WWL's 2012 Annual Event
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A PUBLICATION OF WASHINGTON WOMEN LAWYERS FALL 2012 WWL’s 2012 Annual Event By Margeaux Davitte are leaders of our legal community, Seattle University 2L board members of numerous charitable Inside This organizations, mothers, daughters, ath- Energy filled the room as letes and much more. attendees began to arrive for the Octo- Issue Each year, WWL honors an attor- ber 12, 2012 Washington Women Law- ney who has been instrumental to fur- WWL’s 2012 Annual Event, yers’ Annual Banquet and Awards ther integrating women in the legal page 1 Ceremony. This year was the first time field with the Legacy Award. This year’s the Annual Event was to take place in WWL President’s Message, Legacy Award recipient was Kitsap Tacoma, and it proved to be a fabu- page 2 County Superior Court Judge M. lous success—every seat was filled. Karlynn Haberly. Fellow Kitsap Coun- Annual Event CLE - Serving The evening kicked off with time to Nonprofits, page 2 ty Superior Court Judge Karen Conoley mingle and enjoy a drink, all while presented the award to her long-time Q&A with Sheryl Gordon touring the exceptional Art Gallery at friend and colleague. Judge Haberly McCloud, page 3 the Museum of Glass. The Museum of was most deserving of this award. She Glass was a lovely venue for the Remembering Judge Betty has been active in WWL for over thirty event. The banquet room dazzled with Binns Fletcher, page 5 years and helped found the Kitsap each table decorated with beautifully Chapter Updates, page 6 County WWL Chapter. Judge Haberly crafted, glass-blown pumpkins, creat- humbly accepted the Legacy Award ed by local high school students. and spoke of the vast differences in the WWL’s outgoing president, Ali‐ legal field from when she began her son Bettles welcomed the energetic career in 1978 and today. In 1993, she WWL Mission WWL members and supporters by was only the second woman to ever acknowledging the purpose of the serve on the Kitsap County judicial Statement Annual Banquet—to highlight the bench; currently Kitsap County’s bench great work WWL has done through- has a 5-3 split—women making up the out the past year, and to recognize the majority. All those present felt Judge outstanding women whose incredible Haberly’s pride in WWL as she spoke The principal purposes of commitments of time and talents about the hard work and dedication of Washington Women Law- helped make these achievements pos- WWL members to make such achieve- yers are to further the full sible. ments possible in 2012. integration of women in the The theme of the event was Throughout the entire evening the legal profession, and to “Lead, Serve, Balance,” showcasing room was filled with laughter and promote equal rights and the ability of women in the legal prac- chatter as WWL members exchanged tice to be leaders, public interest sup- stories about their time in the legal field opportunities for women porters, and also maintain a healthy and appreciated one another for their and to prevent discrimina- work/life balance—certainly a chal- contributions to WWL. The awards tion against them. lenging task! The room was filled with women who embrace this theme and (Continued on page 8) 1 A PUBLICATION OF WASHINGTON WOMEN LAWYERS FALL 2012 WWL President’s Message By Jeanne Marie Clavere tainability, and we as current mem- WWL President bers and supporters of Washington Renew or Join Women Lawyers are responsible for I am excited and proud to have the gains that we have achieved in the WWL Today been nominated President of Washing- last 40 plus years. ton Women Lawyers. This will be quite the year – of change, of a deeper under- Learn more about the value of mem- standing of our Mission Statement, and bership & renew your membership of a strongly forged connection of our on-line at: www.wwl.org/Membership. organization’s principled history with the urgency of the moment and with our commitment to furthering the Beginning on January 1, 2013, chap- rights of women in our society and in ter dues will be reduced by $10 for the legal profession, particularly wom- government/non-profit employees. And for all others, no increases in en who bring diversity to our profes- WWL President Jeanne Marie Clavere sion. dues! We all are stewards of the mission WWL’s Mission Statement is as fol- of Washington Women Lawyers. Yes, lows: Is there still work to be done after we have our own vocation, our own The principal purposes of the legal successes of the past 42 years passions, and our own skills. But we Washington Women Lawyers since WWL was formed? Does the also have responsibilities: to ourselves, are to further the full integra‐ rhetoric that we were taught, and that to our families, to our friends, and to tion of women in the legal we believed, fully exist in our real our careers. With 2013 fast approach- profession, and to promote lives and those of our sisters, our niec- ing, our lives and our society are head- equal rights and opportunities es, our daughters and our colleagues? ed for yet another busy year. Yet for women and to prevent dis‐ amidst the inner daily grind and the crimination against them. Or, could it be that cultural trans- outward volatility, let us join to be formation is much harder than legal Our responsibility to stewardship stewards of our future. reform? Consider the following: and commitment to this Mission State- th Let us look at this concept of stew- ment comes to us by our education, The United States is 90 in the ardship. This is an ethic that embodies through our ability to evoke change world in terms of women serving responsible planning and management by our standing and influence as attor- in national legislatures. of resources. This is a concept of sus- neys and judges. (Continued on page 7) Annual Event CLE: The Rules, Ethics, and Duties of Serving on the Board of or as Counsel for a Nonproit Organization ing, an additional twenty-one people ganizations (WAACO) Program Man- By Megan Wargacki, Ph.D. participated remotely. The seminar, ager, kicked off the seminar by wel- Seattle University 3L “Serving Nonprofits From The Inside coming the audience and introducing (Board Service) and Out (Counsel),” the distinguished panelists. The first On the first misty afternoon in was arranged in conjunction with the speaker, Judith Andrews, described months, twenty-eight enthusiastic October 12, 2012 Washington Women what every Board member should seminar participants gathered in a Lawyers (WWL) Annual Event. understand about corporate and state beautiful, spacious conference room law requirements for nonprofit overlooking downtown Tacoma, Jodi Nishioka, Washington Washington. Thanks to live webcast- Attorneys Assisting Community Or- (Continued on page 8) 2 A PUBLICATION OF WASHINGTON WOMEN LAWYERS FALL 2012 Q&A with incoming Justice Sheryl Gordon McCloud (Ed. Note: Sheryl Gordon McCloud was pret the world, so I think itʹs im- WWL: Please describe some of the recently elected to Position 9 on the Wash‐ portant for people with a variety most memorable challenges you have ington State Supreme Court and will take of life experiences to be part of the faced as an attorney. office in January 2013.) conversation about the importance of SGM: I will never forget the few weeks constitutional and individual rights Washington Women Lawyers: What leading to the upcoming execution date and the meaning of the law. Iʹm made you decide to run for the Wash‐ of a client who had been sentenced to proud to bring my background to the ington State Supreme Court? death following conviction of two mur- Court, and Iʹm proud of every other ders. I was in emotional turmoil; we Sheryl Gordon McCloud: I argued my member of the Court who brings a were seeking any new evidence or is- first appeal as a law student, in 1982, in different background. Itʹs important sues we could find that might help the Ninth Circuit, in a civil rights case - to have all those viewpoints at the spare the clientʹs life, and then we lost and won. Iʹve been jazzed about ap- table. what we thought was our final legal peals ever since then. I felt that with argument in Clallam County Superior appeals, you could influence the law for Court on the Friday before Thanksgiv- more than one single person; you could ing several years ago. But that impact everyone that the appellate de- night, we learned something stun- cision would affect. So I clerked for an ning: a previously unknown witness appellate court judge; I learned how to had come forward to the prosecutor, do jury trials at the public defender; I that very Friday afternoon, disclosing began taking on appeals at the public that he had heard a confession to the defender; I did pro bono appellate two murders—but the person who con- work for the ACLU; and then I opened fessed was someone other than our cli- my own practice and tried to focus on ent! We turned our entire attention to appeals. By 2012, I felt that I had taking all the practical and legal steps enough appellate experience in enough necessary to get this information in levels of appellate courts (especially the front of the court, to try to stay the exe- state Supreme Court) with enough cution, and to preserve that stay all the different types of cases that I could Incoming Justice Sheryl Gordon McCloud, way up to the Supreme Court. We did make a strong contribution as a Justice.