It is an honor, a high honor, to be the 109th President of the Washington State Bar Association. It being rodeo season, I am reminded that I have felt like the Brahma bull waiting for that gate to open. Having now been officially sworn in, the gate is open, so let s get started. Nearly all of us have been proud to be attorneys, as we should be.
Numerous surveys indicate that clients like and respect their own lawyer.
And according to a University of Chicago survey of 700 job categories, attorneys ranked fifth in the most respected of occupations. Nevertheless, bashing of lawyers, judges and the entire profession abounds. In these days of news as entertainment, radio talk-show hosts, in a frenzy for ratings and all of the other sensational reporting, often paint our legal profession, including judges and attorneys, in a distorted bad light. It is ironic that lawyers led the fight to eliminate the cheap laughs, jokes and outright racism that ethnic minorities, women and gays endured and still endure. It has been, and it is, time for lawyers and judges to stand up and be heard when unfair criticism is cast at our noble profession.