Pro Bono and Public Service Award (Individual) - Washington ...
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Pro Bono and Public
Service Award
(Individual)
2020 APEX AWARDS - Nomination Form (continued)
NOMINATOR(S):
Name of Primary Nominator: Sam Leonard
Phone: 206-794-5613
Email: srleonard266@hotmail.com
Additional Nominators:
Phone:
Email:
WHY ARE YOU MAKING THIS NOMINATION?
Nominee deserves this award because: (Please be as detailed as possible, use examples, and take as
much space as you need or attach a separate letter/document.)
See Attached
List any additional accomplishments and contributions made by the nominee that should be
brought to the attention of the WSBA APEX Awards Committee: (Use as much space as you need
or attach a separate letter/document.)
Accomplishments:
2017 & 2018 Pro Bono Publico Honor Roll (I am sure that he was on the Honor Roll or met
the criteria for being on the Honor Roll other years as well, but I can't find the Honor Roll for
other years.)
December 2011 King County Bar Association's Volunteer of the Month
2011 KCBA Pro Bono Services Honoree
SUPPORTING MATERIALS OR LETTERS
• Feel free to provide any materials the WSBA APEX Awards Committee might find useful, such as
the nominee’s resume or CV, biography, media clippings, photos, previous recognition, etc. Please
email materials to barleaders@wsba.org with the nominee’s name in the subject line, or email them
along with this nomination form.
• You are encouraged to ask others to provide letters in support of your nomination. They should
email their letters of support to barleaders@wsba.org by March 23, 2020 with the nominee’s name
in the subject line. Please ask supporters to note that their letter is in support of your nomination.
Ä DEADLINE FOR ALL MATERIALS IS MARCH 23, 2020 Ã
2NOMINATION FORM
The WSBA APEX (Acknowledging Professional Excellence) Awards go to
those who have made noteworthy contributions and achievements in public
service, government service, professionalism, pro bono work, diversity, and
other areas. To nominate an individual for an APEX award, please submit this
form and any additional materials as described below. All materials must be
2020 APEX emailed to barleaders@wsba.org by March 23, 2020.
Nominations will be reviewed by the WSBA APEX Awards Committee, which
AWARDS will make recommendations to the Board of Governors. The award winners will
be selected at the May Board of Governors meeting.
ACKNOWLEDGING 1. Complete the form and email to barleaders@wsba.org by March 23, 2020.
PROFESSIONAL 2. Email additional supporting material/documentation.
EXCELLENCE 3. Questions? Contact Sue Strachan at barleaders@wsba.org
or 206-733-5951.
WHOM ARE YOU NOMINATING?
Name of Nominee: Michael Goldenkranz
Phone: 206-914-5450
Email: goldenkranz@comcast.net
AWARD(S) YOU ARE NOMINATING THEM FOR:
(See www.wsba.org/awards for descriptions of the awards)
Angelo Petruss Award for Lawyers in Government Service
Award of Merit
The Justice Charles Z. Smith Excellence in Diversity Award
Legal Innovation Award
Lifetime Service Award
Norm Maleng Leadership Award
(presented jointly with the Access to Justice Board,
to be awarded at the ATJ Conference in Spokane in June.)
Outstanding Judge Award
Outstanding Young Lawyer Award
■ Pro Bono and Public Service Award: Individual
Pro Bono and Public Service Award: Group
Professionalism Award
Sally P. Savage Leadership in Philanthropy Award
(presented jointly with the Washington State Bar Foundation
(continued next page)
13/26/2020 www.kcba.org/kcba/newsevents/barbulletin/archive/2013/05/about.htm
May 2013 Bar Bulletin
about KCBA
60 Ways To Leave Your Imprint
By Michael B. Goldenkranz
Reaching 60 seems like a good time to say thanks. And for me, that means asking others to support
the King County Bar Association's Pro Bono Legal Services. I'll spare you the statistics and data
reflecting the void and cutbacks in legal aid (until the footnotes).1
Most of us may never need a criminal attorney, but are fortunate to have public defenders if
warranted. Many, however, will need or benefit from lawyers for civil issues: dealing with a probate or
will; being overwhelmed with debt; seeking protection as a consumer; requiring assistance with a
divorce or family law matter; reviewing a contract; being denied public benefits; an unjust termination;
needing help as a landlord or tenant; being involved with or the victim of an accident; as the subject of
discrimination; handling immigration; battling an uncooperative insurance company; vacating old
criminal records. And the beat goes on.
