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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT Ronald R. Ward to Serve as 2004-2005 Washington State Bar Association President
"I was absolutely elated," said Ward, when asked about his reaction to the election. "It's a long way from the projects in San Francisco to the presidency of the Washington State Bar — and it's a tribute to what our country is all about." The oldest of 10 children, Ward was born in Sacramento and grew up in the Hunters Point housing project in San Francisco. Ward earned his Juris Doctor from the University of California, Hastings College of the Law. Since 1982 he has been a shareholder in the Seattle personal-injury law firm of Levinson Friedman, and is currently serving on the WSBA Board of Governors representing the 8th Congressional District. A former assistant attorney general, Ward is licensed to practice law in California and Washington. He was vice president and a seven-term member of the Board of Governors of the Washington State Trial Lawyers' Association (WSTLA), and co-chair of WSTLA's Seattle Downtown Roundtable. In 1994 Ward received the Distinguished Service Award, presented by Anheuser-Busch Companies, at the National convention of the National Bar Association. In 1995 he received the WSTLA Special President's Recognition Award. Washington Law & Politics magazine has selected him as a Super Lawyer for 2003. Ward has a clear vision for his presidency. "I want to be a symbol of community and a conduit for bringing us together," he said. "I really believe that what we're talking about is the best interests of the members of the Washington State Bar Association and the citizens we serve. In times of crisis, people look to lawyers as leaders, and I want to do the best job I can for the Bar. "I also want to be a positive example to children and young people of color, because it can literally make the difference between life and death for them. It did for me. One reason I am here today is that as a young man I listened to a speech given by attorney Willie Brown, who later became Speaker of the California Assembly and is now Mayor of San Francisco. My mother's example and his accomplishments inspired me to become a lawyer." Ward has volunteered his time as a reading tutor and teaching assistant for first- and second-graders at Hawthorne School in Seattle, and currently serves on the Parent Board, the Annual Giving Steering Committee, and the Long-Range Planning Committee for Holy Names Academy in Seattle. He is also a member of the Board of Trustees of the Northwest Chamber Orchestra. These days Ward is "in my usual frenzy." Besides his law practice and volunteer efforts, his Board of Governors duties include service as chair of a committee that recently reviewed the Judicial Recommendation Committee; a member of the Budget and Audit Committee and the Diversity Committee; and liaison for the Business Law Section, the Character and Fitness Committee, the Professional Development Task Force, and the Student Loan Crisis Task Force. He is also a frequent lecturer and seminar chair, recently chairing trial advocacy seminars in Paris, Barcelona, and Florence. "I am delighted that the Washington State Bar Association has elected Ronald Ward into the chair to become president," said Dennis W. Archer, president-elect of the American Bar Association. "As the first person of color to lead the bar I cannot think of anyone better to meet the challenge. I take my hat off to him and to trailblazers like Justice Charles Z. Smith, Lem Howell, Loren Miller, Gary Gayton and Judge Jack Tanner, who paved the way and upon whose shoulders Ron Ward now stands." About the WSBA The WSBA is governed by an elected president, president-elect, and a 14-member Board of Governors — three from the seventh District (King County), one from each of the remaining eight congressional districts, and three at-large members (one representing the Young Lawyers Division). The Board sets WSBA policy and speaks for the Association. It meets every six weeks at various locations around the state, and its meetings are open to the public. For more information, visit www.wsba.org. # # # |
Seattle, Washington, June 11, 2003 — The Washington State Bar Association (WSBA) announced today that Seattle lawyer Ronald R. Ward has been elected to serve as WSBA president-elect in 2003-2004 and as WSBA president in 2004-2005. Ward's election June 6 at the WSBA's Board of Governors meeting in Wenatchee has considerable historic significance, for when Ward begins his term as the 114th president of the WSBA in September 2004, he will be the first African-American to serve as president of the organization.