FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 21, 2006

Contact Alfredo Tryferis
Communications Specialist
206-733-5932; alfredot@wsba.org

Kittitas County Superior Court Judge Michael E. Cooper Receives WSBA Local Hero Award

Seattle, Washington, June 21, 2006 — The Washington State Bar Association (WSBA) announces that Kittitas County Superior Court Judge Michael E. Cooper received the WSBA's Local Hero Award, presented to lawyers who have made noteworthy contributions to their communities. WSBA President S. Brooke Taylor presented the award during a special luncheon for officers of the Kittitas County Bar Association on June 8 at the Rodeo City Bar-B-Q in Ellensburg. Fellow Kittitas County Superior Court Judge Scott R. Sparks accepted the award on Judge Cooper's behalf, who was unable to attend.

Elected to the Kittitas County Superior Court in 1988, Judge Cooper has since been an active member and leader of the Superior Court Judges' Association, chairing several important committees and serving on its board of trustees. Judge Cooper's work with the Association culminated in April 2005 when he was elected president-elect of the Association. He began his one-year term as president in April of this year.

Judge Cooper graduated from the University of Montana School of Law in 1970. After a short enlistment in the U.S. Army, he served as a special assistant attorney general for Montana, was an assistant city attorney for the City of Tacoma, and was the first full-time city attorney for the City of Pasco. In 1978, Judge Cooper relocated to Ellensburg where he worked in private practice at the law firm of Frederick, Beckley & Cooper, and as a city attorney for the City of Roslyn and the City of Ellensburg.

Most notably, Judge Cooper was instrumental in establishing the highly regarded Kittitas County Drug Court Program in 2003.

"Judge Cooper is held in the highest esteem as a knowledgeable and superb superior court judge, as well as an active and conscientious member of our local community," wrote Jennifer M. Ellis, a member of the Kittitas County Bar Association nominating committee. "He has mentored many attorneys beginning their practice in Kittitas County and illustrates a prime example of what an attorney should strive to be."

It is for his tireless commitment to the Bench and his community that the WSBA is proud to call Judge Cooper its Local Hero.

About the WSBA
The WSBA is part of the judicial branch, exercising a governmental function authorized by the Washington State Supreme Court to license the state's 29,800 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 2005-2006 president is S. Brooke Taylor, of Port Angeles, and the 2005-2006 president-elect is Ellen Conedera Dial, of Seattle.

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; 25 sections; and a Young Lawyers Division, with its many committees.