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Attorney Reinstatement Standards: A Proposal For Reform In Washington State, Anne Badgley

Washington Law Review

This Comment reviews the background leading to Washington's present reinstatement guidelines and analyzes the approach taken by the Washington Supreme Court in deciding reinstatement petitions. Three recent cases are discussed to illustrate the problems created by the current approach. This Comment suggests that the court adopt a new approach in deciding reinstatement cases. The proposed approach establishes uniform disbarment periods for specific offenses and clarifies the qualifications expected of individual reinstatement applicants. This approach utilizes the categories of offenses set forth in the proposal drafted by the American Bar Association (hereinafter ABA) Standards for Imposing Lawyer Sanctions. The proposed changes …