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Lessons from the World of DanceTrial News Online Steven Toole Well, Valentine's weekend has finally arrived. Again, I am two weeks late with my column. I just can't seem to find the time during weekdays. I am sitting in a semi-darkened auditorium in Burien, attending my daughter's dance competition. We were here for five hours Friday night. It will be about fifteen hours today. During this time, my daughter will dance for a total of 27 minutes. The great news is that in between her dances and the various award ceremonies, I have so far been able to read five deposition transcripts, review four bills just dropped in the legislature and read the February Trial News, cover to cover-and it's still morning. I have just about gone through everything I brought in my briefcase. So, now it's time to write my March column. One thing I have observed while watching dancers in competition is the value of teamwork. I have also noted the importance of preparation, dedication and commitment. The dancers and dance teams that score the highest all appear to have these characteristics in common. What is most interesting is that in the team dances, not all the dancers have equal abilities and they don't all necessarily have equal roles. Some are spotlighted, some do trickier routines and some have more of a supportive role. Despite their individual roles, they all work together and, what is truly amazing to watch, is that when the good teams put this symphony of sorts together, you don't notice the individual dancers. You don't sit there observing how this person is strong and this other person is weak. If well choreographed and rehearsed, the dancers don't dance outside themselves. In their individual roles, they each do what they are capable of and, in so doing, they dance as one. The audience and the judges only see the unity and feel the energy that the team brings to the performance and imparts to us. This is not all that different from life in WSTLA. We are a great organization because we act as a cohesive, well-oiled machine. We have great teamwork and great leadership. Both individually and as an organization, we are prepared, dedicated, seriously committed and we create positive energy around us. Well, this wasn't necessarily a revelation. I have been observing and praising these characteristics in our members and our organization this entire year. However, I did realize this weekend that I have been focusing on our Eagles. I have praised our Eagle membership and have harped on others in our organization to step up to the plate and become Eagles themselves. What I have totally overlooked is that we are one big team of 3,500 attorneys, statewide, dedicated to protecting the rights of individuals and people injured in the workplace and injured by the tortious conduct of others. As a team, we are dedicated to protecting our civil justice system and the right to trial by jury. We are focused on making certain that everyone has equal access to justice. I have failed to appreciate and recognize the important role our non- Eagle, regular members, play on this dedicated team. They help to choreograph the well-organized, cohesive and committed lobbying effort that we put forth in Washington DC, Olympia and in our local communities. In drawing further upon the dancing analogy, there is a dance competition category for "large groups." By definition, I believe this means ten or more dancers performing a dance. If a particular dance team only had five really top-notch dancers and they did not allow anyone else to be on their team, they would never be able to compete in the "large group" category. There are few dance studios that have ten or more top-notch dancers. So, they combine all their dancers and, together, they create a "large group." The choreography of top dance teams then maximizes the talents and skills of each dancer. As a result, these "large groups" come together and truly put on some of the most exciting and energetic dancing of the competition. These performances get the audience going like none of the other dance performances can do. So, where would WSTLA be without its "Regular" members? To start with, instead of being a lobbying force of 3,500 attorneys statewide, we would only be 700. When we send out a call to all our Eagle and regular members to contact their legislators on a particular issue, without our regular members, we would only have a maximum of 700 calls, not 3,500. When we ask all our members to each contact five of their clients, friends, family, etc to also communicate with their legislators, instead of potentially having those 3,500 members and their 17,500 contacts communicating with our legislators, we would only have the 700 Eagles and their 3,500 contacts. This is a difference of almost 17,000 people. Where else would we be without our regular members? Who would we draw upon to serve on and participate in our numerous committees, task forces, sections and roundtables? Who would we call upon to speak at our CLE seminars, for which we have an excellent reputation as having a first rate product? In fact, from where would we draw people to attend our CLE seminars, without our regular members? What impact would the lack of regular members have on the breadth, experience and diversity of our membership and our leadership? What would we lose by not having this wide range of people and backgrounds to draw upon for support, leadership and ideas? What would we lose by excluding from our organization people who are general practitioners with only a smattering of personal injury cases and who, therefore, can not justify becoming Eagles? How could we champion individual rights and equal access to justice for all, if we limit our organization to only those whose practices and income enable them to be Eagles? What statement would we be making? Well, fortunately we don't limit our organization to only those who can afford to be Eagles. However, by not acknowledging our regular members and giving them an appropriate and well-deserved pat on the back, and by constantly focusing on and praising the contributions of our Eagle members, what are we telling the others? We are telling them they are not important, that we don't value them and that they are second rate members. If this is what we are telling them, then why should we expect their loyalty? Why should we expect them to answer the call when we send out urgent messages to help out with legislative crises? The questions beg the answers. I don't mean to suggest that I am going to stop pushing people to become Eagles. We are going to continue to offer great benefits to attract people to the Eagle program. We still are going to urge our members who appear to be able to afford it, to step up to the plate and become Eagles because we need you. My dream is to see Eagles represent half our membership. However, we are not going to lose sight of the value of our regular members. From the bottom of my heart, I thank each one of you for being WSTLA members. I thank you for the everyday contributions you make, whether they are large or small. I thank you for your concern over our civil justice system and your willingness to do what you can to help all of us and WSTLA to protect that system and the rights of our clients. I thank you for your willingness and ability to be "dancers" on WSTLA's "large group" dance team, whether you be a lead dancer or a role player. I thank you for all the hard work, dedication, commitment and teamwork that is necessary for WSTLA to put its dance performance together. Steven G. Toole, WSTLA EAGLE member, is with the Law Office of Steven G. Toole, P.S. in Bellevue, Washington. Mr. Toole is President of the Washington State Trial Lawyers Association. 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