Volume X, Issue V
September/October 1997
LawTalk:
Television Programming for the Common Person
by Patrick A. Palace
In an effort to meet the growing demand for legal services for people who are either low income or middle income who feel they cannot afford a lawyer and are locked out of the courthouse, the Washington State Young Lawyers Division, members of the Pierce County Young Lawyers and Olympia Young Lawyers formed a committee for the purposes of creating a television program to provide the general public with straight legal talk about issues that effect a broad base of society.
Patrick A. Palace, the chair of the LawTalk committee, applied for an American Bar Association Public Service Sub-grant in late 1996. The ABA subsequently awarded LawTalk funds to produce a series of television programs. The Washington State Young Lawyers Division then provided additional funds to complete the budget.
A committee was formed which included the following committee members: Gina Auter, John Casey, Melissa Denton, Patrick Palace, and John Wilson.
After six months of planning, two programs were produced in the Pierce County TCI studios. The first show discussed family law issues, and the second show addressed sexual harassment in the workplace.
Both of these programs have been aired since July 21, 1997, on TCI channel 29, and will continue being aired through September 21, 1997. The shows can be seen Mondays at 8:00 p.m. and Thursdays at 7:30 p.m.
The LawTalk committee is currently in the process of distributing the shows to other television channels across the state. LawTalk should be fully syndicated across Washington State and shown in ten cities before the end of the year.
On October 22, 1997, two new programs will be produced. These programs will be dedicated to informing people of their rights and remedies 1) when they are injured on the job and 2) if they are victims of domestic violence. These shows will also be aired statewide.
The goal of LawTalk has to been to help those citizens of our state who do not feel that they can afford or obtain legal representation. The LawTalk program was therefore designed to help disseminate valuable legal information to meet the public demand and at the same time enhance the perception of attorneys and the public services they perform. LawTalk disseminates information to the general public, particularly to those people who are not privy to legal information or resources and to help them obtain necessary assistance. In short, it has been and will remain the goal of LawTalk to enlighten and empower its viewers through clear, concise and practical legal advice and information, and at the same time underscore the point that lawyers are public servants and professionals dedicated to the services of their clients and community.
Thanks should be extended to the LawTalk committee members and also to the presenters in the first two television programs. These presenters include Judge Marywave Van Deren (Superior Court Judge), Mr. Ed Loughrey (Tacoma Lawyer), Mr. Allen Tom (Thurston County Prosecutor), Ms. Virginia DeCosta (Tacoma Attorney), Mr. Heriberto Ruiz (Acting Director Special Programs Human Rights Commission), and Ms. Debra Stednick (Vice President of Human Resources the Ackerley Group).
Those who are interested in participating in the LawTalk program may contact Patrick A. Palace at (253) 627-3883 or e-mail LawTalk at LAWTALKTV@aol.com.
Patrick A. Palace is in solo practice in Tacoma and is the President-Elect of the Washington Young Lawyers Division
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