KCBA provides many forms of pro bono services, but it depends upon us to provide them. The free
Neighborhood Legal Clinics throughout Seattle and King County can be utilized by anyone. There are
general and specialty clinics. We help those where legal assistance is simply the tip of a client's
iceberg - folks who can't afford shelter, let alone a lawyer.
We welcome those who are barely making it, just getting by and even doing well, but simply don't
know where to start on a legal issue or how or where to find a lawyer. We counsel "do it yourselfers"
who simply want some guidance or to have their forms or research checked. And along with the state
bar, there are programs for those with moderate means, who can't afford to hire an attorney, but can
afford to pay something. At the clinics we help to screen the issue and make appropriate referrals for
those eligible for pro bono help.
And the fee is the same at our any of our Neighborhood Legal Clinics, even for repeat visits - nothing!
Our 39 Neighborhood Legal Clinics offer free half-hour consultations with an attorney on any civil legal
issue. Attorneys determine whether the client has a legal problem, suggest possible options and
provide appropriate referrals.
For the lawyers who volunteer at KCBA's Neighborhood Legal Clinics (or for any of the pro bono
programs that either KCBA or the Washington State Bar Association provide), this is one of the ways
we serve our community - by giving back. It is aside and apart from how we make or made a living.
We receive no monetary remuneration. But at the end of the night, when folks who came in scared,
desperate, angry, overwhelmed or just curious leave with a little more spring in their step, a sense of
hope, and a plan and resources, we get paid with a spoken or implied thank you that can't be bought.
So, for my 60th birthday this April, I'm going to donate $60. And I'm asking you to join and match me
by volunteering with any of KCBA's pro bono programs that appeal to you or by making a donation.
But don't tell them I sent you - I'm keeping my birthday a surprise.
To volunteer, check out all our programs at www.kcba.org/pbs/volunteers.aspx or donate online with
the King County Bar Foundation at https://www.kcba.org/kcbf/secure/donation.aspx. Checks are
www.kcba.org/kcba/newsevents/barbulletin/archive/2013/05/about.htm 1/23/26/2020 www.kcba.org/kcba/newsevents/barbulletin/archive/2013/05/about.htm welcome to: King County Bar Foundation, 1200 Fifth Avenue, Suite 600, Seattle, WA 98101. Michael Goldenkranz is an occasional volunteer at the Neighborhood Legal Clinics. He is grateful to have turned 60 in April and grateful for his 10-year-old rescue dog, Bella. 1 For those who would like a decent statistical analysis of both cutbacks in legal aid and those who volunteer as lawyers serving through pro bono efforts, please see: http://www.kcba.org/pbs/legalhelp.aspx; "Cuts in legal aid would harm those already financially strapped," The Seattle Times, Feb 24, 2012: http://seattletimes.com/html/opinion/2017630587_guest01madsen.html. The purpose of the Neighborhood Legal Clinics program is to offer free, limited legal advice and referrals to King County residents and Washington residents with legal issues in King County who might otherwise have no access to the legal system. It is a goal of the program to make the clinics accessible regardless of barriers such as income, education, language or disability. Go Back www.kcba.org/kcba/newsevents/barbulletin/archive/2013/05/about.htm 2/2
3/26/2020 Bar Bulletin
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By Michael B. Goldenkranz
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Education / Training
Pro Bono Services There's been a lot of talk in the last few
years about "access to justice." It often
Diversity focuses on the need for poor people to get
Public Policy & News legal representation.
Publications The Washington State Civil Legal Needs
Study issued in June sadly reconfirmed that
Lawyer Referral Service access to legal services has not improved
significantly since 2003. Instead of 3.3 legal
Jobs Center
problems per household, the current Legal
Advertising Rates Needs Study found an average of 9.3 per
household. The study looked at folks at or
below 200 percent of the federal poverty
level, which is $23,000 for a single person
or $47,000 for a family of four.
