Seattle Indian Lawyer Gabriel S. Galanda Receives Washington State Bar Association Young Lawyers Division Outstanding Young Lawyer Award

Seattle Washington, September 23, 2004 — The Washington State Bar Association (WSBA) announced that Seattle attorney Gabriel S. ("Gabe") Galanda received the Washington Young Lawyers Division (WYLD) Outstanding Young Lawyer Award. WYLD President J.D. Smith presented the award to Mr. Galanda at the 17th Annual University of Washington Indian Law Symposium September 9 at William H. Gates Hall, University of Washington. Mr. Galanda is the first Native American lawyer to receive this prestigious award from the WYLD.

Mr. Galanda, who was born and raised in Port Angeles, Washington, received his Associate of Arts degree from Peninsula College in 1995 and his Bachelor of Arts degree in English Literature from Western Washington University in 1997. In 1995 and again in 2001, he delivered the keynote address at Peninsula College's commencement ceremonies.
Mr. Galanda received his J.D. in 2000 from the University of Arizona College of Law, where he served as President of the Native American Law Students' Association and Note Editor of the Arizona Journal of International and Comparative Law. One year after graduation, he was recognized as the National Native American Law Students' Association Alumnus of the Year.

An associate in the Seattle office of Williams, Kastner & Gibbs PLLC., Mr. Galanda focuses his practice on complex, multiparty commercial and tribal litigation, and the representation of Northwest Indian tribes and tribal businesses. Mr. Galanda also works with corporate entities that do business with tribes. Washington Law & Politics magazine recognized Mr. Galanda as a Rising Star for both 2002 and 2004. He was also named one of Washington's four Leading Edge Litigators in 2003.
Mr. Galanda is a prolific author on the subject of Indian law, having been published nationally in such publications as The Federal Lawyer, Business Law Today (the monthly publication of the American Bar Association's (ABA) 65,000 member Business Law Section), The Nevada Lawyer, Arizona Attorney, The Montana Lawyer, California's Forum, and within the Northwest in magazines such as Trial News, Oregon Bar Bulletin, Idaho's Advocate, The Alaska Bar Rag, and Washington State Bar News. His recent opinion-editorial regarding the need to include Indian Law on state bar exams has been featured in the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, The National Law Journal, and Indian Country Today. Mr. Galanda is also a frequent speaker on the subject of Indian law. In June 2003 he facilitated a roundtable discussion on the subject in Washington with the entire Washington State Supreme Court and the WSBA Board of Governors in Wenatchee, Washington.

Mr. Galanda is immediate past chair of the WSBA Indian Law Section and past president of the Northwest Indian Bar Association (www.nwiba.org), a nonprofit organization of more than 175 Indian attorneys, judges, and tribal advocates in Alaska, Idaho, Oregon, Washington, British Columbia, and the Yukon Territory. He is a descendant of Northern California's Nomlaki and Concow tribes and an enrolled member of the Round Valley Indian Confederation. He is also an active member of the ABA Business Law Section, the Federal Bar Association Indian Law Section, and the National Native American Bar Association.

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.

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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