Bill Pickett Sworn in as President of the Washington State Bar Association │ Sept. 28, 2018
SEATTLE, WA [Sept. 28, 2018] – William D. Pickett has been sworn in as President of the Washington State Bar Association (WSBA). Washington Supreme Court Chief Justice Mary E. Fairhurst issued the oath of office at the 2018 WSBA APEX (Acknowledging Professional Excellence) Awards Dinner on Sept. 27 at the Sheraton Seattle.
A solo practitioner and founder of The Pickett Law Firm in Yakima, Pickett specializes in trial advocacy in personal injury and wrongful death, civil rights and police misconduct, and medical malpractice. He is an adjunct faculty member in the LL.M. Trial Advocacy Degree Program for Temple University School of Law and a frequent speaker on trial advocacy, police misconduct, and medical negligence issues. Pickett is also a member of the National Police Accountability Project.
“Our duty as lawyers is about more than just upholding the law and fighting injustice,” said Pickett. “It’s about people; it’s about our relationship with the public we’ve sworn to serve.”
Pickett was elected to the WSBA Board of Governors in 2015 and appointed president in March of this year, replacing former President Brad Furlong. As an undergraduate, Pickett earned his degree in society and justice from the University of Washington before earning his law degree from Lewis & Clark Law School in Portland, OR. He later earned an LL.M. degree in trial advocacy from Temple University’s James E. Beasley School of Law, and is a graduate of the Gerry Spence Trial Lawyer’s College in Dubois, WY. Pickett is licensed to practice law in Washington, Oregon, Alaska, and Arizona. Pickett will serve as WSBA president through September 2019, after which he will continue to serve one year as immediate past president.
Before college, Pickett worked as a commercial fisherman and deep sea diver in Alaska, and now lives in Yakima with his wife, three children, and their dog. As WSBA President, Pickett said he plans to focus on trust, relationship, and service as principles to help guide the WSBA Board of Governors and benefit the nearly 40,000 WSBA members.
About the Washington State Bar Association
The WSBA operates under the delegated authority of the Washington Supreme Court and exercises a governmental function authorized by the Court to license and regulate the state’s nearly 40,000 legal professionals, including lawyers, limited practice officers, and limited license legal technicians. The WSBA both regulates legal professionals under the authority of the Court and serves its members as a professional association — all without public funding. The WSBA administers the Bar admission process, including the bar exam; provides record-keeping and licensing functions; administers the lawyer discipline system; and provides continuing legal education for legal professionals, in addition to numerous other educational and member-service activities. The Bar’s mission is to serve the public and its members, to ensure the integrity of the legal profession, and to champion justice.
