Attorney James A. Bamberger Receives WSBA Courageous Award

Seattle, Washington, September 21, 2005 — The Washington State Bar Association (WSBA) announced today that it presented the 2005 WSBA Courageous Award to attorney James A. Bamberger for his tireless efforts to advance access to justice for all of Washington's citizens through his writing, speaking, and other work to promote these values in the legal profession. Outgoing WSBA President Ronald R. Ward presented the award to Mr. Bamberger September 15 at the 2005 WSBA Annual Awards Dinner in Seattle.

Mr. Bamberger received his bachelor's degree in History and Political Science from the University of Wisconsin at Milwakee in 1977. Ranking first in his graduating class, Mr. Bamberger went on to receive his law degree from Gonzaga University School of Law in Spokane, magna cum laude in 1980. He currently serves on the Gonzaga University School of Law Board of Advisors and on the board of Washington Attorneys Assisting Community Organizations (WAACO). Mr. Bamberger has served as lead staff member on the Washington State Supreme Court Task Force on Civil Equal Justice Funding (2001-2003), on the Project 2001 Committee of the Washington State Board for Judicial Administration, as a member and chair on the Civil Policy Council of the National Legal Aid and Defender Association (1997-1999), and as a member of the Gonzaga University School of Law Clinical Law Task Force (1994-1995).

From 1996 until recently, Mr. Bamberger was the statewide coordinator for Columbia Legal Services, which provides legal assistance to low-income and special-needs people and organizations in Washington. In July, he was appointed by the Washington State Supreme Court to serve as director of the state's newly created Office of Civil Legal Aid. Mr. Bamberger co-authored the State Plan for Civil Legal Services (1995 and 1999), which are recognized as a national model. He also co-authored and staffed the Washington State Supreme Court's Task Force on Civil Equal Justice Funding comprehensive Civil Legal Needs Study (September 2003) and the Task Force's Final Report (May 2004), which clearly and poignantly illustrate client need and resources need to address such need.

Mr. Bamberger has spent his career providing legal aid to the poor and to the promotion of access to equal justice specifically in the state of Washington and other states as well. "His entire career has both modeled and communicated professionalism through his work to ensure the promise of equal justice for all," wrote John Purbaugh, Northwest Justice Project.

Mr. Bamberger has also been contributory in the formation and continuation of the North Central Washington Equal Justice Advisory Committee (EJAC). "Because Jim Bamberger was so instrumental to the success of the EJAC and ensuring the continued viability of CLS and NJP in NCW (North Central Washington), I feel he deserves to be rewarded for these efforts…" wrote Jay A. Johnson, chair of the NCW Equal Justice Access Committee. "He truly epitomizes what is good about our legal profession."

About the WSBA
The Washington State Bar Association is an instrumentality of the state exercising a governmental function authorized by the Washington State Supreme Court to license the state's 29,200 lawyers. The WSBA both regulates lawyers under the authority of the Court and serves its members as a professional association Ż all without public funding.

As a regulatory agency, it 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; 24 sections; and a Young Lawyers Division, with its many committees.