Seattle Attorney M. Wayne Blair Receives Washington State Bar Association's 2004 Lifetime Service Award

Seattle Washington, September 20, 2004 — The Washington State Bar Association (WSBA) announces that Seattle attorney M. Wayne Blair received the 2004 Lifetime Service Award for a lifetime of service to the WSBA and the public. The Lifetime Service Award is given only when there is someone especially deserving of this recognition. Washington State Supreme Court Chief Justice Gerry Alexander presented the award to Mr. Blair at the WSBA Annual Awards Dinner Thursday, September 16, at the Seattle Marriott Waterfront Hotel.

Mr. Blair, who makes his home on Bainbridge Island, earned a B.S. in Electrical Engineering in 1965 from the University of Washington and a J.D. in 1968 from the University of Washington School of Law. In 1972 he joined the Seattle law firm of Montgomery Purdue Blankinship & Austin, where his practice emphasizes business, commercial, real estate, construction, and financing matters, including complex business and real estate transactions. He also advises on construction agreements and other construction matters, and serves as "outside" general counsel to several small to medium-sized businesses.

A trained and highly respected arbitrator, over the last 15 years Mr. Blair has served as an arbitrator or mediator in more than 150 commercial, construction, or real estate disputes, primarily under the authority of the American Arbitration Association (AAA). He has been a member of the AAA panel since 1984, and currently serves on the AAA Large Complex Case Panel. He has also spoken frequently and taught numerous Continuing Legal Education seminars on mandatory arbitration, and is the author of "Mandatory Arbitration in Washington" (Chapter 2 of the WSBA Alternate Dispute Resolution Deskbook), as well as many articles in local or state legal periodicals on a variety of subjects relating to arbitration and other aspects of the legal profession.

Mr. Blair was 1998-1999 president of the WSBA, served on the WSBA Board of Governors from 1991 to 1994, and served as 1991-1992 chair of the WSBA's Alternative Dispute Resolution Section. He was also 1987-1988 president of the King County Bar Association (KCBA) and a member of the American Bar Association House of Delegates from 1989 to 1991. From 1995 to 2000, he served on the Washington State Board for Judicial Administration and was a member of its Executive Committee from 1998 to 2000. He has served on five judicial task forces over the last 20 years, and currently chairs the Trial Court Funding Task Force, having been appointed by Chief Justice Gerry Alexander and the Board for Judicial Administration."

Mr. Blair was rated a "Super Lawyer" by Washington Law & Politics five years in a row, from 1999 to 2003. In 2001 he was listed as a "Top Lawyer" in Seattle Magazine. He received the WSBA President's Award in 1990, the KCBA's President's Award in 1989, and the KCBA's Helen M. Geisness award in 1987.

"I can think of no one who has a record of more sustained, intense service to the Bar, to the judicial branch, and to the public," said King County Superior Court Judge Deborah Fleck, who nominated Mr. Blair for the award. "He richly deserves this recognition."

About the WSBA
The Washington State Bar Association is a private, nonprofit organization authorized by the Washington State Supreme Court to license the state's 28,400 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 Ronald R. Ward of Seattle. 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, 23 sections, and a Young Lawyers Division.

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