FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 
  
November 5, 2009     

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

WSBA Lawyer Services Director Barbara Harper Receives ABA Commission on Lawyer Assistance Programs Distinguished Service Award

(SEATTLE) — The Washington State Bar Association (WSBA) is pleased to announce that Barbara Harper, director of the WSBA Lawyer Services Department, was recently awarded the American Bar Association Commission on Lawyer Assistance Programs’ (CoLAP) Distinguished Service Award at the Annual Conference Dinner of the 22nd National Conference for Lawyer Assistance Programs. This is CoLAP’s highest honor, and it is only the second time in CoLAP’s 22-year history that it has presented this award. 

In presenting the award, CoLAP Chair Judge Robert L. Childers shared the following remarks:

For so many years, Barbara is the one we have turned to, as she has consistently been ahead of her time and has never failed to be successful at whatever was asked of her.

For over 22 years, she has been dedicated to lawyer and judges’ assistance work, in addition to her other Lawyer Services responsibilities. During her tenure as Director of the Lawyer Services Department of the Washington State Bar, she has been a leader, an advocate, an educator, an innovator, and a great support system to us all.

We are fortunate to have our honoree for so many years. Without question, her trail-blazing work will live on long after she has moved on to other challenges.

Harper has been with the WSBA since 1987. She has chaired many CoLAP committees and task forces, including the Directors’ Work-Life Balance and the Senior Lawyers Committee, and was a co-creator of Directors’ Day. She served on the Commission on Lawyers Assistance Programs from 2002–2004, as chair of the annual CoLAP conference in 2003 and 2004, and has served on the CoLAP Annual Conference Planning Committee for many years, including 2009. She has written articles and presented trainings on Lawyers Assistance Program-related topics, and has traveled the country helping other directors with their programs.

The Lawyer Services Department serves WSBA members with programs such as the Lawyers Assistance Program, which offers confidential counseling and training for emotional, drug, alcohol, family, health, and other personal problems; the Law Office Management Assistance Program, which offers office-management reviews, referrals, and materials; and the Lawyer-to-Lawyer Program, which matches experienced practitioners with newer admittees.

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 33,500 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 Board of Governors. There are three governors from the seventh congressional district; one from each of the other eight districts; and three at-large, one of whom represents the Young Lawyers Division. The president is Salvador A. Mungia, of Tacoma. The  president-elect is Steven G. Toole, of Bellevue, and the immediate past-president is Mark A. Johnson, 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 its numerous standing committees, 27 sections, and a Young Lawyers Division with its many committees.

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