FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

March 26, 2009

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

WSBA Recognizes Retired Franklin High School Teacher, Mock Trial Coach Rick Nagel

(SEATTLE) — Retired teacher Rick Nagel of Seattle’s Franklin High School will be honored this Sunday by the Washington State Bar Association’s Council on Public Legal Education (CPLE) for his 30-plus years as an outstanding educator.

Nagel will be presented with the Flame of Democracy Award, created by the CPLE in 2002 to recognize individuals, organizations, and programs that significantly increase the public’s understanding of law, the justice system, and government. This is the first time a teacher has received the award.

The presentation will be made by Judith Billings, former state superintendent of public instruction and co-chair of the CPLE, at the YMCA Youth and Government’s annual mock trial breakfast in Olympia. The venue is appropriate, as Nagel coached hundreds of students to participate in the YMCA mock trial competition. Under his guidance, Franklin High School won the national championship in 2000.

Nagel is also being honored for his inspiring and enthusiastic teaching at Franklin, where he created a Law and Society class. Passionate about providing inner-city students of all backgrounds with quality civics education, Nagel quickly established himself as a mentor and leader and continued to motivate students throughout his 30-plus years as an educator and after his retirement in 2000. He was described by one of his nominators as an “understated, modest treasure to our community.” Nagel’s former students include a King County Superior Court judge and a clerk to U.S. Supreme Court Justice David Souter.

The mission of the CPLE is to promote public understanding of the law and civic rights and responsibilities. Further information about the CPLE may be found at www.wsba.org/ple.

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 32,700 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. The president-elect is Salvador A. Mungia, of Tacoma, 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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