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Sexual assault survivors face obstacles to accountability and justice that no other crime victim does. They are more likely to be disbelieved, their experience minimized, their safety and well-being placed secondary to the rights and needs of the person who harmed them.

While we await an exotic review from some of our contributors who have not yet checked in, we continue our local explorations. Close to home we checked out Bar Vacilando, 405 15th Avenue East, 206.420.1584, which is right next to Rubinstein’s Bagels, if you know the neighborhood, right in the middle of the 15th Avenue restaurant area (with Rionne XIII, Coastal Kitchen, Palermo Pizza, Spice Waala, Smith, etc. all withing less than a block). .

The following are highlights from the KCBA Board of Trustees meeting held on February 15, convened by KCBA President Tahmina Watson.

With Earth Day around the corner, there are many ways to demonstrate support for the protection of our planet. Low-hanging fruit include printing one less page, composting that week-old sandwich sitting in the office refrigerator, and swapping out cleaning products with biodegradable equivalents. Earth Day increases awareness of environmental issues and provides an opportunity to think about the legacy we leave to future generations.

Have you ever found yourself late in the afternoon sitting in a conference room when the mediator walks in only to tell you that your latest offer is getting no traction with the other side? You’re still so far apart it feels less and less likely the case will settle. Nothing you’ve communicated to the mediator has moved the needle to a point where you or your client are encouraged to make any big moves. According to the mediator, your opponent believes a jury will believe that your client has testified untruthfully, and his credibility is now a central issue. You respond that any misstatements are minor, inconsequential to liability or the alleged damages. You may even ask the mediator, “so what?” Maybe this is just that one in a hundred case that will go to trial. You’re confident a jury will see these misstatements as you do, a distraction. But to put a painful point on it, the mediator tells you she doesn’t like your chances with a jury. She warns there is risk ahead.

Since its founding in 1886 in order to discipline lawyers who were denying due process to Chinese immigrants, KCBA has maintained diversity as a core part of the Bar’s mission. Throughout the years, the Bar has continued to stand against inequities in the legal profession including establishment of the Minority Law School Scholarship program in 1969 to increase the diversity of lawyers who practice in King County, passing a resolution in 1970 that no bar meeting could be held at a location where “male-only” laws were in force, development of a statement of protest demanding justice after the Death of George Floyd, and most recently acknowledging through an Anti-Racism Statement that we recognize the pervasiveness of racism in our legal system and that it is imperative for KCBA to make an explicit commitment to embrace anti-racist policies and ideals.

How times have changed! When I started as a volunteer attorney for the Neighborhood Legal Clinics 34 years ago, KCBA provided access to justice for our low-income neighbors by coordinating a network of pro bono legal services staffed by volunteers. While many of those same volunteer programs continue today, KCBA has dramatically evolved in its delivery of pro bono civil legal services to our community. That evolution has been more out of necessity than choice.

Our firm was recently contacted by a company about a problem many businesses face at the moment: It had run out of cash. The company operates in a business sector which was impacted by difficulties specific to that industry, along with challenges caused by the pandemic and the unwillingness of the owners to keep funding losses. They wanted to discuss a wind-down plan.

The saying goes, “he who represents himself has a fool for a client.”1 So often, clients (and sometimes their trial attorneys) are under the misconception that if the opposing party chooses to represent themselves in an appeal, it will be easy sailing. In my experience, nothing can be further from the truth, especially if the opposing party chooses to represent themselves as the appellant.