From the time since it was created in 2015 and up until her appointment to the court, Melody led the Attorney General’s Office (AGO) Wing Luke Civil Rights Division.
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Drafting Wills and Trusts: Be Careful Naming Life Insurance Beneficiaries
It is not unusual for attorneys to use estate planning software or form documents in drafting wills and trusts as part of estate plans they prepare for their clients.
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Learning Outside the Box (Legally) in Washington State
This shift to homeschooling has created significant legal and policy implications, particularly for families and educators navigating the boundaries between home-based instruction, learning pods, child care centers, and private school regulation.
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In Conversation with Eastside Legal Assistance Program
A Q&A with Eastside Legal Assistance Program Legal Director Vivian Lee.
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Tapping Into Legal Typography
Typography is the visual appearance of a legal document, encompassing everything from type font and size to layout.
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Beyond the Bar Number > George Lundin
Get to know WSBA member George Lundin. Request your own questionnaire at wabarnews@wsba.org.
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Q&A With Rural Practice Grant Recipients
The WSBA is now accepting applications for its 2026 Rural Practice Summer Internship Grants. Application deadline is April 13, 2026.
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When Comfort Enters the Courtroom
How Washington pioneered the use of courthouse facility dogs to help victims, witnesses, and vulnerable people throughout the justice process.
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Affinity Bar Spotlight > Filipino Lawyers of Washington (FLOW)
FLOW’s core goals are to unite and amplify Filipino legal professionals through advocacy, mentorship, and collaboration.
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The ‘Hot Potato’ Rule: The Coolest Name in Legal Ethics
Under the “hot potato” rule, a law firm cannot drop a client “like a hot potato” to avoid a conflict.
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Creative Recreation: Recreational Injury Cases Present Unique Challenges
I have found that these cases require creativity, agility, preparation, and grit—the same qualities that a mountaineer may need to scale Mount Rainier or a mountain biker to navigate a black-diamond run.
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#LawTok U: How TikTok is Revolutionizing the Pathway to Practice
Rather than learning about constitutional modalities through the traditional channels of law school, many law students are instead acclimating to the legal profession through video-based digital media platforms.
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Whole Genome Sequencing at the Legal Threshold
In July 2023, Rex Heuermann was arrested and charged with seven murders between 1993 and 2010 in the Gilgo Beach serial killing case in New York. Prosecutors’ evidence against Heuermann involves a type of DNA analysis called whole genome sequencing, or WGS, that is new to the courtroom.
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Approaching Retirement Age? Go Back to Law School—in a Different Country
I quickly realized that golf, tennis, sun, and beaches were not for me. I thought about my bucket list—the things that I had thought would be interesting to do if I just had time. … My mind unavoidably strayed to law.
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What They Gave Each Other
It might seem improbable that two women, each the mother of a child catastrophically injured during birth, would not only know each other but become close enough to lean on one another during the most emotionally charged stages of their cases.
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Deceived and Deductible: The IRS Clarifies Theft-Loss Relief
In March 2025, the Internal Revenue Service eased restrictions by issuing an IRS Chief Counsel Memorandum that identified situations in which taxpayers can, once again, deduct losses sustained from theft.
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Q&A with 2025-2026 WSBA President Francis A. Adewale
Get to know new WSBA President Francis A. Adewale–what inspired him to run for the position and what his message is to WSBA members and the public.
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Apprenticeship, Not Academia
The traditional path to becoming a lawyer in Washington state can be daunting. That’s how Nettie Dionne of Zillah, a town of about 3,200 people outside Yakima, felt. But now the former social worker and member of the Yakama Nation is studying for the bar exam.
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Advise, Advocate, and Empower: The U.S. Military’s Victims’ Counsel Program
VCs are military attorneys detailed to provide free legal representation to eligible victims of sexual assault, domestic violence, and sex-related crimes under the Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ).
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Foreclosure Mediation in Transition: Key Changes for Attorneys and Community Mediators
Senate Bill (SB) 5686, passed in the 69th Legislature (2025) and signed by the governor, makes significant revisions to Washington’s Foreclosure Mediation Program and has staggered effective dates.
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2025 WNMC Public Service & Leadership Award Recipients
Displaying leadership through service, five local leaders stand out: Chelsey Butchard, Alejandra Cabrales, Austin Hellman, Eilish Villa Malone, and Lauren Romero.
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WSBA Technology Task Force Report: Key Highlights
Using the Washington Supreme Court’s Access to Justice Technology Principles as a guide, the Task Force developed a set of 10 key recommendations.
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Get With the Plan
As of July 27, there is a new mandatory parenting plan form that reflects changes made to RCW 26.09.191, governing parenting plan limitations.
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Access for All
Q&A with Rob Mead, the Washington State Law Librarian, about the WSBA Deskbook collaboration, hat expanded access means for the legal community, and more.
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The 2025 APEX Awards
The Acknowledging Professional Excellence (APEX) Awards honor exemplary members of the legal community, including legal professionals, judges, and members of the public. Learn more about lives and legal work of the 2025 Award recipients.
