PRA Deep Dive: Contracting with Public Records in Mind

REGISTER

Registration closes on Tuesday, May 26 at 5 PM. All registrants will also receive a link to view the webinar recording.

Webinar Overview

Since 1999, Washington Courts have recognized that records prepared and retained by a contractor can be public records for purposes of the Public Records Act (PRA) if those records are used by the government agency in decision-making or if the contractor is the functional equivalent of a government employee. Local governments can therefore be held legally responsible for providing access to the public records held by their contractors. This webinar is designed to help local governments navigate their relationship with their contractors while balancing their obligations for transparency.

Educational Objectives

The following topics will be covered:

• Legal bases for addressing public records obligations in government contracts.
• Sample contract language and potential pitfalls.
• Strategies for contractor cooperation and streamlined recordkeeping.
• Preparing for litigation to defend reasonable searches and third-party exemptions.

Who Should Attend?

Attorneys/legal staff of local governments, as well as private attorneys with local government clients, elected officials, public record officers (PROs), procurement staff, and other staff who work with public records and contracting.

Credits

This training is eligible for:

• 1.5 hours of CLE credit from the Washington State Bar Association (pending approval).
• 1.5 hours of WAPRO credit for Washington Association of Public Records Officers (WAPRO) certification or re-certification (pending approval).

Presenters

• Adrian Urquhart Winder, Principal Attorney, Foster Garvey PC. Adrian has more than 15 years of experience advising her clients regarding the Public Records Act and Open Public Meetings Act, including management of agency responses to public records requests, evaluation of exemptions, development of policies for records disclosure and retention, and representation of government agencies in trial and appellate court litigation based on open government laws. She also assists private entities with evaluating and pursuing injunctive relief proceedings to prevent disclosure of exempt information and with Telford cases concerning an entity’s status as the functional equivalent of a public agency.
• Sarah Doar, Legal Consultant, MRSC. Sarah joined MRSC in September 2018, after serving as Civil Deputy Prosecuting Attorney for Island County. At MRSC, Sarah provides guidance and training to municipalities on many aspects of government, including compliance with public records and open meeting laws, land use issues, and environmental law.    

Training Scholarships

• The Washington Counties Risk Group (WCRG) will provide training scholarships for this webinar. Those wishing to take advantage of this offer are asked to respectfully contact your WCRG risk manager, Mark Sherwood at msherwood@chooseclear.com to request the registration code before you register.
• The Cities Insurance Association of Washington (CIAW) will provide training scholarships for this webinar. Those wishing to take advantage of this offer are asked to respectfully contact your CIAW risk manager, Mark Sherwood at msherwood@chooseclear.com to request the registration code before you register.
• Read about other scholarship opportunities.

Payment Policy: Payment for this training is completed online by card. If you need to be billed to pay offline, there will be a $5.00 administrative fee added to the total cost of registration. Please contact Jacob Rice (jrice@mrsc.org) if you need to request an invoice.

Refund Policy: Refunds will be provided minus a 5% administrative fee until the registration deadline at 5 PM on Tuesday, May 26, 2026. No refunds for cancelations or no-shows after the registration deadline. Please contact Jacob Rice (jrice@mrsc.org) if you need to request a refund.

If you are registered for the webinar and are unable to attend, you will still be able to view the recorded webinar afterwards. However, if you cancel your registration, you will not receive a link to the recording.