With experienced lawyers in our region
charging upwards of $500 per hour, they
have become a luxury for corporations and
affluent individuals. Try paying "full pop" for
a lawyer, especially in a litigated matter, if
you are not earning upward of $200,000 per
year. Sure, there is the contingency-fee Charitable Arm of the Bar
exception, but rarely does that apply in
cases other than personal injury or class
actions.
So what about people who aren't poor, but
also aren't affluent? There is an emerging
trend for lawyers to work for those folks at
reduced rates known as "low bono." Low
bono as "an organized entity" is somewhere
https://www.kcba.org/kcba/newsevents/barbulletin/BView.aspx?Month=11&Year=2015&AID=article6.htm 1/33/26/2020 Bar Bulletin
between incubation and infancy in its
Tweets by development. We have the WSBA Modest
@kingcountybar Means program, Seattle University's very
small, but exciting, low bono incubator
program for law students upon graduation,
King County Ba and our first WSBA Low Bono Section.
@kingcountybar Sadly, the King County Bar Association's
former low-cost, fee program was shelved.
KCBA members, have you
provided a recent photo Like many start-up businesspeople, low
for our online member bono attorneys often can't make it without
directory? View your support. Recently one very bright, idealistic
local attorney told me of his chagrin at not
current image at
being able to sign a lease for office space
kcba.org/memberdirectory. at $400 per month. He is committed to low
Email new photos to bono and trying to establish a family law
membership@kcba.org. and Social Security disability practice.
Like him, other young lawyers fresh or
recently out of law school seem the most
13h willing to try a low bono practice. These
same lawyers, however, in addition to
facing the usual practice startup expenses,
often have large education loans to pay off.
What can more established lawyers do to
King County Bar Association
help them? Plenty, as it turns out. Young
1200 5th Ave, Suite 700 low bono lawyers need tools, support, and
Seattle, WA 98101 office space that is truly affordable and
Main (206) 267-7100 accessible.
Fax (206) 267-7099
"Wouldn't it be nice," as the Beach Boys
sang, if large and medium-sized firms
stepped up to the plate and offered lawyers
committed to a low bono practice the use of
some empty office space and conference
rooms for $100 to $200 per month while
they develop their practices? Better still, the
firms could even defer collecting the rent
until the newbie low bono lawyer has
collected some fees or judgments.
For lawyers working from home, meeting
clients at the local coffee shop gets old (and
compromises confidentiality). Conference
rooms in law firms often go unused. They
could be made available to low bono
lawyers at modest hourly rates. Ditto for
unused offices for lawyers who don't need a
full-time office yet.
Psychologists, social workers and
counselors who practice less than full time
have historically shared their offices with
other colleagues doing the same or
completing state-required internships.
Perhaps part-time and semi-retired lawyers
could do so as well.
I've been told (and granted, it's hearsay)
that Westlaw and Lexis are still too
expensive for these altruistic newbies
embarking on low bono practices. I've not
investigated pricing, but perhaps firms, law
schools and bar associations can make
those services available to those still
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idealistic enough to follow their passion and
try to bridge the access divide, while hoping
they'll be able to make a living.
I'm delighted there is a low bono committee
now to come up with strategies, solutions
and implementation means. I'm also
painfully aware of how slow these
processes can be, having sat on
committees.
What can start immediately, though, is for
firms, law libraries, law schools and bar
associations to post notices in the local bar
bulletins, Northwest Lawyer, and other
media and venues where our young
access-to-justice legal eagles look, listing
office space, conference rooms, legal
research applications and law practice
deskbook help on easily afforded terms.
Better yet, someone with the technical skills
that I lack might put up a website that would
serve as an online matching service for
those with available facilities and needy low
bono attorneys.
Finally, the Bar Bulletin should add to its
classified ads a "Low Bono Office Space
and Resources Available" heading.
Michael B. Goldenkranz is a Seattle
attorney who volunteers in KCBA's Pro
Bono Services programs.
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Let us hear from you! We welcome letters to the editor on issues presented in the magazine.
Email letters to nwlawyer@wsba.org.
