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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT
Ronald R. Ward to Be Sworn in as President of the Washington State Bar Association; The Association's First African-American President
The swearing-in ceremony, to be conducted by Washington State Supreme Court Chief Justice Gerry L. Alexander and King County Superior Court Judge Leroy McCullough, will occur on Thursday evening, September 16, at the WSBA's Annual Business Meeting and Awards Dinner. Members of the media are welcome to attend; please contact Judy Berrett, at 206-727-8212 or judithb@wsba.org, for details. President-elect Ward has announced that the theme of his presidential year will be "Lawyers Render Service." Among his areas of focus will be court funding, access to justice, and diversity. Speaking about diversity, he states: "Diversity is a source of social and cultural creativity, without which we lose our special vibrancy and our special stability. Diversity is a touchstone, a connection to let us know our possibilities. It is the visible, tangible actualization of not just our American commitment, but our very presence — and the conviction that we all matter; that we all have a say; that we are a community. Diversity is a vision — not just of who we are, but of who we want to become." Mr. Ward has served as WSBA President-elect during the past year. Following his election as president-elect in June 2003, Mr. Ward, who grew up the oldest of 10 children, commented: "It's a long way from the projects of Hunters Point in San Francisco to the presidency of the Washington State Bar — and it's a tribute to what our country is all about…. I want to be a positive example to children and young people of color, because it can literally make the difference between life and death for them. It did for me. One reason I am here today is that as a young man I listened to a speech given by attorney Willie Brown, who later became Speaker of the California Assembly and then Mayor of San Francisco. My mother's example and his accomplishments inspired me to become a lawyer." Mr. Ward earned his Juris Doctor from the University of California, Hastings College of the Law. Since 1982 he has been a shareholder in the Seattle firm of Levinson Friedman, a law firm that represents injured persons. Before being elected president-elect, he served on the WSBA Board of Governors representing the 8th Congressional District. A former assistant attorney general, he is licensed to practice law in California and Washington. Mr. Ward was vice president and a seven-term member of the Board of Governors of the Washington State Trial Lawyers' Association (WSTLA), and co-chair of WSTLA's Seattle Downtown Roundtable. In 1994, he received the Distinguished Service Award, presented by Anheuser-Busch Companies, at the National convention of the National Bar Association. In 1995, Mr. Ward received the WSTLA Special President's Recognition Award. Washington Law & Politics magazine selected him as a Super Lawyer for 2003 and 2004. In addition to rendering service to his profession and his clients, Mr. Ward has demonstrated his dedication to rendering service to the public through extensive community service. He has volunteered as a reading tutor and teaching assistant for first- and second-graders at Hawthorne School in Seattle. He is a past member of the Board of Trustees of the Northwest Chamber Orchestra. About the Washington State Bar Association 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 board meets regularly (every six weeks) at various locations around the state, and its meetings are open to the public. Much of the work of the Bar is carried out through 23 standing committees; 23 sections; and a Young Lawyers Division, with its many committees. # # # |
Seattle Washington, September 13, 2004 — When Seattle attorney Ronald R. Ward is sworn in as the 114th president of the Washington State Bar Association, history will be made: Mr. Ward will be the first African-American to serve as President of the State Bar.