Contact: Alfredo Tryferis
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Silverdale Attorney Paula T. Crane to Receive Washington State Bar Association 2005 Pro Bono Award

Seattle Washington, May 26, 2005 — The Washington State Bar Association (WSBA) announced today that Silverdale attorney Paula T. Crane has been chosen to receive its 2005 Pro Bono Award. The Pro Bono Award is presented annually to a lawyer, nonlawyer, law firm, or local bar association for outstanding efforts in providing free or low-cost services to the poor, and is based on cumulative efforts rather than the number of pro bono hours or amount of financial contribution. WSBA President Ronald R. Ward will present the award to Ms. Crane June 4 at the Access to Justice Conference in Bellevue.

Ms. Crane received her law degree in 1979 from Seattle University School of Law. She was a partner with the Silverdale law firm of Smith, O'Hare, Crane & Mesenbrink from 1984 to 1995, and has been a sole practitioner in Silverdale for the last 10 years. Ms. Crane has been a judge pro tempore with the Kitsap County Courts since 1985, and in 2000 became a court commissioner of the Kitsap Superior Court. In 2003 she graduated from the Washington State Judicial College.

In 1988, Ms. Crane helped found Kitsap Legal Services (KLS), and now serves as its vice president. KLS is a nonprofit organization serving low-income residents of Kitsap County needing legal assistance in family law matters, and offers several neighborhood advice clinics that help clients with landlord-tenant, employment-law, bankruptcy, and welfare issues. Olivia Dennis, executive director of KLS, wrote of Ms. Crane's efforts to establish the organization, "She helped recruit local attorneys, raised money to open an office, and helped mold the program into an organization that serves over 600 clients per year…. [Paula] has always been there for the program."

"What makes Paula's work for pro bono special is the duration and depth of her service," wrote Kitsap County Superior Court Judge Russell W. Hartman in recommending her for the award. "She has worked in the trenches every step of the way, both as a board member, and as a volunteer attorney."

A frequent lecturer on family law and author of several WSBA publications, including the federal pensions chapter of the Family Law Deskbook and coauthor of its Parenting Plans pamphlet, Ms. Crane mentors young attorneys interested in family law and has received many awards for her tireless pro bono work. "As my career has progressed, my client base is the wealthier folks in my county," says Ms. Crane.  "Pro bono work keeps me grounded in the real world."

About the WSBA
The WSBA is a private, nonprofit organization authorized by the Washington State Supreme Court to license the state's 28,800 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, 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, 24 sections, and a Young Lawyers Division.