FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE   

September 4, 2008     

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

Jon Ostlund Receives WSBA Angelo R. Petruss Award for Lawyers in Public Service

(SEATTLE) — The Washington State Bar Association (WSBA) announces that Anacortes attorney Jon Ostlund will receive the 2008 Angelo J. Petruss Award for Lawyers in Public Service. The award is given to a lawyer in government service who has made a significant contribution to the legal profession, the justice system, and the public. The award is named in honor of Angelo R. Petruss, a senior assistant attorney general who passed away during his term on the WSBA Board of Governors. Ostlund is being honored for his long-standing commitment to defending the civil rights of indigent defendants in criminal cases. WSBA President Stan Bastian will present the award at the WSBA Annual Awards Dinner, to be held on September 18, 2008, at the Grand Hyatt Seattle Hotel.

Ostlund received his law degree from Gonzaga University School of Law. He was the Whatcom County Public Defender for 24 years and retired in 2006. He also served on the WSBA Board of Governors from 2001-2004. Ostlund also served on the Blue Ribbon Panel on Public Defense and as co-chair of the WSBA Committee on Public Defense.

Throughout his career, Ostlund contributed to his community through his involvement with many organizations. He was a board member of the Washington Defenders Association and the Washington Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, and was a member of the Washington State Sentencing Guidelines Commission, the Whatcom County Law and Justice Commission, and the Whatcom County Commission Against Domestic Violence.

Previously, Ostlund was honored with the Washington Defender Association's highest honor, the Gideon Award, which recognizes outstanding leadership in indigent defense. It is only presented when there is a recipient especially deserving of the award.

"Jon Ostlund is exemplary in his commitment as an attorney who understands basic human needs, the failures which confront those in desperate circumstances, and the importance of a just system of justice," wrote Assistant Attorney General Wendy Bohlke.

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 32,600 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 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 2007-2008 president is Stanley A. Bastian, of Wenatchee. The 2007-2008 president-elect is Mark A. Johnson, of Seattle, the immediate past-president is Ellen Conedera Dial, of Seattle, and the 2008-09 president-elect is Salvador A. Mungia, of Tacoma. 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 numerous standing committees; 26 sections; and a Young Lawyers Division, with its many committees.

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