FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE   

October 24, 2007     

Contact: Stephanie Perry
Communications Specialist/Website Editor
206-733-5932; stephaniep@wsba.org

WSBA Announces New Deputy Director for External Relations, Chief Disciplinary Counsel/Director of the Office of Disciplinary Counsel, and Bar Leaders Program Manager

(SEATTLE) — The Washington State Bar Association is pleased to announce three new appointments within its organization. Gregg Hirakawa is the new deputy executive director for external relations; Douglas J. Ende is the new chief disciplinary counsel/director of the Office of Disciplinary Counsel; and Moni Law is the new bar leaders program manager.

Gregg H. Hirakawa received his bachelor's degree in journalism from the University of Oregon, and his law degree from the Seattle University School of Law. Prior to joining the WSBA, Hirakawa worked as bureau chief/correspondent for The MacNeil/Lehrer NewsHour in Seattle from 1991-1996, and as the communications director for the Seattle Department of Transportation since 2006. Previous experience also includes working as an attorney in private practice and serving as a prosecuting attorney in the King County Prosecutor’s Office. He served as commissioner of the City of Seattle Ethics and Elections Commission from 2004-2006, and currently serves as commissioner of the King County Charter Review Commission.

As deputy executive director for external relations, Hirawaka's duties will include handling public outreach and communication activities, as well as overseeing several WSBA departments and initiatives, including the Continuing Legal Education, Justice and Diversity Initiatives, Lawyer Services, and Member and Community Relations departments, and the Loan Repayment Assistance Program.

Douglas J. Ende received his bachelor's degree from The Johns Hopkins University, and his law degree from the University of Washington School of Law. Prior to joining the WSBA in 1998, he practiced law in a variety of contexts, including as managing partner at Ende, Subin & Philip, staff attorney with the Washington Appellate Defender Association, and associate at Lane Powell Spears Lubersky.  He also served as law clerk to the Honorable Rosselle Pekelis at the Court of Appeals. Before accepting the position of chief disciplinary counsel/director of the Office of Disciplinary Counsel, Ende worked as a lawyer in the Office of Disciplinary Counsel, and later as assistant general counsel and professional responsibility counsel at WSBA.  In addition, Ende has served as staff counsel to the Court Rules and Procedures Committee, the Trust Account Responsibilities and Retainers Task Force, the Local Rules Task Force, the Ethics 2003 Committee, and a number of other committees, panels, and task forces; and acted as chief presiding officer at bar exams. Ende also spent time answering the ethics line, where he assisted Washington lawyers in clarifying the ethical issues involved with all aspects of the Rules of Professional Conduct. 

The Chief Disciplinary Counsel is responsible for the overall leadership and management of the Office of Disciplinary Counsel of the Washington State Bar Association. With a staff of 35, the Director is responsible for managing Washington’s lawyer discipline and disability system, which includes the grievance intake process, investigation, dismissal, diversion, alternative resolution, or prosecution of grievances alleging ethical violations by Washington lawyers.  

"I am eager to serve the profession and the public," says Ende. "Together with an experienced and dedicated disciplinary counsel and staff, I am committed to ensuring a timely and responsible discipline system that will protect the public, discharge our profession’s obligation to maintain appropriate standards of ethical conduct, and help lawyers raise professional standards."

Moni T. Law received her bachelor’s degree from the University of California at Berkeley, and her law degree from the University of San Francisco School of Law. Prior to joining the WSBA, Law practiced law with Evergreen Legal Services, Blaine Tamaki and Associates, and Levinson Friedman in Yakima and Seattle for a total of twenty-one years.  Law served on various WSBA and Washington State Trial Lawyers committees, and briefly as judge pro tem for the Office of Administrative Hearings in Seattle.  She also operated a solo practice with an emphasis on personal injury/auto accidents and employment matters (sexual harassment, discrimination, disability). 

The bar leaders program manager develops and implements strategies and tactics to deliver a high level of service to the WSBA; monitors and assesses the effectiveness of programs; and works creatively to involve sections, the Young Lawyers Division, and committees in the work of the Bar. The program manager also serves as manager of the WSBA Leadership Institute. 

"I look forward to serving my fellow lawyers and the citizens of Washington state as the new bar leaders program manager," said Law. "I have a three-fold mission: to provide prompt and effective assistance to lawyers and judges in our state who serve on various committees and sections; to continue the work of developing a diverse pool of top-caliber talent through the nationally acclaimed WSBA Leadership Institute; and to demonstrate to our state's citizens that we are here to serve them."

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 30,850 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 2007-2008 president is Stanley A. Bastian, of Wenatchee. The 2007-2008 president-elect is Mark A. Johnson, of Seattle, and the immediate past-president 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; 26 sections; and a Young Lawyers Division, with its many committees.

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