To be more accountable, the FBA-WDWA has taken steps to clarify and enhance membership experience. Through the hard work of the Officers and the Membership and Website/Communications Committee Co-Chairs, we wrote new membership letters; made additional points of contact with new and prior members throughout the year; automated our membership services so that all FBA-WDWA registrations (including membership renewals, reminders, invoices and CLE registrations) can be handled on-line; conducted a swearing-in ceremony for new bar admittees in Seattle and Tacoma; published a newsletter; and, our piece de resistance, professionally redesigned our website. We hope that the technological facelift will improve our members’ experience. Our goals were to make your interaction with the FBA-WDWA easier and more dynamic, and to ensure that the FBA-WDWA remains current, useful and relevant. Along with making these membership improvements, we also reached out to new and long-time members. In so doing, we not only increased our numbers, but also made our membership more diverse in terms of geography, practice area, ethnicity and age. We hope that if we make ourselves more accountable, you will retain your membership, we will attract new people with fresh ideas, and we will foster a sense of community that makes people want to volunteer their time.
The face of our court changed in 2008, as well. With the untimely passing of retired Magistrate Judge Philip K. Sweigert in May, we lost one of our finest jurists and a great friend. In addition, Magistrate Judge Monica J. Benton left the bench, taking a more trial-oriented position at the King County Superior Court. At the same time, our District had the good fortune to applaud the elevation of a former jurist from the King County Superior Court bench, Judge Richard Jones, our newest U.S. District Judge. And Judge Benton’s vacancy was officially filled by our first Assistant Federal Public Defender to take the federal bench, Judge Brian A. Tsuchida.
In the midst of these many changes, we continued our tradition of presenting a vast array of quality continuing legal education programs. Topics covered in 2008 ran the gamut from a brown bag lunch with Ninth Circuit mediator Chris Goelz regarding the process for mediating cases pending before the Ninth Circuit, to a four-day, fifteen-hour, CR 39.1 training program. And, for the first time, the Criminal Law Committee presented a comprehensive look at white collar criminal legal issues, followed up by the Ethics and Practice Committee’s half-day session on ways for civil lawyers to avoid violating criminal laws. With the participation of several FBA Officers, the Ninth Circuit Lawyer Representatives also presented a stellar program about military and criminal justice at their Annual District Meeting. On December 10, 2008, our most anticipated CLE showcased a timely program addressing patent and immigration law, and presidential efforts to mold the judiciary. Alongside our esteemed federal judges and local practitioners was Linda Greenhouse, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist, formerly of the New York Times and now at Yale Law School, who was also our keynote speaker for our Annual Dinner that evening.
The year would not have been complete without our special court projects and events. The FBA-WDWA was honored to have been asked by the District Court to propose revisions to the federal oath of office, Local Rule 5(g) and the patent rules; and to continue an oral history project involving our most senior federal judges. In addition, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals asked us to assist it with two projects at the newly remodeled Nakamura Courthouse – adorning its walls with art and resolving a disability access issue. Finally, we were honored to attend the William L. Dwyer Jury Project Award Ceremony at the University of Washington, the Annual Meeting of the national Federal Magistrate Judges Association in Seattle, and the Ninth Circuit Judicial Conference in Sun Valley, Idaho; and to have been asked to submit an article for the updated United States District Court’s History Book due out in 2009.
With unprecedented technological improvements and membership outreach and diversification, we set a new gold standard in 2008. It was both a privilege and a pleasure to serve you and the rest of our legal community. I extend a heartfelt thanks to my fellow Officers, to the FBA-WDWA’s dedicated Committee Chairs, and to the district and appellate judges whose support enabled us to accomplish so much this past year.
Tracy M. Morris
Immediate Past President