FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

July 27, 2009

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

Steven J. Larsen Named Washington State Bar Association Deputy Director of External Relations

(SEATTLE) — The Washington State Bar Association is pleased to welcome Seattle attorney Steven J. Larsen as Deputy Executive Director of External Relations. Larsen is one of two Deputy Directors within the Bar Association and his duties will include handling public outreach and communication activities, as well as overseeing several WSBA departments and initiatives, including the Justice and Diversity programs, Lawyer Services, and Member and Community Relations departments.

A Washington native, Larsen was raised in Olympia, and has lived and worked in many locations around the state, including Bellingham, Spokane, and Seattle. Larsen received his undergraduate degree from Western Washington University and his law degree from Gonzaga University School of Law. Prior to joining the WSBA, Larsen spent two years in southern California working as Chief of Staff - External Relations for the Orange County Great Park Corporation in Irvine, California. While a member of the Orange County Great Park Corporation, he worked closely with the Corporation Board of Directors and was responsible for legislative policy development, education and outreach-related programs, and a variety of communications-related initiatives.

Larsen began his legal career in Spokane in private practice. He joined the Washington State Attorney General’s Office in 1998, representing the Department of Social and Health Services handling dependency cases. He spent the bulk of his nearly 10 years at the Attorney General’s Office working in the Consumer Protection Division focused on Internet fraud-related cases, identity-theft initiatives, and assisting with legislative and policy-related work of the Attorney General. As section chief for operations in the Consumer Protection Division, he was involved with the Division’s Lemon Law Program, consumer services, outreach and education, and High Tech Unit.

Larsen has volunteered with the Big Brothers Big Sisters Program of Spokane; served on the planning committee of the University of Washington School of Law Schidler Center for Law, Commerce & Technology — Small Business Briefing/Tech Law Series, as well as the WSBA Access to Justice technology initiatives; and has presented a variety of WSBA CLEs focused on the business of the Attorney General’s Office.

“[My] goal for this position is to help WSBA membership on many different levels — communicating the great work of the profession to the public, sharing the many excellent services and benefits we have at the Bar that can help members, and promoting volunteerism and participation in the Bar and policy decisions,” said Larsen of his role at the WSBA. “I am happy to be back in Washington state and working with an outstanding membership and the amazing talent within the Washington State Bar Association.”

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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