FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
December 7, 2005
Contact Alfredo Tryferis
Communications Specialist
206-733-5932; alfredot@wsba.org
Spokane County Young Lawyers Division Receives Washington Young Lawyers Division Outstanding Affiliate Organization Award
Seattle, Washington, December 7, 2005 — The Washington State Bar Association (WSBA) announces that the Spokane County Young Lawyers Division (SCYLD) received the Washington Young Lawyers Division (WYLD) 2005 Outstanding Affiliate Organization Award, presented to the SCYLD for its commitment to providing pro bono services and community outreach, and for making significant contributions to the legal profession through its member services and the professional development of young lawyers. The award was presented by WYLD President-elect John Brangwin to Spokane County Bar Association President Paul Mack at the SCYLD's annual New Lawyer Orientation held at the Spokane County courthouse on November 3.
Examples of SCYLD member services and activities include its New Admittee Continuing Legal Education (CLE) event, which helps young lawyers meet judges and bar association leaders; the Spring Judicial Theater CLE, where local judges participate in mock situations that help teach ethics; and the Aspiring Youth Program, in which members of the SCYLD volunteer to speak at local schools. The SCYLD also administers the Greater Access and Assistance Program, which provides reduced-fee legal representation to clients who otherwise could not afford it.
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 questions 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 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 ¯ 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.