NWLawyer reserves the right to select letters for publication and to edit letters for length,
clarity, and grammatical accuracy. NWLawyer does not print anonymous letters, or more
than one submission per issue from the same contributor.
The Protection is for the Public
In the December/January NWLawyer, Lisa Mansfield reviews Robotica, a recent book about
robot "speech." Someday soon, a robot will be able to read the New York Times, the Wall
Street Journal, and the Berkeley Barb and write an article telling us how to vote—smart
robot. Is it speech? Well, humans program the robot and choose the input the robot
processes, so it is the product of human design. Speech sounds awfully lingual but the robot
is protected either as exercising free speech or a free press—not Gutenberg’s wine-press
press, pressing ink to paper, but neither is television a "press."
But in Part III of their work, the authors stray from proper First Amendment interpretation.
Mansfield summarizes with "the norm of utility operates as a justification for First
Amendment protection." No, no, no.
In my opinion, the purpose of the First Amendment is to keep the hands of government off
the press and the speaker. is includes courts as part of government. Many people today
believe the purpose is to balance the scales and facilitate different groups in sharing the
power of the press. Way too much power for courts and government. Reading the first
amendments—speech, religion, press; right to bear arms; right to keep soldiers out of your
house; freedom from excessive search and seizure; right to a fair trial [and the] right to
nothing less than "life, liberty, and property," and protection of private property—one sees
that the purpose of the Bill of Rights is to protect the public from government, not, not, not
to enable the government to manage access to the editorial page.
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Roger B. Ley Portland, OR
Don’t Let Government O So Easy
In the February 2020 NWLawyer, the editor notes that Texas textbooks do not mention
racial discrimination in housing. While this is shameful, a much larger issue is not
addressed. In e Color of Law: A Forgotten History of How Our Government Segregated
America, Richard Rothstein explodes the myth that America’s cities came to be racially
divided through de facto segregation—that is, through individual prejudices, income
differences, or the actions of private institutions like banks and real estate agencies. Rather,
e Color of Law incontrovertibly makes clear that it was de jure segregation—the laws and
policy decisions passed by local, state, and federal governments—that actually promoted
the discriminatory patterns that continue to this day. I suggest that this should be discussed
in a future issue of NWLawyer.
Government policies led to the creation of officially segregated public housing and the
demolition of previously integrated neighborhoods. While urban areas rapidly deteriorated,
the great American suburbanization of the post-World War II years was spurred on by
federal subsidies for builders on the condition that no homes be sold to African Americans.
Finally, Rothstein shows how police and prosecutors brutally upheld these standards by
supporting violent resistance to Black families in white neighborhoods. e stark
differences in the accumulated wealth of Black and white families today is attributable in
significant part to these government policies.
Paul Majkut Portland, OR
‘Just Hop On the Bus, Gus’
Like a kid in a legal aid candy store, I read with glee (in February’s NWLawyer) about the
Benefits Law Center’s Mobile Justice Bus. Volunteering for many years, almost weekly, at
local legal aid clinics, and previously sitting on local bar association committees that serve
them, I’ve dreamed up "wish lists," submitted informal proposals, and attempted to identify
and obtain local resources to better serve those who need so much more of our services,
but can’t afford or access them. But I felt like Don Quixote chasing windmills.
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Real-life Alex Doolittle, the executive director of Benefits Law Center (BLC), reminds me of
a childhood hero: Doctor Doolittle, the fictitious gifted veterinarian who took the time to
learn how to truly talk to and understand his diverse clients, who also had "access and
language barriers." Doctor Doolittle, however, surpassed previously insurmountable
barriers to better learn about his clients’ communities, and take epic journeys to assess and
treat their needs.
"[T]he Justice Bus is the physical manifestation of a deeper BLC philosophy that attorneys
need to reframe their perspective, not just on how they should solve a client’s legal issues,
but on the realities of life that prevent people from accessing legal aid in the first place. …
‘[T]he question is: How can [the legal system] be better built for clients?’ … [ And] BLC
attorneys are constantly looking for new ways to better understand their clients’ unique
lived experiences." (From the NWLawyer article).
