FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 30, 2007
Contact: Stephanie Perry
Communications Specialist/Website Editor
206-733-5932; stephaniep@wsba.org
Shelley Ajax Named WSBA Pro Bono Award Recipient
Seattle, Washington, May 30, 2007 — The WSBA Board of Governors takes great pleasure in announcing that the recipient of the 2007 WSBA Pro Bono Award is Richland attorney Shelley Ajax. Ms. Ajax, a solo practitioner who focuses her practice on family law, is being honored for her extraordinary service to her community through pro bono work.
Shelley Ajax received a bachelor's degree in Social Sciences from Washington State University, and her law degree from Gonzaga University School of Law in 2004. She opened her own law firm, focusing on family practice, in 2005, and immediately began volunteering her time for community service. Ajax also serves as the current editor of De Novo, the Washington Young Lawyers Division newsletter.
Ajax is the founder and president of the Benton-Franklin Young Lawyers Division. She is an active member of the Benton Franklin Legal Aid Society Board and has facilitated a weekly clinic for legal aid clients. She recently instituted the We the Jury program in Benton and Franklin counties. In addition, she has coordinated a blood drive and food drive to benefit domestic-violence shelters and others in the community, and participated in YMCA Mock Trials.
In 2006, Ajax received an honoree award from Equal Access to Justice, representing Benton, Franklin, and Walla Walla counties; an award of recognition for volunteer work as a Court Appointed Special Advocate/Guardian Ad Litem for Benton County Superior Court; and the Gene Schuster Award for pro bono legal services, presented by the Benton-Franklin Legal Aid Society.
The award will be presented on Friday, June 1, at the Access to Justice/Bar Leaders Conference opening reception, at the Coast Wenatchee Center Hotel.
"Shelley's drive, charisma, and generosity bring new meaning to the spirit of pro bono work, which is why I am so pleased to nominate her for this award," said attorney Laura M. Chuang in her nomination letter.
About the Washington State Bar Association
The WSBA is part of the judicial branch, exercising a governmental function authorized by the Washington State Supreme Court to license the state's 30,600 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, the WSBA administers the bar admission process, including the bar exam; provides record-keeping and licensing functions; and administers the lawyer-discipline system. 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 2006-2007 president is Ellen Conedera Dial, of Seattle. The 2006-2007 president-elect is Stanley A. Bastian, of Wenatchee, and the immediate past-president is S. Brooke Taylor, of Port Angeles. 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; 26 sections; and a Young Lawyers Division, with its many committees.
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