Peter Greenfield

Seattle lawyer Peter Greenfield received the WSBA Board of Governors' Award for Professionalism last month at a luncheon held in Spokane. The award is given annually to a WSBA member who exemplifies the spirit of professionalism in the practice of law. Professionalism is defined as the pursuit of a learned profession in the spirit of service to the public.

Since 1970, Mr. Greenfield has worked for Columbia Legal Services, a nonprofit organization that provides free civil legal services to people who cannot afford to pay. Over the years he has represented disabled people whose entitlement to government benefits was in dispute, domestic violence victims in custody contests, and individuals asserting constitutional challenges to police practices or other governmental actions. More recently, Mr. Greenfield's work has focused on the legal problems of the vulnerable elderly. His work typically involves collaboration with social workers and others in agencies serving elderly and disabled clients.

Mr. Greenfield has served as a national and state board member of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU). As a volunteer attorney for the ACLU, he has represented clients in appeals involving issues of religious liberty, discrimination based on sexual orientation, and freedom of expression, including Spence v. Washington, a landmark 1974 cased in which the U.S. Supreme Court held that the First Amendment protected a war protestor's right to display an American flag with a peace symbol on it.

In 1991, Mr. Greenfield received the prestigious Charles A. Goldmark Distinguished Service Award from the Legal Foundation of Washington for his role in providing access to the civil justice system for indigent people. The King County Bar Association honored him for professional service in 1994 with the Helen M. Geisness Award. Since 1992, he has been a fellow of the American Bar Foundation.