Rosemarie Warren LeMoine Receives Washington State Bar Association Pro Bono Award

Seattle, Washington, September 15, 2000 — Bellevue lawyer Rosemarie Warren LeMoine was presented with the Washington State Bar Association (WSBA) Pro Bono Award at a luncheon held in Spokane today. The Pro Bono Award is given annually to a lawyer, nonlawyer, law firm or local bar association for outstanding efforts in providing free legal sevices to the poor. This award is based on cumulative efforts, as opposed to a lawyer's or firm's pro bono hours or financial contribution.

A solo family law attorney, Ms. LeMoine has been instrumental in developing programs that provide legal services to indigent clients. Her first program involved organizing and implementing assistance for pro se clients (persons representing themselves). Volunteer attorneys help pro se clients with paperwork and offer guidance about court appearances. Ms. LeMoine continues to coordinate volunteers who serve each Friday during the morning calendar.

Several years ago she began matching volunteer lawyers with low-income family law clients for a free one-hour consultation. Approximately 80 lawyers continuously participate in the program.

For the last five years, Ms. LeMoine has coordinated a "How to Finish Your Divorce" class for low-income clients. She recruits volunteer lawyers to teach the class, which is offered once a month at no cost in the King County Superior Court Law Library.

In addition to the volunteer opportunities she has created for other lawyers, Ms.LeMoine is very active in pro bono work herself. She volunteers at King County legal clinics, the Magnolia Family Law Legal Clinic, and the Catholic Community Services Legal Action Center in the Central District. She is past-chair of the King County Bar Association Family Law Section, and is an active member of the King County Superior Court Pro Se Taskforce. In 1998, she received the King County Bar Association Pro Bono Award for her efforts on behalf of low-income clients. A native of Ray City, Georgia, Ms. LeMoine is a 1979 graduate of St. Louis University School of Law, and has practiced law in Washington for 20 years.

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.