You have been hearing quite a bit recently about the King County Bar Association’s Housing Justice project with Board President Overbey’s article in the July issue of our Bar Bulletin, our News and Events and even the press. As previously shared, Washington’s adoption of SB 5160 in 2021 guaranteeing legal counsel for low-income tenants in Washington facing eviction proceedings increased the work, and the size of the HJP exponentially. Today, KCBA’s HJP is forty-seven (47) employees providing representation and support to clients in King County and beyond. The KCBA’s stewardship of the HJP and our participation in advocacy leading to the adoption of SB 5160 is an immense source of pride for our members, our Board, and the dedicated staff carrying out this important work.

The KCBA has built our reputation on the skill, commitment, and diverse acumen of our members. Given the legacy of excellence our members and volunteers have created, the KCBA is well suited to influence and support decision makers and institutions to consider, adopt, and implement legislation and policies impacting local, state, and national practice. Because of our reputation of excellence, we are recognized to have competence and credibility on myriad issues and have long acted. Each official position is thoroughly researched by our policy committee and presented to the Board of Trustees for Resolution.

Since 1958, May 1st has been observed as Law Day in the United States. An annual observation of the legal profession where we honor the rule of law and its import in our free society.1 The 2024 theme is Voices of Democracy. 

For the April issue of the Bar Bulletin, I am pleased to share space with Carrie Griffen Basas, JD, Med. Carrie is the Executive Director of Disability Rights Washington. Prior to joining Disability Rights Washington, Carrie led Disability Law Colorado and the Washington State Governor’s Office of the Education Ombuds. Carrie has long worked to create strategies for equity, accessibility, and social impact and I am appreciative of her taking the time to share the following with the KCBA and our Bar Bulletin readers.

The practice of law is about building relationships in an environment where various positions and perspectives are paramount. I can think of no other profession built upon a divergent discourse, where we are applying the same set of facts to sometimes polarizing ends of a spectrum.While predictable and familiar, the human creation of dichotomy where all is categorized into either a political left or right and the splitting of perception into black or white, is hurting lawyers, harming judges and the judiciary, and threatening the rule of law and our democracy. I write this opinion today as a call for the legal community to consider the spectrum in its complexity and entirety, instead of splitting it into a binary of black and white, or political left or right.

Laws may not change hearts, but hearts can change the law. When we are driven by collective ideals of inclusion and belonging, we can create collectives and active allyship. 

As I have shared in previous articles, KCBA and I are dedicated to active allyship — a meaningful exchange of interests and resources. We will keep learning, allowing for brave spaces where compassion and vulnerability are expected. We are champions of inclusion who share our space of privilege and amplify the voice of those with lived experiences of oppression and exclusion. It is our mission to achieve diversity in the legal profession and excellence in the judiciary, and we are committed to calling out barriers to meaningful access to justice. We are interrupters of overt bias.

In the first of a series of collaborations with other King County advocacy organizations, December’s From the Executive Director’s Desk features Michele Storms, ACLU of Washington’s Executive Director, who encourages members to shake off the blindness of privilege.

When I chose Seattle as my home more than 23 years ago I did so for many reasons. Among others, the city reminded me of San Francisco where my dream to become an attorney was formed. When I arrived here the hills and older neighborhoods felt like home. I had no idea then the history of this beautifully diverse city: of Profanity Hill, of the expulsion of the Duwamish, the violence and attempted expulsion of Chinese laborers, or of the King County Bar Association.

The second Monday in October is Indigenous Peoples’ Day, a contemporary interpretation of the Columbus Day federal holiday originally enacted in 1932. How we approach this day varies: some choose to honor or celebrate, while others mourn. No matter how you experience Indigenous Peoples’ Day, it is personal, and it is essential we commit to shifting our lexicon from “Columbus Day” to “Indigenous Peoples’ Day.”