2025 January Hearsay

HearSay THE OFFICIAL MAGAZINE OF THE CLARK COUNTY BAR ASSOCIATION

January 2025

December 2019

Welcome, Commissioner Lopez!

Welcome, Commissioner Lopez!

Don’t get lost in Oregon or Washington Got an injury law case in Oregon or Washington?

We can put you on the right path. Available for consult, association, or referral for injury claims. Let’s talk soon.

JESSE JACOBS OTLA Guardian / WSAJ Eagle Past President, Clark County Washington Bar Association

DON JACOBS Past Trial Lawyer of the Year, Clark County, WA Past President, Oregon Trial Lawyers Association

Portland 503.222.7757 | Vancouver 360.695.1624 | nwinjurylawcenter.com

The Clark County Bar Association is a professional organization that serves to support our local attorney community through providing education and networking opportunities designed to enhance and foster better relationships within the local legal community.

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January Hearsay Contributors Bill Thayer Schauermann Thayer Bill prev iously adv ised a nd represented clients in persona l injur y and wrongful death claims and litigation from 1980 to 2021.

He continues to serve the team as “of-counsel.”

Christina Phelan Phelan Law Office Christina Phela n practices c r i m i n a l law w it h a fo c us o n juvenile defense and therapeutic cou r ts. She ha s ser ve d on t he Hea rsay Committee since 2013.

Craig Schauermann Schauermann Thayer B e fo r e go i ng of c o u n s e l Ju ly 1, 2 015 , C r a i g a d v i s e d a n d advo c ated for h is c lients in p ersona l i nju r y a nd w rong f u l death cases for nearly 40 years.

Second Annual Color of Justice Event page 8

In Loving Memory of Jeff Jacobs page 12

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District Court’s Newest Commissioner: Leslie Lopez page 16

Meet: Alyssa Lax

Hi, w e N I’m !

Here

Where are you from?

I'm originally from Southern California--I grew up in a town that's halfway between Los Angeles and Palm Springs. It was regularly over 100 degrees throughout the summer and I wasn't a huge fan of the heat so I figured I'd try my luck in the rain.

Where do you work?

I work in the Survivor Support Program at the Clark County Volunteer Lawyers Program.

How long have you been working in Clark County?

I've been working in Clark County since February and was admitted to practice in Washington in June.

How are you liking it so far?

Clark County has been so welcoming! I have really enjoyed working in a mid-sized bar; I went to law school in a county with a bar of 9000+ and just before coming here I worked in a county with a bar of about 60. I like that the Clark County legal community has a lot to offer yet is still close-knit and it's fairly easy to get to know people.

What is your favorite part of your job?

I feel really lucky to have great colleagues. Sometimes the work is tough, but doing it alongside an amazing team makes weathering the challenges and celebrating the wins that much better.

What neighborhood do you live in?

I live over the bridge in the Portland area.

Do you have any pets?

I have a 2 year old Goldendoodle named Margot (she will also answer to Mango, Margaret, or Muppet).

She is sweet as pie, looks very cute in sweaters, and only commits misdemeanor crimes.

C’mon, look at that sweater!

Favorite restaurant in Portland/Vancouver?

There are so many great restaurants in the area, so it's hard to choose. A standout for me is DarSalam, especially the downtown Portland location. The food is delicious, the service is great, and they make a killer beet margarita.

Drink of choice - beer, wine, coffee?

Favorite vacation?

Tequila!

Scotland and Ireland--I was there at the end of February in 2020 and flew back just days before lockdown was announced. I had the opportunity to stay in a 500-year-old castle just outside of Inverness that had previously been a jail/courthouse and even stayed in the suite that had been a courtroom. It was only mildly haunted. I also stayed in a farmhouse near Dublin where our host made fresh scones and tea every morning, told us stories about the area, and introduced us to his cows! It was incredible to see centuries-old architecture and the topography was stunning.

Tell us a fun fact about yourself!

As of this year, I have been to all 50 states.

My parents made it a priority for my sibling and I to see as much of the country as possible and we did several crosscountry road trips in our trusty minivan.

While there is so much beauty throughout the United States, this experience has deepened my appreciation for the place I call home. The Pacific Northwest is tops!

Thank you to Alyssa for sharing. Say hello next time you see her around!

Scott G Weber, County Clerk Charlene Huffman, Chief Deputy Clerk

1200 Franklin/First Floor, P. O. Box 5000 Vancouver, WA 98666-5000 564-397-2292 Fax 360-397-6099 www.clark.wa.gov

MEMORANDUM DATE:

October 23, 2024

TO:

CCBA

FROM:

Scott Weber, Clark County Clerk

RE:

Exhibit Returns

The clerk’s office is in crisis, a space crisis. Our exhibit room is busting at the seams, and we no longer have space for current and future cases. COVID contributed greatly to our current situation, as you can imagine, as does the clerk’s continued staffing challenges.

Our project for the end of the year is to get things back in order by returning exhibits to their rightful owners or obtaining approval for destruction. We are notifying local attorneys by email of their cases for which we are providing storage for their exhibits. Unfortunately, we are not getting the responses we had hoped for.

We are requesting your help. If you receive an email notification from us regarding exhibits, please respond. If you approve destruction, please respond to our email as soon as possible indicating that destruction is approved. If you have chosen to have exhibits returned, please respond to our email letting us know you will be stopping by the clerk’s office as soon as possible to pick up and sign for the exhibits.

We are hoping that once we have worked through this backlog, our new stipulation and exhibit handling process will keep this situation from recurring.

If you have any questions, please reach out to our office.

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Clients Don't Often See the Whole Board

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Theresa Springer, CDLP® : 360.798.4161 l Dale Carstensen, CDRE : 541.659.1370 2ndsaturdayclarkcounty@gmail.com

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Clark County Bar Association CLARK COUNTY BAR ASSOCIATION BOARD MEETING December 3, 2024

Minutes for the CCBA Board of Trustees Meeting December 3, 2024 1.Called to order 12:06 pm, Wechselblatt, Petersen, Melnick, Larson, Sutanto, Busby, Rapp, Mendoza, Hawke and Executive Director Darco 2. November 6, 2024 board meeting minutes: Motion to Approve (Hawke/Rapp) Approved 3. Treaurer’s Report (Melnick) Financials in board folder. November went as expected; we are ahead of last year. No concerns. Barrister’s Ball deposit is coming due soon.

4. Family Law Section Funds (Melnick) The reserve analysis has been completed. Board members will meet with FLS board members.

5. Membership Committee and Drive (Wechselblatt): 2024/2025 members:384 (2023/2024: 439 members). We need to get 450 members for this fiscal year to meet our budget projections. Forming a Membership Engagement Committee which will meet 12/13/24 to discuss outreach and goals. Looking for non board members to join this committee along with board members. Interested? Contact Ben or Deb. The first priority is to concentrate on those who have not renewed their CCBA membership yet.

6. Lawyer Fee Survey: This project has not been progressing. Will evaluate whether to continue with it.

7. Lawyer Referral Service: There were not many responses to the July 2024 survey regarding the service. Goals are to 1) develop a tracking process to monitor outcomes after the CCBA attorney referral is made 2) make the service generate revenue for the CCBA. Possible January meeting.

8. Motion to Ratify email Vote: Motion to ratify board member email vote approving holiday bonuses for CCBA employees (Melnick/Wechselblatt) Approved Upcoming Meetings/ Events Barrister’s Ball 3/8/25 Adjourned

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