Laurie Powers to Receive the Washington State Bar Association’s Local Hero Award

Seattle Washington, July 23, 2003 — The Washington State Bar Association (WSBA) today announced that Bellingham attorney Laurie Powers will receive the WSBA’s Local Hero Award. The Local Hero Award is presented to lawyers who have made noteworthy contributions to their communities. WSBA President J. Richard Manning will present the award to Ms. Powers July 25 at the Board of Governors meeting in Bellingham.

Ms. Powers, who received her J.D. in 1991 from the University of Washington School of Law, is currently the interim executive director of Legal Assistance by Whatcom (LAW) Advocates, which provides legal assistance and access to justice for low-income Whatcom County residents. Appointed by the Whatcom County Executive as a citizen member of Whatcom County’s Law & Justice Council, she currently serves on the Executive Committee and the Juvenile Justice Committee.

In addition, Ms. Powers is a former president of the Board of Directors of Domestic Violence & Sexual Assault Services (formerly Whatcom Crisis Services) and former chair of the Family Law Committee, which pioneered a family law “re-envisioning” process for Whatcom County that resulted in new local rules requiring mediation in family law cases, adoption of residential guidelines for parenting plans, and increased access to legal services for domestic-violence victims. She is a citizen volunteer for both the Domestic Violence Task Force Civil Court Work Group and the Work Group on Coordinated Judicial Response to Domestic Violence. A former part-time staff attorney and volunteer attorney for Project SAFER (Stop Abuse and Fear by Exercising Rights, a LAW Advocates program that provides direct representation for domestic-violence victims), Ms. Powers currently serves on the Board of Trustees of First Congregational Church and is a volunteer food server at Maple Alley Inn and the Community Meals program.

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 current president is J. Richard Manning of Seattle, and the president-elect is David 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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