COLUMN > A Note From the WSBA Executive Director
BY TERRA NEVITT
As we head into this year’s legislative session there is one WSBA priority that has me really energized.
For years, I have listened to members cite incongruent local court rules, funding, and technology as significant barriers to closing the access-to-justice gap in our state. I have heard about unwritten requirements for certain filings in some jurisdictions, leading to rejection of documents and weeks of delays. I have heard about data systems that prevent some jurisdictions from systemically analyzing the impact of new rulings and laws, barring equitable application for all involved. I have heard from lawyers who have to hire other lawyers, adding extra cost for their clients, because a local liaison is the most expedient way to navigate local rules and in-person appearance mandates in certain courts.
At a recent WSBA Listening Tour stop in Yakima, one member asked simply: What can the WSBA do to help us advocate about the problems caused by a non-unified court system for our clients?
In response, we at the WSBA have not been sitting idly on your experiences and requests. We have been testing the political temperature and having conversations with various stakeholders; and for 2025, I am very pleased to say that the WSBA’s top legislative priority is helping to craft and pass a bill that will establish a comprehensive study of the issue. Rep. Jamila Taylor’s bill11 See the online version of this article for a link to track the status of the bill at wabarnews.org. creates a “blue ribbon commission” to review the “structure, policies, practices, and procedures of the state courts, and identify areas where a more unified or centralized approach to court operations may improve consistency and efficiency in the delivery of court/judicial services.” The current draft of the bill specifies that the WSBA will have a seat on the commission.
This bill is a smart approach. Our state’s non-unified court structure is constitutionally derived and deeply personal—for all the people working in local court systems who best understand their community’s culture and needs. As our Board of Governors discussed whether and how to advocate in this complicated arena, they spoke of considerations like respect for and maintenance of relationships with local officials, judges, clerks, and court staff.
This bill does not present solutions or answers; it does not malign the current system or presume that centralization is a magical fix. It leads with curiosity, and it centers the people we serve, those who need equitable, consistent access to justice.
What is moving skeptics to allyship is that this bill does not present solutions or answers; it does not malign the current system or presume that centralization is a magical fix. It leads with curiosity, and it centers the people we serve, those who need equitable, consistent access to justice. If enacted, the WSBA and its members will be uniquely positioned to be assets in the research and analysis during the study. Legal professionals are the ones on the forefront, traversing the many local jurisdictions, with perhaps more direct knowledge than any other group of the inefficiencies and inequities caused to clients. It strikes me that members of the general public who seek legal help, especially those who go pro se, probably assume that whatever local rules and procedures they encounter are simply the way courts operate universally. It’s the perspective of professionals who work across all the various systems that can bring to light best practices and pain points.
Many of the WSBA’s strategic priorities22 See https://wabarnews.org/2024/03/08/bar-in-brief-the-fab-four-strategic-goals-coming-in-fy-24/.—the areas most urgently in need of attention, as identified by members— also stand to benefit from a deep dive into the court-system structure. These are complex problems searching for all-angles solutions. How might we ease the crisis of attorney shortages by making rural court systems more accessible to legal practitioners across the state—whether through remote access or common procedural rules? How might we capitalize on sweeping legal technology innovations and opportunities to maximize the reach and operations of all courts? The proposed study is an exercise in possibility.
My expectation is that, if and when this bill is enacted, the WSBA’s seat on the blue-ribbon commission will carry the full voice and experience of our members to the table. Our process will include robust outreach to and surveying of legal professionals to collect the data that will allow us to give shape and scope to problems and opportunities.
Please join us in the journey ahead this legislative session and beyond. Your voice, experience, and perspective matter.
MORE ONLINE >
Read the WSBA’s proclamation in support of a statewide study to learn more about the inefficiencies and inequities created by local court rules, funding, and technology at www.wsba.org/about-wsba/legislative-affairs.
Follow the 2025 legislative session at https://leg.wa.gov/.
About the author
Terra Nevitt is the WSBA Executive Director and she can be reached at 206-727-8282 or:
NOTES
1. See the online version of this article for a link to track the status of the bill at wabarnews.org.
2. See https://wabarnews.org/2024/03/08/bar-in-brief-the-fab-four-strategic-goals-coming-in-fy-24/.