Seattle Attorney Nicholas P. Gellert Receives Washington State Bar Association Award of Merit

Seattle Washington, September 16, 2003—The Washington State Bar Association (WSBA) presented Nicholas P. Gellert the Award of Merit at its Annual Awards Dinner, held September 11 in conjunction with its Annual Business Meeting at the Bell Harbor International Conference Center. The Award of Merit is the WSBA's highest honor, and is given for long-term service to the bar and/or the public, and both lawyers and nonlawyers are eligible. Chief Justice Gerry Alexander presented the award to Mr. Gellert.

Mr. Gellert, who was admitted to the WSBA in 1988, is an associate in Perkins Coie LLP's Seattle office. He was a co-recipient of the Award of Merit with David J. Burman and Kathleen M. O'Sullivan, also of Perkins Coie; and Maureen A. Hart, Senior Assistant Attorney General. The four received the award in recognition of their significant pro bono efforts, under Mr. Burman's leadership, in Brown v. Legal Foundation of Washington.

The team's "extraordinary representation of the Legal Foundation of Washington in a six-year battle to defend the integrity and constitutionality of Washington State's Interest on Lawyers' Trust Accounts (IOLTA) program," wrote Scott Smith, chair of the Access to Justice Board, "did what many thought impossible . . . persuaded the U.S. Supreme Court that Washington State's IOLTA program was constitutionally sound." As a result of the team's efforts, the U.S. Supreme Court upheld the constitutionality of Washington's IOLTA program, thereby preserving a major source for the funding of legal representation for low-income people.

"These attorneys worked tirelessly to preserve both the funding for programs providing legal representation for those who cannot afford counsel and the Washington Supreme Court's ability to regulate the practice of law," wrote Attorney General Christine O. Gregoire in her nomination letter. "The result is the preservation of the programs and rules of professional conduct not only in Washington, but throughout the country."

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 2002-2003 president is J. Richard Manning of Seattle, and 2003-2004 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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