Lance Hester Begins Term as WSBA Young Lawyers Division President

Seattle Washington, November 6, 2002 — Tacoma lawyer Lance Hester has begun a one-year term as president of the Washington State Bar Association (WSBA) Young Lawyers Division (YLD). He served as president-elect in 2001-2002.

Mr. Hester is a graduate of Pepperdine University and Seattle University School of Law. He is a trial lawyer with the Law Offices of Monte E. Hester, focusing on plaintiffs’ personal injury and criminal defense. In addition, he provides a full range of appellate work, both civil and criminal. He is an active member of the American Bar Association, the Washington State Trial Lawyers Association, the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, and Washington Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers. He is the outgoing president of the Tacoma-Pierce County Young Lawyers, and has twice been named a "Rising Star" by Washington Law and Politics magazine.

There are approximately 7,000 young lawyers in the WSBA. Each WSBA member is automatically a member of the YLD for the first five years of practice or until the end of the year in which he turns 36, whichever is later. In addition to assisting new lawyers with their personal and professional development, the YLD also focuses on community service. Community outreach programs include Law Talk, a video series on legal issues; the Disaster Legal Assistance program for FEMA recipients; and numerous youth programs. The Aspiring Youth Program targets at-risk middle school students during "latch key" hours. The Mentorship/Scholarship Program is aimed at public high schools with the purpose of identifying at-risk youth and pairing them with young lawyer mentors during the summer. Each year, the YLD president and president-elect serve on the board of the YMCA Mock Trial Competition, and actively recruit young lawyers from around the state to serve as team coaches and audience raters for the various regional competitions.

The Washington State Bar Association (WSBA) is a private, nonprofit organization authorized by the Washington Supreme Court to license the state’s 27,300 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.