[blindlaw] Newly appointed

[Elizabeth Rene]

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