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Let’s Work Together to Embrace the Digital Age
Digital has to be the default now. There is absolutely no reason for the legal industry to remain one of the largest physical publishing industries in the world.
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Somewhere to Turn
The community of people with Intellectual and developmental disabilities is a diverse group with unique strengths, dreams, and ways of experiencing life. But too often they confront systems and barriers that make basic rights feel out of reach, including access to the legal system.
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The Call for Innovative Legal Service Models to Expand Access to Justice
The Entity Regulation Pilot is now taking shape: The WSBA and Practice of Law Board are finalizing application procedures, oversight mechanisms, and data protocols to support a closely supervised 10-year test.
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The Class of ’75
There were 206 new WSBA members admitted in 1975. Seventy-six of those members were in attendance at the Museum of Flight event.
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In the Spotlight: What Happens When Your Case Goes Viral
If you’re a government attorney representing a city in a lawsuit, the last thing you probably want is the type of publicity the city of Everett received for its attempt to regulate drive-thru coffee stands.
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Restoring Faith in the Law
Attorneys take public oath on Law Day 2025 amid rising distrust
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Committed to Community
An interview with Justice Salvador A. Mungia, who was elected to the Washington Supreme Court last November and sworn in on Jan. 13.
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Fifty Years Since the Fall of Saigon
A conversation between former presidents of the Vietnamese American Bar Association of Washington.
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Wellness After Grief and Loss
The demands of a legal career lead many practitioners on a never-ending quest for a healthy balance of life’s priorities.
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You’re Not Alone
Inspired by successful programs for lawyers in other states, Washington Lawyers Assisting Lawyers (WALAL) was created last year as a free and confidential assistance program.
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Toppling the Barriers to Success for Asian American Female Litigators
In the courtroom, where justice is the ultimate goal, deeply ingrained acceptance of many different kinds of people and advocates will lead to a more equitable justice system.
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Writing Tips From the Bench: Knowing When Less Is More
UW School of Law Professor Jeff Feldman sat down with Judge Morgan Christen of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit for a candid conversation about what makes for helpful and persuasive appellate briefs.
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2024 WSBA Membership Demographic Study
Who are we as a legal community in Washington state? Not just in terms of statistics that are easily counted but also the less quantifiable individual experiences that form the culture of our profession?
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When Space is the Place
The U.S.’s traditional mechanism for encouraging commercially relevant innovation is the U.S. patent system. But does that framework translate to extraterrestrial inventions?
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Far From Home
In this article, Bar News spoke with two recent graduates, Marwa Almasri and Najmia Khatibi, both from the Middle East, who share their experiences of leaving their home countries for the U.S. and beginning their legal education.
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Major Upgrade to Free Legal Research Benefit for Members is Coming
The merged company vLex Fastcase is preparing to launch a new interface that includes an editorial citator called Cert
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New Pathways to Lawyer Licensure: Part II
This article takes a closer look at—and answers some of the (many) questions asked about—the additional pathways to licensure approved in concept by the Washington Supreme Court.
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The WSBA Small Town and Rural (STAR) Committee: Transforming Legal Deserts Into Legal Oases
As part of its ongoing commitment to expand pathways to rural practice and access to justice in small towns and rural communities, the STAR Committee pushed forward several initiatives this year.
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Washington’s New Uniform Family Law Arbitration Act: Explanation, Application, and Aspiration
Washington’s UFLAA provides a framework for the use of arbitration in resolving family law disputes.
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Moving Forward With Pride
The summit at Gonzaga—the first of its kind hosted by a legal education institution—will not be the last.
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Protecting Public Expression
Washington’s anti-SLAPP statute analyzed in recent Court of Appeals decisions.
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Justice Unveiled
The Attorney General’s new Cold Case Unit for Murdered and Missing Indigenous Women and People embarks on a grim trail for answers.
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Chasing Down a Century and Still Practicing Law
The WSBA’s two active soon-to-be centenarians reflect on their prodigious legacies and bright futures
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Rules of the Remote
Washington state courts led the country as early adopters of remote technology but we have not yet adopted statewide rules or statutes allowing its permanent use. Now is the time.
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A Short Primer for Potential Small-Town Lawyers
Thinking about swapping town for country? Take a look at the following 10 statutes practitioners find most relevant to rural practice.
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What Is Pro Bono Service and How Should the WSBA Monitor It?
Many lawyers lack familiarity with RPC 6.1 and may not realize that their work qualifies as pro bono under this rule.
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The Sexsomnia Defense: Law, Medicine, and Strategy
A look at the medical science of sleep disorders — known as parasomnias — and case law related to them.
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Me, Myself, and (A)I
The U.S. Copyright Office is considering the issue of copyright registration for works co-created by humans and AI.
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My So-Called Disorder
Last year, at age 65, I learned a new fact about myself. I’m autistic. It is a fact that explains nearly everything about my life and career.
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A Backward Glance: Reflecting on Family Law Practice Over the Years
The Washington Family Law Deskbook editors share some thoughts on their long careers, how the practice of family law has changed, and more.
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