Business Law Section of the Washington State Bar Association Contributes $10,000 to Washington Attorneys Assisting Community Organizations (WAACO)

Seattle Washington, July 1, 2004 — The Washington State Bar Association (WSBA) announced today that the WSBA Business Law Section has contributed $10,000 to support the start-up of the Washington Attorneys Assisting Community Organizations (WAACO), a new statewide organization that matches volunteer attorneys with charitable and community-based nonprofit organizations that are in need of business-related legal services. "Aside from providing much-needed seed funding for WAACO's formation and initiation of its operations," said WAACO Treasurer Pamela A. Grinter, "the Business Law Section's contribution has lent credibility to this new organization. The individuals behind WAACO wish to thank the section for its contribution." This contribution is the section's second $10,000 contribution to WAACO; the first was in fall 2003.

About WAACO
WAACO was formed as a nonprofit corporation in October 2003 to provide charitable or community-based nonprofit organizations in Washington with access to free legal assistance on business-related legal matters. WAACO has more than 50 volunteers, including lawyers, and members of the Board of Directors, the Advisory Committee, and the Screening Committee. WAACO has received support from numerous Washington law firms, including Davis Wright Tremaine, Garvey Schubert Barer, Gray Cary Ware & Freidenrich, Heller Ehrman White & McAuliffe, Perkins Coie, Riddell Williams, and Stoel Rives.

"Providing a regular source of meaningful pro bono opportunities for business lawyers is particularly timely in light of recent amendments to Washington's Rule of Professional Conduct 6.1, encouraging every lawyer to commit at least 30 hours annually towards pro bono legal services," said WAACO Board of Directors President Judith L. Andrews.
For more information about WAACO, visit www.waaco.org or e-mail contact@waaco.org.

About the WSBA Business Law Section
The WSBA Business Law Section encourages research and study; initiates proposals for changes and reforms; and aids and educates the WSBA and the public in the area of corporation, business, and banking law. Specific substantive areas covered include corporations, partnerships, securities, secured transactions, law of commerce in cyberspace, legal opinions, conflicts of interest, and laws relating to agriculture, financial institutions, nonprofit corporations, and franchise industries. The current section chair is Dori E. Brewer. For more information about the Business Law Section, visit www.wsba.org/lawyers/groups/businesslaw.

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 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, 23 sections, and a Young Lawyers Division.

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