[blindlaw] Newly appointed

[Charles Krugman]

Congratulations! this is a great opportunity and your involvement will 
definitely improve how such issues are resolved in the state of Washington. 
sorry for the late response but I've been off line for the past couple of 
weeks due to computer problems. I'm now getting used to Windows 8.1.
Chuck Krugman, MSW Paralegal

-----Original Message----- 
From: Elizabeth Rene via blindlaw
Sent: Tuesday, July 29, 2014 9:47 PM
To: blindlaw at nfbnet.org
Subject: [blindlaw] Newly appointed

Hi listmates,

Just wanted to let you know that the Washington State Bar Association's 
Board of Governors this last weekend voted unanimously to appoint me to the 
WSBA Character and Fitness Board.  This is a three-year term.  As with most 
state bar associations, the Character and Fitness board conducts hearings 
and makes recommendations to the state supreme court regarding applicants 
for admission to the bar whose fitness to practice has come into question. 
It also hears complaints regarding lawyers whose conduct violates the Rules 
of Professional Conduct and makes recommendations regarding their ongoing 
fitness to practice.

At the same meeting, the Board of Governors confirmed my appointment to the 
Court Rules and Procedures Committee, that has jurisdiction over everything 
but the rules governing the practice of law itself.

The Character and Fitness Board has input into the Admission to Practice 
Rules and the questions asked of bar exam applicants on their admission 
forms.  This is important because there has been a growing concern here in 
Washington and in other states regarding bar admission questions that 
challenge the character and fitness of applicants based on disability status 
alone, e.g. mental illness or the receipt of psychiatric treatment.

I raised the issue of the discriminatory impact of such questions to the BOG 
and stressed the importance of having someone on the board with an 
understanding and alertness to disability stigma, and they heard me.  They 
know that I want to see the definition of fitness changed and the 
application questions reworded to address conduct rather than diagnosis.

This board and committee work will be very demanding, physically and 
emotionally, and will be done in addition to my own lawyering job.  I'll 
need your support and encouragement as the months go by, even though the 
substance of what I do will be confidential. I hope I can count on you all. 
Because, in some way, when one of us gets recognized like this, we all share 
in it.This is your victory too.

Best regards,

Elizabeth Rene
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