FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE   

May 15, 2009      

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

WSBA Holds Washington First Responder Will Clinic in Bellingham

(SEATTLE) — On Saturday, May 30, 2009, from 10:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m., the WSBA Young Lawyers Division (WYLD) will host the Washington First Responder Will Clinic (Washington Will Clinic). The clinic will be held at the North Shore Church in Bellingham, Washington (747 Marine Drive, Bellingham). This event is being offered free of charge to Bellingham police officers and Whatcom County sheriffs and their spouses (an appointment is required).
 
At the Washington Will Clinic, volunteer attorneys provide free estate-planning advice and documents, such as wills, powers of attorney, and healthcare directives, to first responders who risk their lives every day protecting our local communities. Attorneys Jenni Frere Volk (a Bellingham native) and Ford Clary introduced the program to Washington in 2006; soon after, they presented the concept to the WSBA’s Young Lawyers Division. In September 2006, after nearly one year of organizing and planning by the co-chairs, the Seattle Fire Fighters Union Local 27 participated in the first clinic. Eight clinics later, more than 400 officers and their spouses have been assisted by the Washington Will Clinic.

First responders are asked to fill out a thorough questionnaire before arriving at the clinic, and once there, they are given the chance to meet with a volunteer attorney for approximately an hour. The first responders will leave the clinic on May 30 with signed and executed estate-planning documents in hand. The program hopes that first responders can take comfort in the fact that they go to work each day knowing that their estate plan has been thought out and is in order. 

Sadly, in 2007, a Washington Will Clinic client passed away after a battle with cancer. His fellow officers reported that he took some solace in knowing that his loved ones would be taken care of upon his passing. “We were all devastated to learn of the officer’s passing and we can only hope that our contribution made things a bit more comforting for the family during this difficult time,” said Volk. Clary added, “It feels good to know that our program has made a difference in someone’s life.”

 “I am very excited to help bring the Washington Will Clinic into my hometown and give back to a community that gave me so much support during my childhood,” said Volk. “For me, this is one of the most meaningful clinics to date because it is my way to thank the local first responders who protected my family as I was growing up.”

The Washington Will Clinic recently held a clinic in Bellevue, and will hold its third annual Seattle clinic on September 12, 2009, and its first clinic in Spokane on October 3, 2009. More expansion plans for 2010 are also underway. For more information, please visit www.wsba.org/lawyers/groups/wyld/frwc2009.htm.

The Washington Will Clinic is made possible by the generous support of the WYLD Public Service Committee; the WSBA Real Property, Probate and Trust Section; the American Bar Association Young Lawyers Division through a subgrant from the ABA Fund for Justice and Education; and Starbucks Coffee Company. The clinic is always looking for volunteers and donations of paper, printer ink and other paper supplies. If you would like to get involved, please contact Jenni Frere Volk (jenni@volklawfirm.com) or Ford Clary (fordclary@hotmail.com). 

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. 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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