FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE   

September 14, 2009

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

Judge Robert L. Harris Receives Lifetime Service Award

(SEATTLE) — The Washington State Bar Association (WSBA) is pleased to announce that Clark County Superior Court Judge Robert L. Harris, of Vancouver, will be honored with the 2009 Lifetime Service Award. This is a special award given for a lifetime of service to the WSBA and the public, and is given only when there is someone especially deserving of this recognition. WSBA President Mark Johnson will present the award at the WSBA Annual Awards Dinner, to be held on September 24, 2009, at the Hyatt at Olive 8 in Seattle.

In addition to devoting three decades of service to Clark County citizens, making him the longest-serving superior court judge in the state, Judge Harris has served in many community organizations. He is a past-president and member of the Washington State Superior Court Judges’ Association, and has also served on the Board of Judicial Administration in a variety of roles. He was president of the St. Joseph Community Hospital and chairman for the merger committee for the area’s two county hospitals from 1975 to 1977.

Judge Harris has also served as president of the Washington Judges Foundation (WJF) since 2005. The mission of the WJF is to support programs that advance public understanding of the law and the role of the judiciary. It funds several educational programs for youth, including We the People; the YMCA mock trial competition; youth courts; and Street Law, a partnership with the WSBA Council on Public Legal Education that uses volunteer judges as instructors in high school classrooms.

“Under Judge Harris's leadership, the WJF has been very active in promoting public legal education throughout the state,” said Judge James Swanger of Clark County District Court. "Thanks to Judge Harris and the WJF, the people of Washington are more aware of their rights and responsibilities."

Born in Spokane, Judge Harris received his undergraduate degree from Washington State University, and his law degree from the University of Washington School of Law in 1958. He clerked for the Chief Justice of the Washington State Supreme Court in 1959, and, after his clerkship, joined the Clark County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office as a deputy prosecuting attorney from 1959 to 1970. In 1979, Judge Harris was appointed to the Clark County Superior Court, and he has sat on the bench since then.

“Judge Harris was instrumental in creating and fostering an atmosphere of competency and professionalism amongst his fellow Clark County judges,” wrote WSBA Governor Loren Etengoff in his nomination letter. “The majority of his 50-year legal career has been spent serving the public. He is especially deserving of this recognition for his lifetime of service.”

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 33,200 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, 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 Mark A. Johnson, of Seattle. 2008-2009 president-elect is Salvador A. Mungia, of Tacoma; 2009-2010 president-elect is Steven G. Toole, of Bellevue; and the immediate past-president is Stanley A. Bastian, of Wenatchee. 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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