Seattle Attorney Jennie R. Laird Receives Washington State Bar Association Young Lawyers Division Thomas Neville Pro Bono Award

Seattle Washington, October 9, 2003—The Washington State Bar Association (WSBA) announced that Seattle attorney Jennie R. Laird received the Washington Young Lawyers Division (WYLD) Thomas Neville Pro Bono Award. This award is given annually in memory of Thomas Neville, a Western Washington attorney who was murdered in his office by the estranged husband of a pro bono family-law client, and recognizes young lawyers who have generously committed their time and efforts to providing legal services for the public good.

Ms. Laird, who earned her J.D. cum laude from the Seattle University School of Law in 1996, is a staff attorney with Columbia Legal Services' King County office in Seattle. Her practice focuses on family law, with a particular emphasis on cases involving domestic violence and/or child abuse. Ms. Laird is a volunteer with the Cross Cultural Legal Clinic, and is the volunteer attorney coordinator for the Domestic Violence Family Law Clinic. An active member of the Family Law Roundtable, the King County Bar Association (KCBA) Judicial Screening Committee, and the WSBA's Pro Bono and Legal Aid Committee, she also volunteers with the Northwest Women's Law Center's Self Help and Legislative committees. This year she will serve as secretary of the KCBA's Family Law Section.

Lisa M. Stone, executive director of the Northwest Women's Law Center, said: "Ms. Laird has devoted her career to the provision of legal services to low-income people, particularly domestic-violence victims. This devotion extends beyond Ms. Laird's 'day job': in addition to her paid legal positions, she has consistently volunteered with legal and community organizations and shared her knowledge and expertise generously with colleagues, clients, and allies in the civil legal services and social services communities."

"Jennie is an asset to the domestic-violence/sexual-assault communities," said Keri Newport, legal advocacy manager and parent education specialist for the King County Sexual Assault Resource Center. "She is an asset to the community at large. She is an incredible woman."

Margaret T. Sassaman, staff attorney with the Northwest Justice Project, wrote: "Jennie is always willing to put in extra time to follow up with clients and to make sure that the clients are able to complete the steps required. Jennie is able to make clients feel comfortable and to explain complicated legal information in a way they can understand."

"Ms. Laird's contributions have gone far beyond the exceptional service she has provided as a staff attorney at Columbia Legal Services," wrote Catherine A. Carroll, staff attorney with the Washington Coalition of Sexual Assault Programs. "She is very generous with her time and knowledge. I am very impressed with her expertise in domestic violence, and the friendly manner in which she makes herself accessible and easily understood to lay people."

"I'm lucky," said Ms. Laird. "I get to put my legal skills to use every day by assisting low-income survivors of domestic violence and their families with their legal problems, in both my volunteer work and my paid work. I'm very thankful to be acknowledged in a community full of dedicated, bright advocates, and I'm grateful to everyone in the legal community who facilitates the continuation of legal services and pro bono programs."

About the Washington Young Lawyers Division
The WYLD provides programs and services of special interest to young lawyers, to the public, and to those denied access to the justice system. In particular, the WYLD sponsors Continuing Legal Education seminars of interest to young lawyers; publishes De Novo, a quarterly publication serving young lawyers; sponsors programs that benefit high-school students, including the YMCA Mock Trial Competition; and sponsors seminars addressing questions facing young lawyers as they balance professional and personal lives. Any active member of the WSBA is a member of the WYLD until December 31 of the year in which the member attains the age of 36 or until the December 31 of the fifth year in which the member has been admitted to practice in any state, whichever is later.

About the Washington State Bar Association
The Washington State Bar Association is a private, nonprofit organization authorized by the Washington Supreme Court to license the state's 27,600 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.

The governance of the WSBA is vested in its 14-person Board of Governors. There are three governors from the seventh congressional district; one from each of the other eight districts; and three at-large members, one of whom represents the Young Lawyers Division. The president is David W. Savage of Pullman. The board meets every six weeks at various locations around the state, and its meetings are open to the public. Much of the work of the WSBA is carried out through its 23 standing committees, 24 sections, and a Young Lawyers Division.

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