FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
February 27, 2006
Contact: Alfredo Tryferis
Communications Specialist
206-733-5932; alfredot@wsba.org
Everett Attorney Soojin E. Kim Named WSBA Young Lawyers Division
2005 Outstanding Young Lawyer of the Year
Seattle, Washington, February 27,2006 — The Washington State Bar Association (WSBA) announced that Everett attorney Soojin E. Kim received the Washington Young Lawyers Division (WYLD) 2005 Outstanding Young Lawyer of the Year Award, in recognition of her exceptional leadership and contributions to the legal profession and her community. WYLD President Noah Davis presented the award to Ms. Kim at the WYLD new-admittee reception held January 25 at the WSBA office.
Ms. Kim, a graduate of the University of Washington School of Law, is an attorney with the Everett City Attorney's Office. She began her legal career at the Washington State House of Representatives, then went to work as an assistant attorney general in the Washington Attorney General's Office, where she tried licensing cases and advised state regulatory programs. From 2001 to 2005, Ms. Kim worked for Graham & Dunn in Seattle, where she handled commercial, eminent domain, and professional-licensing litigation, and was a five-time recipient of the Graham & Dunn Promise Award for her outstanding work.
Ms. Kim's interest in the law and its future practice is evident in two erudite and well-received articles she authored for Bar News, the WSBA monthly magazine: "Professionalism and Mentoring: Good for Us All" (May 2004), and "The Constructive-Discharge Claim in Washington and the Employer's Ability to Defend It — The Impact of the U.S. Supreme Court's Decision in Pennsylvania State Police v. Suders" (August 2005).
Ms. Kim has been active in the legal community, volunteering her time and expertise in a variety of legal programs and activities, such as providing pro bono legal services for the King County Dependency CASA program, the Thurston County Volunteer Legal Clinic, and the King County Bar Association's Volunteer Legal Services; as a mentor with the WSBA Lawyer-to-Lawyer program; and on bar association committees such as the Asian Bar Association of Washington Judicial (Candidate) Evaluation Committee, the WSBA Professionalism Committee and, most recently, the WSBA Judicial Recommendation Committee. In 2005, Washington Law & Politics magazine named her one of its rising stars.
In recommending Ms. Kim for the award, Larry J. Smith, a shareholder at Graham & Dunn and Ms. Kim's previous supervisor, wrote: "Not only in bar and community activities, but in any other circumstance where people need help, Soojin is in the front of the line of volunteers. She is an outstanding young professional who will bring credit to our profession."
While at Graham & Dunn, Ms. Kim worked with the City of Everett as outside counsel, and says her new in-house counsel role there gives her "opportunities to work with Everett's energetic, personable, and public-service-minded officials and staff on some really exciting projects that reflect the continuing dynamic growth of the city."
About the WYLD
The WYLD provides programs and services of special interest to young lawyers, the public, and those denied access to the justice system. In particular, the WYLD sponsors continuing legal-education seminars of interest to young lawyers; publishes De Novo, a bimonthly publication serving young lawyers; sponsors programs that benefit high-school students, including the YMCA Mock Trial Competition; as well as a variety of seminars addressing issues facing young lawyers.
Any active member of the WSBA is a member of the WYLD until December 31 of the year in which the member attains the age of 36 or until December 31 of the fifth year in which the member has been admitted to practice in any state, whichever is later.
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, 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.