In my humble opinion, our (non-mobile) Bar Association and other sponsored pro bono
neighborhood legal clinics provide a wealth of free services almost daily to numerous and
thankful clients. But many of those clinics have logistical and technological barriers that
prevent more comprehensive and follow-up services. e Justice Bus "cleared roadblocks"
to help folks who are in survival mode. Many of our current neighborhood legal clinics still
lack computers, laptops, printers, Wi-Fi, and the ability to either share, draft, or fill out
forms or "ghost" letters for our clients. Attorneys’ personal smartphones have been helpful,
but at best provide some research and a website that clients can go to if they have access to
the internet, a printer, and know how to fill out and file the forms, etc. In contrast, the
Housing Justice Project is an example of attorneys located in the courthouse who can
actually help and represent tenants during eviction hearings.
Alex Doolittle showed [that] we have the ability to change the landscape of legal aid and
continue to shift resources. She’s hoping her bus will be a catalyst for other projects. Our
neighborhood pro bono clinics are a wonderful resource and blessing. I’m grateful to
volunteer there. Let’s use Benefit Bus as a catalyst to figure out how we can equip our
stationary volunteer clinics with access to computers, printers, and Wi-Fi. Let’s equip our
clinics so that (non-handwritten) legal forms and draft "ghost" letters can actually
accompany a client out the door. Let’s staff our clinics with family attorneys or Limited
License Legal Technicians (LLLTs) who are provided the necessary time and can assist by
filling out and providing hard copy family law forms. Let’s begin every CLE with a request
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for pro bono volunteers, in which the attendees can take out their cellphone, then and
there, and text "hell yes," to the number provided, before the CLE even begins.
As Paul Simon sang: "Just hop on the bus, Gus." ere must be 50 ways to improve our
clinics.
Respectfully submitted and with appreciation for all we do!
Michael B. Goldenkranz Seattle
...
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P.O. Box 817
Kirkland, WA 98083-0817
425.822.2228 / Fax 425.827.8725
colleen@kirklandlaw.com
April 2, 2020
Via Email: barleaders@wsba.org
Dear Members of the WSBA Awards Committee,
Please accept this letter in support of the nomination of Michael Goldenkranz for the Pro
Bono Public Service Award – Individual.
I first encountered Michael many years ago as a result of our respective involvement in
the Statewide Access to Justice Movement. Michael was a quiet force of nature. He was
remarkably humble and remarkably effective as a volunteer. Michael led by example, always
encouraging other legal services volunteers and calling attention to their contributions.
Since 2002, Michael has volunteered on a nearly weekly basis as the KCBA
Neighborhood Legal Clinics. This is a frontline commitment to meet with clients, provide
practical and critical legal advice, and to help them through a complex system. Michael did all of
these things and coupled it with deep respect and ever present compassion for his clients.
Michael was an invaluable mentor to and resource for other lawyers working at the clinics as
well.
This experience in the trenches led to Michael’s advocacy for additional funding and
additional volunteers through the King County Bar Foundation. Michael was also an articulate
and impassioned proponent of Civil Gideon.
Michael somehow found even more time in an already demanding schedule to serve on
the KCBA Neighborhood Legal Clinic Committee and on the Pro Bono Services Committee. His
expertise, enthusiasm and energy were catalysts for other committee members. He rarely missed
a meeting.
In his spare time (I use this term facetiously), Michael submitted pieces to both the
KCBA and WSBA newsletters in which he advocated for the many individuals and
impoverished communities most in need of access to justice. He also initiated and helped
coordinate the 45th anniversary celebration for KCBA’s Neighborhood Legal Service Clinics.
This event generated much needed funds.
Ever on the lookout for recruits, Michael attended pro bono events sponsored by Seattle
University School of Law and the Pro Bono Fair hosted by Davis Wright Tremaine to encourage
law students and newer lawyers to volunteer and to consider careers with legal service pro bono
providers.Members of the WSBA Awards Committee
April 2, 2020
Page 2
Michael’s resume details numerous additional civic activities that expand upon what this
author has addressed. As I look back on Michael’s record, I can only say with deep admiration:
“I don’t know how he did it!”
With gratitude for your consideration of this letter,
Colleen KinerkYou can also read
