FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE      
December 22, 2005      

Contact Alfredo Tryferis
Communications Specialist
206-733-5932; alfredot@wsba.org

Silverdale Attorney Stephen T. King Receives WYLD 2005 Pro Bono Award

Seattle, Washington, January 13, 2006 — The Washington Young Lawyers Division (WYLD) announces that Silverdale attorney Stephen T. King received the 2005 Thomas Neville Pro Bono Award, presented annually to a Washington young lawyer for outstanding efforts in providing free or low-cost services to the poor.

Mr. King is being recognized for his tireless service to Kitsap Legal Services, a nonprofit organization serving low-income residents of Kitsap County in need of legal assistance in civil matters and for his dedication to providing pro bono legal representation to senior citizens, victims of domestic violence, people with disabilities, and others. WYLD President Noah Davis presented the award to Mr. King during the WSBA Board of Governors meeting held December 9-10 in Bremerton.
 
A 1999 graduate of Seattle University School of Law, Mr. King is a partner with the Silverdale firm of Tyner, King & Thimons, PLLP, where he has a general practice. Prior to receiving his law degree, Mr. King taught music in the St. Vrain Valley School District in Longmont, Colorado. His community involvement includes chair of the WYLD Practice Conditions Forum Committee and former trustee representing the Peninsula District on the WYLD Board of Trustees, and a member of the WSBA Lawyers’ Assistance Program Standing Committee. He is also on the board of directors of the Capri Heart and Lung Institute in Bremerton. In 2004, Kitsap Legal Services presented Mr. King with a certificate of commendation for his volunteer and pro bono services, and has twice named him its attorney of the month.
 
“Without Mr. King’s assistance many of the most vulnerable people in our community would go without legal representation,” wrote Kitsap County Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Jennifer Brugger in nominating Mr. King for the award. “I have rarely seen an attorney with so much dedication to pro bono work.”
 
Mr. King also has a Bachelor of Music Education (1984) and bachelor of Music (1985) from the University of Colorado, Boulder.

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.