Seattle Lawyer David D. Swartling Receives Washington State Bar Association President's Award

Seattle Washington, September 22, 2004 — The Washington State Bar Association (WSBA) announces that Seattle Lawyer David D. Swartling received its 2004 President's Award. The President's Award is given each year in recognition of special accomplishment or service to the WSBA during the term of the current president. Outgoing WSBA President David Savage presented the award to Mr. Swartling September 15 at the WSBA President's Dinner.

Mr. Swartling is an honors graduate of Princeton University, and graduated from the University of Washington School of Law in 1978, where he was Executive Editor of the Washington Law Review. He is a principal in the Seattle firm Mills Meyers Swartling, where he practices principally in the areas of product liability, professional malpractice, municipal law, commercial litigation, and aviation.

In 1990, Mr. Swartling received the American Law Institute-American Bar Association Harrison Tweed Award for special merit in Continuing Legal Education for developing and presenting the first intensive litigation skills training course for lawyers. He is past chair of the WSBA Litigation Section, and is currently chair of the WSBA Court Rules and Procedures Committee and editor-in-chief of the Washington Civil Procedure Deskbook. A fellow in the American College of Trial Lawyers, he has been named a "Super Lawyer" in Washington Law and Politics since 1998 and voted one of the 100 top attorneys in Washington for the last four years.

"While I am happy to say that many members give generously of their time in service to this Bar Association," said Outgoing President Savage when he presented the award, "this award was, for me, an easy task. David Swartling is the recipient of this award for his many years of selfless and high-quality contributions to the education of our membership, and especially his recognition of the need to provide skills training for the benefit of our young lawyers and his commitment to meeting that need."

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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