Seattle Attorney Ellen Conedera Dial Receives Washington State Bar Association's Award of Merit, Its Highest Honor

Seattle Washington, September 20, 2004 — The Washington State Bar Association (WSBA) announces that Seattle Lawyer Ellen Conedera Dial received the 2004 Award of Merit, the WSBA's highest honor. The Award of Merit is given for long-term service to the bar and/or the public, and both lawyers and nonlawyers are eligible. Supreme Court Justice Mary Fairhurst presented the award to Ms. Dial September 16 at the WSBA Annual Awards Dinner at the Seattle Marriott Waterfront Hotel.

Ms. Dial, who received an A.B. in English, magna cum laude, with distinction in all subjects, and a J.D., magna cum laude, Order of the Coif, both from Cornell University, joined the WSBA in 1979. From 1977 to 1979, she was law clerk to Supreme Court Justice Charles Horowitz. She then joined Perkins Coie's Seattle office, where she is a partner with a practice emphasizing real estate development and financing, and related title and environmental issues.

Since February 2003, Ms. Dial has chaired the Special Committee for the Evaluation of the Rules of Professional Conduct ("Ethics 2003 Committee"). "Ellen has done a fabulous job as chair, leading us through all of the ABA Model Rules of Professional Conduct and comparing them to our Washington Rules of Professional Conduct," said Justice Fairhurst, who nominated Ms. Dial for the award. "It was a monumental task, resulting in more than 17 subcommittees, which would pre-work their assigned rules and then present to the committee, who would have robust debates about them, and as needed send them back for redrafting and reconsideration. Based on her leadership, a comprehensive, thoughtful, and excellent work product was created for the Board of Governors' and Supreme Court's review and consideration."

Ms. Dial has also served as chair of three other WSBA committees — the Legislative Committee, the Character and Fitness Committee, and the Rules of Professional Conduct Committee — as well as the WSBA Real Property, Probate and Trust Section and the King County Bar Association's 2004 Awards Committee.

No stranger to honors and awards, in 2003 alone, Chambers USA listed Ms. Dial in "America's Leading Business Lawyers," Seattle Magazine included her in its list of "Seattle's Top Lawyers," and Washington Law & Politics" named her a "Super Lawyer."

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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