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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Captain Alexander M. Straub Receives WSBA Community Service Award(SEATTLE) — The Washington State Bar Association (WSBA) announces that Tacoma attorney Captain Alexander M. Straub will be honored with the 2009 Community Service Award. The Community Service Award honors lawyers and judges who have given generously of their time and talents in service to their communities, and recognizes exceptional non-law-related volunteer work and community service. 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. Straub received his undergraduate degree from Central Washington University, and his law degree from Seattle University School of Law; he also completed the Judge Advocate Officer basic course at the University of Virginia Judge General Legal Center and School. Currently, he is an assistant full-time judge advocate at the Washington National Guard Legal Office in Tacoma, where he serves as a legal advisor to the Washington National Guard and provides legal assistance to National Guard members and their families. In spring 2008, Captain Straub conceptualized Attorneys Assisting Citizen-Soldiers and Families (AACF) (http://aacf.wordpress.com/) as a collaboration between the Washington State National Guard and the Washington State Bar Association’s Legal Assistance to Military Personnel (LAMP) Section to provide pro bono assistance to members and families of the Washington State National Guard deployed to Iraq. Deployment creates a variety of legal issues for citizen-soldiers, and existing legal aid facilities were either already performing at capacity or were focused on serving other demographic groups. Deployment may require National Guard members to be away from their families for long periods of time, and can inhibit their ability to assist their families with legal issues that arise. Families of National Guard members, unlike families of active-duty soldiers, live all over Washington and are often not located near a military legal assistance office. When legal issues arise — such as an eviction of a citizen-soldier’s family, custody disputes, or a creditor attempting to repossess the family car — they can place a tremendous amount of stress and anxiety on the family while the citizen-soldier is serving thousands of miles away in a combat zone. With assistance from the LAMP Section and volunteers, the AACF developed and recorded training sessions for use by new recruits; training CDs were distributed throughout the state to interested law firms and legal clinics. Straub developed processes to screen clients and match them with volunteer attorneys in the client’s geographical area, coordinating efforts with National Guard Family Programs, the WSBA, and the managing Judge Advocate General (JAG) attorneys’ offices. “Captain Straub’s leadership was essential to meeting the target date,” wrote Anne Marie Leigh in her nomination letter. “His continued leadership keeps AACF an ongoing service.” “I thank the WSBA for recognizing the efforts, sacrifices, and special legal needs of Washington's military community,” said Straub of his award. For more information on the AACF, see www.wsba.org/media/publications/barnews/troops1208.htm. About the Washington State Bar Association # # # |