FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE   

September 1, 2009     

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

WSBA Young Lawyers Division Announces Washington First Responder Will Clinic

(SEATTLE) — On Saturday, September 12, 2009, from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 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 Starbucks Support Center, located at 2401 Utah Ave. S., in Seattle. This event is being offered free of charge to Seattle police officers and their spouses or registered domestic partners (an appointment is required). This clinic represents a special landmark for the program, as it will be the tenth clinic sponsored by the WYLD, and the first time that registered domestic partners will be eligible for the program.

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 Ford Clary and Jenni Frere Volk introduced the program to Washington in 2006; soon after, they presented the concept to the WSBA Young Lawyers Division’s Public Service Committee. In September 2006, after nearly a year of organizing and planning by the founding attorneys, the Seattle Fire Fighters Union Local 27 participated in the first clinic. To date, nearly 500 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.  Participants will leave the clinic on September 12 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,” says Volk. Clary adds, “It feels good to know that our program has made a difference in someone’s life.”

The Washington Will Clinic takes an extraordinary amount of volunteer manpower to run each clinic efficiently and professionally. It takes nearly 50 volunteers to staff each clinic, as well as significant communication among the organizers, the WSBA, and the police and fire departments. “Ford and I recognize that the volunteers are the backbone of the clinic, and without them, we would not be successful. There is no question that our volunteers have made this program into what it is today – they are reliable, professional, and extremely devoted to the Clinic,” says Volk. 

The September 12 clinic will be the third annual Seattle clinic. The first annual Spokane clinic will be held on October 3, 2009. In 2010, the program plans to expand into Everett and the Tri-Cities. For more information, please visit www.wsba.org/willclinic.  

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 or Ford Clary at willclinic@wsba.org.  

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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