November 2006
Exceeding Excellence — Congratulations to WSBA’s 2006 Annual Awards Recipients
Congratulations to this year’s Annual Awards recipients! The awards, with the exception of the Pro Bono Award, were presented at the Annual Awards Dinner held September 14 at the Madison Renaissance Hotel in Seattle.
Professionalism Award • Joy B. McLean
This honor is awarded to a member of the WSBA who exemplifies the spirit of professionalism in the practice of law.
The Professionalism Award was presented posthumously to Joy McLean, who, along with Katherine Johnson, was tragically killed in a car accident near Missoula, Montana, on March 4, 2006. Both Joy and Katherine were long-term members of the WSBA staff.
Joy McLean began her WSBA career in 1995 as disciplinary counsel in the Office of Disciplinary Counsel (ODC), and in 1998 was promoted to senior disciplinary counsel. She was appointed associate director for the ODC in 1999, and in 2002 was named director.
Among her many accomplishments at the Bar, Ms. McLean advocated the use of alternative dispute resolution and was the WSBA’s main proponent of “diversion,” in which a lawyer can be diverted from discipline for less-serious misconduct. She gave a highly regarded presentation on diversion at the National Organization of Bar Counsel Conference in February 2006, which made her a nationally recognized authority on the issue. She was a much sought-after speaker, known for her breadth of knowledge and engaging speaking style.
“Joy epitomized the work the Bar is doing to elevate the practice of law,” said Jan Michels, WSBA executive director. “She was an individual of great integrity, dedicated to the legal profession, and firmly committed to protecting the public and serving the citizens of Washington.”
Angelo Petruss Award for Lawyers in Public Service • Penny L. Allen
The Angelo Petruss Award is given to a lawyer in government service who has made a significant contribution to the legal profession, the justice system, and the public.
A 1989 cum laude graduate of the University of Puget Sound School of Law, Penny Allen has been an assistant attorney general (and now senior counsel) for the State of Washington for 16 years. During this time, Ms. Allen has also consistently represented low-income clients in Thurston County. Although the Office of the Attorney General encourages its employees to engage in pro bono law practice, it cannot provide resources or support. Ms. Allen has a set of forms and standard documents for her pro bono practice, but there are no automated systems or dedicated support staff available for her use. She also must meet her clients outside of her regular work hours and outside of her office. Although Ms. Allen must work with her pro bono clients on her personal time and with her personal resources, this does not deter her. Once a case is resolved, she contacts Thurston County Volunteer Legal Services and accepts another case.
“Over the years, one case at a time and one client at a time, she has made a significant difference in the lives of the individuals she has represented . . . and in the way she has inspired others to undertake pro bono representation,” wrote the Attorney General’s Office Pro Bono Committee in her nomination.
Courageous Award • Nancy C. Ivarinen
This award is presented to a lawyer who has displayed exceptional courage in the face of adversity, thus bringing credit to the legal profession.
Nancy Ivarinen received the Courageous Award for her contributions to the legal profession and activism for access to justice, while overcoming a severe hearing impairment. She was born with conductive hearing loss, and throughout her life, her hearing has continued to deteriorate. In 2002, her hearing impairment was substantially corrected when she received a Baha bone-anchored system for both ears, the first such surgery in the Pacific Northwest. Her hearing impairment has not deterred her from excelling in the legal profession or helping others. She has devoted countless pro bono hours to low-income clients, primarily those with landlord-tenant and elder-abuse issues.
Ms. Ivarinen is a volunteer attorney with Whatcom County’s LAW Advocates; has developed a Street Law clinical program that allows paralegal students to work with volunteer lawyers to provide free legal services to students at Whatcom County Community College; serves on the Pro Bono Steering Committee of Skagit County Bar Association; provides continuing legal education instruction to attorneys; and serves as gratis landlord-tenant instructor for landlords participating in the Bellingham Police Department’s Crime Prevention Program. She is appointed by the Washington State Supreme Court to serve on the Practice of Law Board.
Excellence in Diversity Award • Professor David Boerner • Professor Paula Lustbader • Seattle University School of Law Alternative Admissions Program/Academic Resource Center
This award is made to a lawyer, law firm, or law-related group that has made a significant contribution to diversity in the legal profession’s employment of ethnic minorities, women, and persons with disabilities.
Professors David Boerner and Paula Lustbader co-founded the Alternative Admissions Program and the Academic Resource Center at Seattle University School of Law. Through their tireless work, Professors Boerner and Lustbader have not only made a significant contribution to diversity in the legal profession, they have helped change the way law schools view diversity and the need for it.
