Law & Corporate Affairs Department 

2024-2025 Diversity Mentorship Program

The Starbucks Law & Corporate Affairs Department is pleased to invite mentee participants for our Starbucks Diversity Mentorship Program.  This program will connect Starbucks in-house lawyers with junior attorneys from diverse backgrounds in one-to-one mentorship relationships.  The Starbucks legal department boasts one of the most experienced and diverse groups of attorneys in the region, and our lawyers are excited to share their insights into learning the practice of law, their advice in navigating legal work environments, and for those who are interested, strategies for future career development.   

Following a virtual kick-off reception for incoming mentees and their mentors, this program will foster direct, informal interactions over a one-year period to help diverse junior attorneys connect and network in the local community of legal professionals and business leaders.  The program is open to all lawyers in private practice in their first four years as an attorney, and who are members of one or more minority bar associations or diversity affinity groups.   

If you are interested in applying, please submit a cover letter and resume to Doug Stevens at doug.stevens@starbucks.com, with a copy to lcainclusiondiversity@starbucks.com, by Friday, September 6, 2024.  In your cover letter, please identify your current area of practice (and your desired area, if different), your office location, your general interest in receiving mentoring, and the minority bar association(s) or affinity group(s) to which you belong.  If you have any questions, please direct them to Doug Stevens, and one of our committee members will follow up with you. 

Sincerely, 

The Starbucks L&CA Diversity Mentorship Committee 

Lawyers and Judges: Have you ever reached a point in your career and thought, "If only I had known...."  

Law Students: Have you ever wished you had advice from someone who has actually been there?  

Mentors meet mentees!  

The mission of the JMMP is to promote the retention, growth, and success of minority* law students and new lawyers as they enter the legal profession, through formalized one-on-one mentorship matches and practical follow-up events throughout the year.

*We consider people of color; religious, ethnic, and racial minorities; people with disabilities; and LGTBQ+ people to be minorities in our society for purposes of our group's mission. We have chosen to focus our limited resources on addressing impacts on societal minorities. However, we recognize many other groups--such as women, individuals with socio-economic disadvantages, first generation law graduates, and formerly incarcerated individuals--have also been historically under-represented and marginalized in our profession. We do include programming that addresses these issues because they also impact many of our mentees. In addition, many of our follow-up events are open to all and free of charge. With respect and solidarity, if you are not a member of a societal minority but are looking for mentorship, please reach out directly to one or our many partner organizations for their assistance: King County Bar Association, Federal Bar Association, Washington State Bar Association, Washington Women Lawyers, and Mother Attorneys Mentoring Association of Seattle.  

Participants will be formally matched, and pairs will create their own agreement regarding discussion topics, meetings, and follow-up.  The formal program will last through the end of 2024.  But we hope the relationships will continue beyond.  Register HERE to attend the Kick-Off Event on Wednesday, March 27th from 6:00-8:30 pm at Foster Garvey’s Seattle law office: 1111 3rd Ave Ste 3000, Seattle, WA 98101. .

*JMMP is generously sponsored by The Opportunity and Progress Council, Foster Garvey’s diversity, equity, and inclusion initiative.

JMMP partner organizations include:

·  South Asian Bar Association of Washington (SABAW) - Founding Partner

·  Middle Eastern Legal Association of Washington (MELAW) – Founding Partner

·  Washington Attorneys with Disabilities Association (WADA)

·  Northwest Indian Bar Association (NIBA)

·  Washington State Bar Association - Indian Law Section (WSBA-ILS)

·  Vietnamese American Bar Association (VABAW)

·  Korean American Bar Association of Washington (KABA)

·  Latina/o Bar Association of Washington (LBAW)

·  Washington Women Lawyers Association (WWL)

·  Washington State Bar Association – Board of Governors (WSBA-BOG, unanimously adopted by Board of Governors)

·  Washington State Bar Association – Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion Council (WSBA – DEI Council)

·  King County Bar Association - New Lawyers Division (KCBA-NLD)

·  King County Bar Association (KCBA)

·  QLaw – a voice of LBGT Lawyers and other legal professionals in Washington

·  Federal Bar Association - Washington Chapter (FBA - WA)

·  Mother Attorneys Mentoring Association of Seattle (MAMAS)

·  Asian Bar Association of Washington (ABAW)

·  and welcoming our newest partner, the Loren Miller Bar Association (LMBA)!!!

