On Board > A Summary of the January 2026 Board Meeting

The WSBA Board of Governors determines the Bar’s general policies and approves its annual budget

The agenda, materials, and video recording from this Board of Governors meeting, as well as past meetings, are online here: www.wsba.org/bog.

Jan. 16, 2026
TOP MEETING TAKEAWAYS

Focus on Access to Justice. The Access to Justice (ATJ) Board gathered with the Board of Governors to build relationships, learn, and—most importantly—brainstorm and focus on strategies to close the justice gap in Washington. The justice gap refers to the disparity between the need for legal assistance and the availability or accessibility of that assistance, particularly for low-income and marginalized communities. The ATJ Board leaders talked about their efforts to authentically engage and include people with unmet legal needs across the state, which has led to dedicated leadership seats for community members with these types of lived experiences. Following that conversation, the Board of Governors co-created, with the Access to Justice Board, a Justice Gap Scoping Work Group to conduct a comprehensive analysis of ongoing and proposed solutions to close the justice gap; to identify interested parties; and, as its final product, to provide a prioritized list of solutions for the WSBA and ATJ Board to pursue.

We Need YOUR Input About the Professional Oath. The WSBA Oath Review and Drafting Task Force has a survey open to collect data that will be the foundation for its decisions about if and how to move forward in redrafting Washington’s professional legal oaths; please take the survey that corresponds to your license type:

Find more information at www.wsba.org/oath.

Help Us Honor Legal Luminaries. The annual APEX (Acknowledging Professional Excellence) Awards nominations are open through Feb. 27. Nominate a legal luminary so we can celebrate their excellence and impact statewide! Visit www.wsba.org/apex.

Section Viability Review Process. The WSBA Bylaws trigger a viability review of any section when it drops below 75 members for two consecutive years. Currently, the Legal Assistance to Military Personnel (LAMP) Section and Liquor, Cannabis, and Psychedelics Law Section are below that threshold. Because Board members have never conducted a sections viability review before, they approved a collaborative process that considers factors such as section leadership input, overall activity and functionality, and fiscal viability. While the review process is triggered purely by membership numbers, the review process will be a holistic evaluation designed to determine if the Sections are able to offer value to their members, Board members said. The review of the LAMP and Liquor, Cannabis, and Psychedelics sections should be completed by this July.

The Board also:

  • Maintained the LLLT and LPO license fees for 2027 (no change from 2026). The Supreme Court will now review the recommendation for reasonableness. The Board expressed interest in developing a philosophy for reviewing LPO and LLLT license fees in the future.
  • Approved an updated Board Conflict of Interest Policy and related WSBA Bylaw amendment. The Supreme Court will review the bylaw recommendation for implementation.
  • Reviewed a second read of a proposed bylaw amendment related to the personal political activities of Board members. The Board returned the proposal to the Governance Committee for consideration of the additional comments received.
  • Approved a proposal to submit suggested amendments to APR 12(b)(3) to the Supreme Court that would allow the WSBA to provide payments to volunteers of the Limited Practice Board when engaged in exam writing and grading to align with the practice of providing payments to members of the Board of Bar Examiners when grading the attorney bar exam.
  • Approved revisions to Appendix B of the WSBA Indigent Defense Standards proposed by the Council on Public Defense. Appendix B lists Washington crimes and their corollary case types for purposes of public defense qualifications and case weighting. The revisions were anticipated when the standards were originally drafted, based on legislative changes to criminal statutes and receipt of new data on the actual time spent on specific case types. In addition, the revisions better reflect the actual practice habits of Washington public defenders and respond to formatting requests from local public defenders and administrators.

SAVE THE DATE > The next regular meeting is March 6–7, 2026, in the Olympia area. To subscribe to the Board Meeting Notification list, email barleaders@wsba.org.

On Friday, Jan. 16, the WSBA hosted an annual gathering with affinity bar association leaders to build relationships and discuss mutual goals, challenges, and opportunities. WSBA President Francis Adewale welcomed the crowd at the Northwest African American Museum in Seattle. WSBA Past President and Washington Leadership Institute founder Ron Ward gave the keynote address. WSBA photos

A CALL FOR THE RULE OF LAW

Statement on Federal Immigration Enforcement in Minneapolis

In response to recent events in Minneapolis surrounding federal immigration enforcement, WSBA President Francis Adewale and WSBA Executive Director Terra Nevitt issued a statement calling all legal professionals to uphold the legal system and defend the rule of law.

“… [A]s legal professionals in Washington, we should be united and clear, no matter our political views: The rule of law means that the same laws apply to everyone, that even government power is bound by the law, and that civil and human rights are guaranteed to all.”

Read the full statement at www.wsba.org/about-wsba/ambassadors/a-call-for-rule-of-law.