Washington State Bar Association Labor and Employment Law Section

The Labor and Employment Law Section of the Washington State Bar Association is one of the larger and fastest growing sections of the state bar, mirroring the growth of the practice area. The Section currently has approximately 850 members. The Section includes members who practice many different aspects of labor and employment law, including lawyers representing private and public sector employers, unions, management, and individual employees, as well as law professors, arbitrators, and other neutrals. Section members practice in all geographic areas of the state. Lawyers interested in joing the Section may go here for additional information.

Activities of the Section

The Section undertakes a variety of activities throughout the course of the year intended to benefit its members, the public, and law students who are interested in labor and employment law.

Annual CLE Program. For the past seven years, the Section has sponsored an all-day CLE program in Seattle, typically in early November, to keep Section members and others who are interested up-to-date on the latest trends and developments in labor and employment law, with a particular focus on state law issues. The CLE includes a luncheon presentation which most recently has featured Federal and state court judges known for their expertise in labor and employment law. The Section's annual meeting typically occurs during the luncheon portion of the CLE.

Mini-CLE Programs. In addition to the annual CLE program, the Section has sponsored shorter CLE programs, typically held over the noon hour, which focus on specific issues such as recently-enacted state legislation dealing with labor and employment topics, or changes in the Federal tax code which impact employment law practitioners. In an effort to make these programs more accessible to members outside the Seattle area, recently the Section has made these mini-CLE programs available to Section members in their offices by teleconference as well as in person at the Bar offices.

Law Student Activities. The Section has also had a variety of programs which focus on encouraging law students at Seattle University, Gonzaga and the University of Washington who are interested in labor and employment law. For the past several years, the Section has co-sponsored, with each law school, a summer internship for one law student from each of the three schools to work in a government agency which deals with labor and employment law issues. Section members have also participated in an annual luncheon program at Seattle University Law School where members of the law school's labor and employment law student association have an opportunity to meet one-on-one with practitioners working in different aspects of labor and employment law.

Section Website. During 2007, the Section has made a major effort to revamp the Section's website to make it more user-friendly and to significantly expand and regularly update its substantive content. The new site features regular updates from LawMemo.com on new labor and employment decisions from the Washington State courts, the Ninth Circuit, the U.S. Supreme Court and the National Labor Relations Board, as well as a listing of available labor and employment jobs, news on upcoming Section activities, and other timely information of interest to Section members.

Public Outreach and Education. The Section is also interested in public outreach and education, and has contributed support for The Docket, a monthly television show on TVW hosted by Dean Kellye Testy of Seattle University School of Law which is intended to educate the public on legal issues. Upcoming episodes of The Docket will include specific segments addressing current labor and employment issues of interest to the general public.

Section Governance

The Section is governed by an elected Executive Committee consisting of nine members. Under the Section bylaws, these nine positions are allocated to insure that the different primary constituencies of the Section are all represented. There are three positions for lawyers who primarily represent management in the private sector, two positions for lawyers who primarily represent management in the public sector, two positions for lawyers who primarily represent labor unions, and two positions for lawyers who primarily represent individual employees.

Each member of the Executive Committee is elected for a three-year term, with three positions on the Committee typically up each year. The Executive Committee appoints a Nominating Committee which solicits nominations from Section members for the open positions, typically in November of each year. Mail ballots are then sent out to all Section members in early December, with the new members of the Executive Committee taking their positions as of January 1 of each year. Typically in January of each year, the new Executive Committee elects officers for the year including a Chair, a Chair-Elect who becomes Chair the following year, a Secretary and a Treasurer. The Executive Committee of the Section normally meets monthly on the second Wednesday of the month at the offices of the Bar Association in Seattle, usually from 8:15 am to 9:30 am. Section members are always welcome to attend meetings of the Executive Committee.

A copy of the Section bylaws can be viewed here, and a copy of the Section 2006-2007 annual report can be found here.

Section Finances

The activities of the Section are financed by a combination of annual dues of $20.00 paid by Section members as well as registration fees paid by attendees at Section events such as its annual CLE program. The Bar Association works on a September 30 year-end. A copy of the Section's budget for 2007-2008 can be viewed here.