Professor David Boerner
Professor Boerner currently serves as chair of the Washington Sentencing Guidelines Commission. He has served on Washington State Supreme Court’s Board for Court Education, its Time-for-Trial Task Force, and its Jury Instruction Committee, and is a past chair of the WSBA Rules of Professional Conduct Committee. Professor Boerner is a highly sought-after lecturer, a frequent contributor to law reviews, and the author of Sentencing in Washington: A Legal Analysis of the Sentencing Reform Act of 1981. This is Professor Boerner’s second WSBA award ¾ in 2004, he received the Award of Merit, the WSBA’s highest award.
Professor Paula Lustbader
Professor Lustbader has been the director of the Seattle University School of Law’s Academic Resource Center since its inception in 1987. She is a nationally recognized scholar and speaker on law school academic-support programs, learning theory, teaching methods, and diversity, and has given presentations on these subjects at national and international conferences. In addition to being the past chair of both the Teaching Methods and Academic Support sections of the Association of American Law Schools, she has been a frequent program organizer and presenter at conferences sponsored by the Law School Admission Council Institutes for Academic Support, the Institute for Law School Teaching, the Society of American Law Teachers, and the Legal Writing Institute.
Alternative Admissions Program and Academic Resource Center
The Seattle University School of Law’s Alternative Admissions Program and Academic Resource Center work to diversify the student body — and, by extension, the population of practicing attorneys — by providing students from diverse backgrounds with access to legal education and other non-academic support, so that they may fully participate in the law school and enrich the learning experience of all its students.
Outstanding Judge Award • The Honorable D. Gary Steiner
The Outstanding Judge Award is presented for outstanding service to the bench and for special contribution to the legal profession at any level of the court.
Appointed to the Pierce County Superior Court bench in 1981, Judge D. Gary Steiner has presided over some of the most complex and high-profile criminal trials in Pierce County history, and is known for conducting a firm and orderly court while maintaining a warm sense of humor. In 1994, Judge Steiner was instrumental in forming the first drug court in Pierce County, which has been credited with helping to break the cycle of drug abuse and violence. A study of 65 drug-court graduates revealed that 63 percent remained crime-free five years later, almost three times as many as non-graduates, making the drug court a nationally recognized success.
“[The Pierce County drug court] was started … when the whole idea of problem-solving courts, like drug courts, was a new and largely unproven concept,” wrote Washington State Supreme Court Chief Justice Gerry Alexander. “Judge Steiner believed that such a court could help redeem the lives of persons caught up in the drug world, and his optimism and hard work has paid dividends to the individuals who come before this court as well as for the citizenry of Pierce County.”
Outstanding Elected Official • The Honorable Christine O. Gregoire
This award is presented to an elected official in recognition of outstanding service to the citizens of Washington state and special contributions to the legal profession.
Washington State Governor Christine Gregoire was honored for her extraordinary leadership in mediating a compromise between the medical and legal communities on SHB 2292, a hotly contested medical-malpractice-reform bill. The Legislature ultimately passed the compromise bill (also called “Plan B” during the 2005 legislative session) as amended through this historic process, which has helped improve healthcare by increasing patient safety, reducing medical errors, reforming medical-malpractice insurance, and resolving medical-malpractice claims. WSBA President Brooke Taylor wrote: “Credit must go to Governor Gregoire for her extraordinary leadership in arranging and mediating this process. She chaired all five sessions, and there was never a hint of partisanship in her conduct of the meetings. What did come through loud and clear was her knowledge of the complex issues on the table, and her passion for affordable, accessible healthcare.”
Community Service Award • The Honorable Joel M. Penoyar
Lawyers are known for giving generously of their time and talents in service to their communities. This award, which is new this year, recognizes exceptional non-law-related volunteer work and community service.
A 1974 graduate of the University of Oregon School of Law, Judge Joel Penoyar serves on the Court of Appeals, Division Two in Tacoma.
Judge Penoyar’s community-service activities are numerous: he has been a soccer coach and president of the Willapa Harbor Youth Soccer League for 20 years; a scoutmaster for 18 years; a volunteer firefighter, training officer, and first responder for 15 years; an assistant track and basketball coach at South Bend High School for 10 years; and a member of the Willapa Harbor Lions and South Bend Kiwanis. He has also spoken at countless school assemblies, forums, and award ceremonies; he attends and speaks at District Reasonable Efforts Symposiums; and he aids and encourages students with their college dreams.
It is in recognition of Judge Penoyar’s tireless commitment to serving his community that the WSBA was proud to honor him with its first-ever Community Service Award.
Award of Merit • Marc A. Boman
The Award of Merit is the Washington State Bar Association’s highest honor and is most often given for long-term service to the Bar and/or the public. Both lawyers and nonlawyers are eligible for this prestigious award.
