Garth Dano Receives Washington State Bar Association Courageous Award

Seattle, Washington, September 15, 2000 — Moses Lake lawyer Garth Dano was presented with the Washington State Bar Association (WSBA) Courageous Award at a luncheon held in Spokane today. The Courageous Award is given annually to a lawyer who has displayed exceptional courage in the face of adversity, thus bringing credit to the legal profession.

Mr. Dano displayed courage in the face of public condemnation for his representation of a juvenile in a triple murder case. As a result of his representation, Mr. Dano was the target of threats and insults. He was regularly vilified in the press and in public while he battled to protect due process for his client. The effort to secure his client's basic rights took months and cost Mr. Dano and his firm over $140,000 in time and costs, with minimal compensation.

Eventually, Mr. Dano persuaded the court to move the trial to King County and to appoint a Seattle attorney to represent the client. Throughout the process, he displayed courage, professionalism and integrity. His conduct reflects the highest ideals of the legal profession.

Mr. Dano is a native of Ellensburg. He is the son of one of the Washington State Trial Lawyers Association (WSTLA) founders, Harrison Dano. He received his Bachelor of Arts degree from Santa Clara University in 1976, and was honored as one of the 10 outstanding seniors in his class. A 1979 graduate of Gonzaga University School of Law, he has practiced law in Moses Lake since 1980. Mr. Dano is a trial lawyer in private practice, and focuses on insurance bad faith claims, personal injury, wrongful death, and criminal cases, with an emphasis on DUI cases. He is a member of the WSBA, WSTLA, and is vice-president (east) of the Washington Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers Board of Governors. He is also a past-president of the Grant County Bar Association.

Mr. Dano devotes considerable time and effort to the organization and endowment funding of St. Rose of Lima Catholic School in Ephrata, and is a current member and past-president of the school board. He participates in many fundraising activities to benefit Moses Lake and Grant County organizations.

The Washington State Bar Association is a private, non-profit organization authorized by the Washington State Supreme Court to license the state's 26,000 lawyers. The WSBA both regulates lawyers under the authority of the Court and serves its members as a professional association — all without public funding. As a regulatory agency, it administers the bar exam, provides record-keeping and licensing functions, and administers the lawyer discipline program. As a professional association, the WSBA provides continuing legal education for attorneys, in addition to numerous other educational and member-service activities.