Washington State Bar Association's Young Lawyers Division and Access to Justice Institute to Offer Free Immigration Law Clinic in Rainier Valley

Seattle Washington, January 21, 2004—The Washington State Bar Association (WSBA) announced that the Washington Young Lawyers Division (WYLD) is teaming up with the Access to Justice Institute at Seattle University School of Law to offer a free immigration law clinic in the Rainier Valley. This one-night clinic will be held from 5:00 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. Thursday, January 29, 2004, at the Rainier Community Center. Volunteer attorneys from the WYLD, the American Immigration Lawyers Association, and other local firms and organizations will be available to meet privately with participants to answer immigration-related questions and evaluate the participants' legal issues. The clinic is the brainchild of the WYLD Public Service Committee, which provided most of the funding for it.

"Accurate immigration information is crucial for the well-being of many families in the Rainier Valley area, yet this kind of legal resource is rarely available free of charge," said Kymberly Evanson, Program Coordinator for the Access to Justice Institute. "The demand for free or low-cost immigration assistance is one of the highest unmet legal needs in the Seattle area."

The Rainier Community Center is located at 4600 38th Ave. S., at the intersection of Rainier Ave. S. and S. Alaska St. Light refreshments will be provided during the clinic, and child care is available. This event is free and open to the public. Participants seeking immigration assistance should bring all of their immigration-related paperwork with them. Interpreters will be on hand to assist clients in Spanish, Vietnamese, Chinese, and Russian. Following the consultations, participants will be given a referral list of attorneys who have agreed to provide assistance on a sliding-fee scale.

For more information, contact the Access to Justice Institute at 206-398-4173.

About the Washington Young Lawyers Division
The WYLD provides programs and services of special interest to young lawyers, to the public, and to those denied access to the justice system. In particular, the WYLD sponsors Continuing Legal Education seminars of interest to young lawyers; publishes De Novo, a quarterly publication serving young lawyers; sponsors programs that benefit high school students, including the YMCA Mock Trial Competition; and sponsors seminars addressing questions facing young lawyers as they balance professional and personal lives. Any active member of the WSBA is a member of the WYLD until December 31 of the year in which the member attains the age of 36 or until the December 31 of the fifth year in which the member has been admitted to practice in any state, whichever is later. For more information about WYLD, visit www.wsba.org/lawyers/groups/wyld.

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 28,200 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, 24 sections, and a Young Lawyers Division.

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