Marc Boman received the Award of Merit in recognition for his dedicated service to improving public defense in the state of Washington and his career-long commitment to professionalism. Serving as co-chair of the WSBA Blue Ribbon Panel on Criminal Defense (2003-2004), he worked tirelessly to achieve systemic, lasting improvements in public defense services statewide. The Panel’s report was instrumental in the 2005 Washington State Legislature passing HB 1542, the first requirement for state funding for trial-level public defense in the history of Washington state, and, in 2006, the Legislature funded that mandate. Mr. Boman participated in drafting HB 1542 and was active in informing the state Legislature of the need for public-defense funding.
“He has already inspired a great bench guide on appointment of counsel and is launching other projects as well. His commitment is genuine, productive, and inspiring,” wrote Washington State Supreme Court Justice Susan Owens.
Lifetime Service Award • Patrick H. McIntyre
This special award, given for a lifetime of service to the WSBA and the public, is given only when there is someone especially deserving of this recognition.
Patrick “Mac” McIntyre, a former deputy director and general counsel for Evergreen Legal Services, is retiring after more than a decade as the executive director of the Northwest Justice Project (NJP), a not-for-profit statewide organization that provides free civil legal services to low-income people throughout Washington state. Under his leadership, the NJP has grown from a fledgling legal-services provider to a multi-million dollar statewide organization with a national reputation that has helped countless Washington residents access equal justice.
Mr. McIntyre’s leadership was essential in the creation of the Legal Aid for Washington (LAW) Fund, which provides private support for civil legal-aid programs in Washington state, and the Access to Justice Board, established by the Washington State Supreme Court to address the need for equal access to justice for those facing economic and other barriers. For much of his professional career, Mr. McIntyre has led numerous bipartisan WSBA delegations to Washington, D.C., to help educate our congressional leaders about the need for adequate equal-justice funding that helps our poorest and most vulnerable people.
President’s Award • William D. Hyslop
The President’s Award is given annually in recognition of special accomplishment or service to the WSBA during the term of the current president.
A commitment to service has characterized both the professional career and personal life of Spokane attorney William Hyslop, and he has actively participated in innumerable major public projects in the Spokane community over the past 20 years, in addition to his active involvement in, and exemplary service to, the legal community. Mr. Hyslop’s special service to the WSBA during the past several years has been in his role as co-chair of the WSBA Committee on Public Defense, a very active committee that was established to implement the recommendations of the WSBA Blue Ribbon Panel on Criminal Defense (appointed by the Board of Governors in spring 2003 as a first step in addressing concerns about the quality of indigent defense services in Washington).
Mr. Hyslop’s list of community memberships, activities, and honors is as varied as it is impressive. He has served as president of the Washington State University Alumni Association; on the Spokesman-Review Newspaper Advisory Council; on the board of Morning Star Boys Ranch and as founding board member of its foundation; as director of the Rotary Club of Spokane; as assistant scoutmaster for the Boy Scouts of America; and on the Citizens for Spokane Schools Leadership Team.
Pro Bono Award • Leonard J. Feldman
The Pro Bono Award is presented annually to a lawyer, nonlawyer, law firm, or local bar association for outstanding efforts in providing free or low-cost services to the poor, and is based on cumulative efforts rather than the number of pro bono hours or amount of financial contribution. President S. Brooke Taylor presented the award to Mr. Feldman on June 10 at the Access to Justice Conference in Yakima.
In 1995, Mr. Feldman became a district coordinator for the Ninth Circuit Pro Bono Program, a position he still holds. The program provides pro bono counsel to pro se parties with meritorious or complex appeals, provides a valuable learning experience to young attorneys and law students, and assists the court in processing pro se civil appeals more equitably and efficiently. As district coordinator, Mr. Feldman is responsible for enlisting attorneys to participate in the program, circulating memoranda to the pool of attorneys who have signed up for such service, and recruiting attorneys to take the referred appeals. Feldman has participated as pro bono counsel on 16 appeals himself, and currently has one pending before the Ninth Circuit.
In 1995, Mr. Feldman proposed that the University of Washington School of Law establish an externship program for law students to participate in federal appeals. The externship program was established, and operates under Mr. Feldman’s and UW professor Eric Schnapper’s supervision. “Leonard’s work and example have impressed upon the students the importance of a lawyer’s obligation to provide pro bono representation, and the considerable satisfaction that is to be found in meeting that obligation,” Professor Schnapper wrote in support of Leonard Feldman’s nomination.
“The WSBA Pro Bono Award is based on outstanding cumulative efforts, not just pro bono hours. Nevertheless, given the demands of his practice and duties as a shareholder, it is noteworthy that over the last 10 years, Leonard has averaged more than 210 hours of pro bono service each year,” Anderson wrote.
