Diversity is Not Limited

GUEST COLUMN

BY RAINA WAGNER

Back in late 2021, with my six-year stint on the board of the Loren Miller Bar Association (LMBA) coming to an end, I thought to myself, “What next?”

It was a strange time. That winter, the nation was in the throes of the second big COVID-19 wave and, begrudgingly, we all shuffled back into our Zoom rooms. In my life, LMBA leadership was transitioning to the next generation, but I still wanted to devote my volunteer hours to enhancing diversity in the legal profession, and access to justice. And I ached for connection. 

That’s the time that I saw an email inviting applicants to the Washington State Bar Association’s Diversity Committee, one of the many volunteer committees, councils, and boards organized by our Supreme Court and the WSBA Board of Governors (WSBA Board). The Diversity Committee—which had an off-cycle position open up—needed someone to raise a hand to volunteer for just the kind of volunteer work I was ready to do. I applied, they picked me, and my WSBA volunteer life took off. 

Being off-cycle, I joined in media res, and the committee was already hard at work with the affinity bar associations (ABAs), serving as a liaison between the ABAs and the WSBA Board and tackling the issue of transforming itself from a committee to a council. I devoted time to the committee-to-council transformation project, which included rewriting the charter, gathering statewide input and feedback, and presenting the proposal to the WSBA Board for first read, second read, and vote. The WSBA Board approved the new charter in July 2022, formalizing the voting rights of all committee members and expanding the composition of the group to include law students, judicial officers, law school faculty and staff, and members of the general public. It also meant a renaming: We became the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Council (or DEI Council), a subtle name change that broadened our focus and shed light on one of the DEI Council’s core missions—access to justice. 

All the work I did on the DEI Council over the next three years was in furtherance of that general principle, including: 

• Launch of the Membership Demographic Study: A yearslong process that culminated with the 2024 WSBA Membership Demographic Study, which highlighted that while the Washington legal profession is slowly gaining diversity, it still does not reflect the demographics of the state. 
• Creation of a new Equity & Justice Plan: The DEI Council also worked for years (with statewide input and expert consultants) to update the WSBA’s 2013 Diversity Plan, arriving at three main goals: 1) strengthen the legal profession by building community and fostering belonging; 2) advance a fair, inclusive, effective, and accessible legal system for all people in our state; and 3) broaden the WSBA’s ongoing commitments to addressing inclusion, belonging and equity issues. The WSBA Board unanimously approved the 2025 Equity and Justice Action Plan earlier this year.
• Mentorship and development of new lawyers: Through partnerships with Washington’s three law schools and the creation and launch of the WSBA’s 2024 Pathways to the Profession Summit, the DEI Council supported and advocated for new legal professionals. 

Beginning in 2022, I served as co-chair for the DEI Council, being reappointed to the leadership position in 2023 and 2024 and sharing co-chair duties first with now-President Sunitha Anjilvel, and then with WSBA Governor Nam Nguyen. None of the above accomplishments would have made their way across the finish line without Sunitha and Nam’s dedication, along with the work of the WSBA’s Equity & Justice Team staff and all the other governors, legal professionals, and public members I have had the pleasure of serving with for the past three and a half years. 

Here in the Washington legal profession, we continue to recognize the value of a diverse and equitable legal profession, and we are committed to doing the work necessary to advance it. For some, the letters DEI have become tainted, representing preferential treatment for non-white people, or racial quotas in job hiring, contract awards, and career advancement (note: DEI means none of those things). In 2025, the existence of the WSBA Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Council—with no further name change—is a statement in itself. So is the WSBA Board’s unanimous approval of the Equity & Justice Plan. 

Another project I worked on during my time on the DEI Council reflects just how seriously we took our commitment to diversity. In 2023, after a year of seeking input from affinity bar associations and other WSBA members, the Council proposed a change to the definition of “diversity” in a key WSBA bylaw. The bylaw lays out the procedure for the election of two at-large governors to the WSBA Board, whom the DEI Council recommends for placement on the ballot. Prior to the proposed change, the WSBA bylaws dictated that these at-large positions should be filled by people who represent groups that are “historically underrepresented” in the Washington bar or represent “some of the diverse elements of the public of the State of Washington.” After the 2023 amendment was approved, the bylaw states that underrepresented communities “encompass[] and [are] not limited to, race, disability, age, ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity, and gender expression.” As the definition shows, diversity is so much more than race. It means young and old. Able-bodied and disabled. From all religions. From all ethnic and cultural backgrounds. And because diversity “is not limited,” it also encompasses overlooked groups and populations that we do not even know we are missing at the table. The WSBA will continue through any future amendments to ensure that this provision of the Bylaws serves the purpose of including unheard voices on the Board.

That’s diversity. That’s DEI. And as I walk away from my time as a WSBA volunteer, that’s what I am most proud of. 

What next. 

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