“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.

The glorious Pacific Northwest summer is in full swing, and people are out and about. I hope you are getting a chance to be outside and enjoy events and gatherings, taking an occasional break from the day-to-day grind.

The glorious Pacific Northwest summer is in full swing, and people are out and about. I hope you are getting a chance to be outside and enjoy events and gatherings, taking an occasional break from the day-to-day grind.

At the start of this year of service as KCBA President, I am humbled by the opportunity the membership has given me, and the entire Board of Trustees, to lead this organization. I am also aware of both the successes and challenges we face as a voluntary bar association, as lawyers, and as a society.

At the start of this year of service as KCBA President, I am humbled by the opportunity the membership has given me, and the entire Board of Trustees, to lead this organization. I am also aware of both the successes and challenges we face as a voluntary bar association, as lawyers, and as a society.

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.