November 2005

Business Lawyers Pitching In for Public Good

by Jim Bamberger

Business lawyers — pro bono. What, you say? Oxymoron. Can't be.

Well, it's true. Across the state of Washington, business lawyers are giving their time, energy, and expertise to nonprofit community-based organizations with needs for civil legal assistance on a broad array of matters. Building on recommendations developed by the Task Force on Washington State Business Law Pro Bono, and encouraged by new and successful business law pro bono models developed and tested in other parts of the country, a new organization was formed in 2003 called the Washington Attorneys Assisting Community Organizations (WAACO). Not a small town in Texas or a pejorative characterization of the dysfunctional attorneys who took the plunge, WAACO (pronounced Wah-ko) is an independent organization with an ever-expanding base of participating business attorneys working to make timely and competent legal assistance available to undercapitalized and often nascent community-based nonprofit organizations that more often don't realize the need for legal assistance — until it is too late.

Nonprofits throughout Washington state improve their communities by providing social, educational, and charitable services, and promoting economic development in distressed areas. Today, more than ever, community organizations need legal assistance with everything from straightforward corporate formation, taxation, intellectual property, and employment law matters, to complex mergers, reorganizations, and real estate transactions. These organizations require ongoing legal assistance to stabilize their operations and increase their capacities. Unfortunately, many lack the understanding and resources to find an attorney. Without access to timely and competent pro bono legal assistance, they may fail to execute their philanthropic missions. Part of the problem is that many Washington nonprofits do not identify their ongoing legal needs or seek legal help with organizational and transactional matters. The "culture of poverty" embedded in the nonprofit community breeds a fire-drill approach to legal issues. Driven by their charitable missions and thwarted by their budgets, nonprofits often will not pause to address or even realize fundamental legal needs unless the organization confronts a lawsuit.

Just two years old, WAACO has already established itself as a statewide clearinghouse with a successful record of recruiting and matching volunteer business law attorneys with charitable and community-based nonprofits that are unable to pay for business-related legal services. Through community outreach and legal workshops, WAACO has begun to inform community organizations in our state of their business-related legal needs and to refer them to volunteer attorneys who can address those needs.

WAACO is governed by an 11-member board of directors. Its work is supported by a statewide advisory committee consisting of 15 members representing the nonprofit, legal-aid, access-to-justice, and business-law communities. With financial and in-kind support from local law firms, the WSBA Business Law Section, the King County Bar Association, the Seattle Foundation, and others, WAACO has been able to hire a part-time coordinator, Mette Mai. Ms. Mai serves as the point of contact between WAACO, the organizations that need legal assistance, and the attorneys who have signed up to provide assistance. She is also in charge of the organization's attorney-recruitment efforts and efforts to reach out to nonprofit community-based organizations throughout the state.

To date, more than 40 cooperating business-law attorneys have provided legal assistance on more than 70 discrete legal issues facing client nonprofit organizations. Assistance has ranged from brief consultation and advice to detailed drafting of policies, procedures, contracts, and organizational documents. Board Chair Judy Andrews, a principal with the firm Gottlieb, Fisher & Andrews, PLLC, is enthusiastic about WAACO's success to date: "We pulled this thing together on a shoestring. There was every reason for this initiative to fail. But fail it won't. The business-law community has embraced the challenge, and more and more attorneys are signing up to share their expertise with community organizations throughout the state. As the word has gotten out, we have received more requests for assistance from a wide variety of community-based nonprofit organizations. Knock on wood — we have been able to connect these organizations with cooperating business-law practitioners. But, we know all too well that demand will shortly exceed supply; and we are continually looking to expand the base and diversity of our cooperating volunteer attorneys."

WAACO recognizes and thanks the attorneys who have helped meet the pro bono challenge assisting community organizations in making a difference. Business lawyers who have not yet found a way to contribute their considerable skills and abilities to a good cause are encouraged to contact WAACO.   
A Big Thank You to the Following WAACO Volunteer Attorneys

Kimberley Anderson, Dorsey & Whitney LLP
Judy Andrews, Gottlieb, Fisher & Andrews PLLC
Annette Elinger Becker, Preston Gates Ellis LLP
Christopher Beer, Invicta Law Group PLLC
Jeff Belfiglio, Davis Wright Tremaine LLP
David Brenner, Riddell Williams PS
Lee Brettin, Brettin Law Office
Danny Bronsky, Bronsky Law
Hilary Brown, Law offices of Hilary Brown
Keelin Curran, Stoel Rives LLP
Harold Federow, BSQUARE Corporation
Shelly Frankel, Seattle University Law School
Tom Gates, Gates' Law
Jeff Gingold, Lane Powell PC
Pamela Grinter, Riddell Williams PS
Daniel Gross, Public Interest Law Firm Group PLLC
Peter Gulick, Law Offices of Peter Gulick
Margaret Inouye, Preston Gates Ellis LLP
Janet Jacobs, Stoel Rives LLP
Kim Kemper, Starbucks Coffee Company
Kenneth Kilbreath, Inslee, Best, Doezie & Ryder PS
Ada Ko, Lane Powell PC
Jon Kroman, Garvey Schubert Barer
Sarah Leung, Heller Ehrman LLP
Megan E. McCloskey, Riddell Williams PS
Jason Mills, Davis Wright Tremaine LLP
Jason Mirmelstein, Preston Gates Ellis LLP (formerly)
Timothy Mizrahi, Preston Gates Ellis LLP
Kristopher Pattison, Preston Gates Ellis LLP (formerly)
Kirsten Pederson, Halverson Applegate P.S.
Lisa Peterson, Davis Wright Tremaine LLP
Randi Price, Dorsey & Whitney LLP
Kerry Radcliffe, Garvey Schubert Barer
Shannon Rhodes, Cairncross & Hempelmann PS
Andrew N. Sachs, Heller Ehrman LLP
Lori Salzarulo, Garvey Schubert Barer
Jennifer Schubert, Davis Wright Tremaine LLP
Larry Shapero, Riddell Williams PS
Alan Smith, Perkins Coie LLP
Tom Sterken, Keller Rohrback LLP
Dipa Sudra, Heller Ehrman LLP
Brian Williamson, Law Office of Brian Williamson
Sung Yang, Davis Wright Tremaine LLP

WAACO Board of Directors and Advisory Committee

Board of Directors  

Judith L. Andrews (president)
James Bamberger
Putnam Barber
Julia Parsons Clarke (vice president)
Carolyn Cunningham
Deborah Cushing
Sarah Dods
Pamela A. Grinter (treasurer)
Andrew A. Guy
Kimball Mullins
Lori Salzarulo

Advisory Board

Holland Bryce
Val Carlson
Joan Fairbanks
Karen Funston
Sandy Gill
Ann Glynn
Kathleen Hopkins
Kyong Jang
Zabrina Jenkins
Tony Leahy
Erin Joyce Letey
Alicia Lowe
Katherine A. Ludwig
Kirsten Pederson
Gregory Ritts

2005 Financial Supporters of WAACO

Davis Wright Tremaine LLP
Friends of WAACO
Garvey Schubert Barer
Gottlieb, Fisher & Andrews
The Hammering Men
King County Bar Association
Perkins Coie LLP
Riddell William PS
Stoel Rives LLP
Sound Legal Copy
WAACO Board Members
WSBA Business Law Section