Who’s your go to? Who will you call when your pro bono client has issues that you’re not an expert in, up to speed on, and time is of the essence? 

On behalf of the KCBA Dispute Resolution section, we invite you to mark your calendars to attend the 27th Northwest Dispute Resolution Conference, sponsored by the WSBA Dispute Resolution section and hosted at the University of Washington School of Law. 

Oscar Aguirre manages KCBA’s Records Project, a pro bono program that helps individuals vacate eligible criminal convictions from their record and obtain waivers of legal financial obligations, thereby removing barriers to stable housing and employment. Oscar’s path to his work with the Records Project began when he was a child. His parents found him argumentative and naturally suggested Oscar consider being a lawyer. Oscar started building his skills at Squalicum High School in Bellingham, where he participated on the Debate Team and competed against other schools. He found that researching, writing, and arguing different topics—from political issues of the day to tariffs and embargos—were more fulfilling to him than his math and science courses.
 

There have been many new restaurant openings in the second half of 2024. We are trying to catch up with a few before addressing many new openings set for 2025.

The KCBA Labor & Employment Law Section is proud to present the 58th Annual Pacific Coast Labor & Employment Law Conference at the Seattle Convention Center on April 24 & 25, 2025. The longest-running labor and employment law conference in the Pacific Northwest, this event gathers 250 attendees each year—among them attorneys representing employees, unions, and management—as well as neutrals and government attorneys. The event is an excellent opportunity to network with your colleagues from across the region. National experts will present on a broad array of current and compelling issues, including:

Greetings, now that we have started 2025 and made our judicial rotations and moves, we are excited to hit the ground running. We have many people rotating to new departments to offer their expertise throughout the Court. We also have new transitions in our leadership with Judge Rothrock as Assistant Presiding Judge, Judge Scott as Chief Civil Judge, Judge Young as Chief Criminal Judge, Judge McDonald as Assistant Chief Criminal Judge, Judge Keenan as MRJC Chief, Judge Sutton as UFC Chief, and Judge Galvan as CCFJC Chief. These chiefs meet regularly and discuss operations to ensure cases get to our judges in an efficient and timely manner. They are continuously analyzing how to get calendars covered, how to manage staffing levels to ensure courts are operational and to discuss changes in law that affect filings and capacity issues.

The following are highlights from the KCBA Board of Trustees meeting held on December 18, 2024, convened by KCBA President Erin Overbey.

Just like that, January is over and we’ve entered the second month of the year. For those looking forward to spring and more sunlight, March is only a month away.

“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has.”
— Margaret Mead

A 29-year-old clearly distraught woman walks into your office. She is in the middle of an acrimonious divorce, hoping to protect her two-year-old twin daughters from a controlling husband, after she was served with a set of discovery asking that she turn over her diaries to her abusive spouse. Her current attorney repeated the maxim that discovery rules are given a broad and liberal construction1, and told her to turn them over.