Join us March 22nd-24th at the Pierce County Superior Courthouse in Tacoma, WA…

Washington State YMCA Youth & Government is hosting the Washington State Mock Trial Tournament on March 22nd-24th at the Pierce County Superior Court (930 Tacoma Ave S Ste 110, Tacoma, WA 98402). Please join us in volunteering or sharing out the sign-up links, as it will take over 150 volunteers to make this event happen. We have had over 10% growth in Mock Trial this year, so we need your support now more than ever!

We need attorneys to volunteer for the following times:

Round 1: Friday (3/22) @ 6:30pm

Round 2: Saturday (3/23) @ 8:30am

Round 3: Saturday (3/23) @ 12:30pm

Round 4: Saturday (3/23) @ 4pm

Please sign up for a round (or two!) and get some volunteer hours, meet other folks working with youth interested in the law, and become a part of the Mock Trial community! We have over 70 teams (including Middle Schools!) registered for this season! Feel free to forward this email or sign-up link to friends and colleagues that may be available and interested.

Lawyers and Judges: Have you ever reached a point in your career and thought, "If only I had known...."  

Law Students: Have you ever wished you had advice from someone who has actually been there?  

Mentors meet mentees!  

The mission of the JMMP is to promote the retention, growth, and success of minority* law students and new lawyers as they enter the legal profession, through formalized one-on-one mentorship matches and practical follow-up events throughout the year.

*We consider people of color; religious, ethnic, and racial minorities; people with disabilities; and LGTBQ+ people to be minorities in our society for purposes of our group's mission. We have chosen to focus our limited resources on addressing impacts on societal minorities. However, we recognize many other groups--such as women, individuals with socio-economic disadvantages, first generation law graduates, and formerly incarcerated individuals--have also been historically under-represented and marginalized in our profession. We do include programming that addresses these issues because they also impact many of our mentees. In addition, many of our follow-up events are open to all and free of charge. With respect and solidarity, if you are not a member of a societal minority but are looking for mentorship, please reach out directly to one or our many partner organizations for their assistance: King County Bar Association, Federal Bar Association, Washington State Bar Association, Washington Women Lawyers, and Mother Attorneys Mentoring Association of Seattle.  

Participants will be formally matched, and pairs will create their own agreement regarding discussion topics, meetings, and follow-up.  The formal program will last through the end of 2024.  But we hope the relationships will continue beyond.  Register HERE to attend the Kick-Off Event on Wednesday, March 27th from 6:00-8:30 pm at Foster Garvey’s Seattle law office: 1111 3rd Ave Ste 3000, Seattle, WA 98101. .

*JMMP is generously sponsored by The Opportunity and Progress Council, Foster Garvey’s diversity, equity, and inclusion initiative.

JMMP partner organizations include:

· South Asian Bar Association of Washington (SABAW) - Founding Partner

· Middle Eastern Legal Association of Washington (MELAW) – Founding Partner

· Washington Attorneys with Disabilities Association (WADA)

· Northwest Indian Bar Association (NIBA)

· Washington State Bar Association - Indian Law Section (WSBA-ILS)

· Vietnamese American Bar Association (VABAW)

· Korean American Bar Association of Washington (KABA)

· Latina/o Bar Association of Washington (LBAW)

· Washington Women Lawyers Association (WWL)

· Washington State Bar Association – Board of Governors (WSBA-BOG, unanimously adopted by Board of Governors)

· Washington State Bar Association – Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion Council (WSBA – DEI Council)

· King County Bar Association - New Lawyers Division (KCBA-NLD)

· King County Bar Association (KCBA)

· QLaw – a voice of LBGT Lawyers and other legal professionals in Washington

· Federal Bar Association - Washington Chapter (FBA - WA)

· Mother Attorneys Mentoring Association of Seattle (MAMAS)

· Asian Bar Association of Washington (ABAW)

· and welcoming our newest partner, the Loren Miller Bar Association (LMBA)!!!

Virtual Events This Week

Point/Counterpoint: Analyzing Liability Management Transactions from the Lender and Borrower Perspectives - Oct. 25 - 1:00 pm ET

Practicing Law Outside a Traditional Firm: Government and In-House Attorneys - Oct. 26 - 3:00 pm ET (geared toward law students!)

The Member Wellness Program at WSBA. Member wellness is focused on providing WSBA members and law students support in order to maintain their wellbeing.  

Member wellness provides individual clinical consultations, wellness presentations, as well as resources on wellness and much more.

Additional information here:

Adely Ruiz, MSW, LSWAIC  

Clinical & Outreach Lead, Member Wellness Program | Washington State Bar Association  

 206.727.8268 | adelyr@wsba.org  | Pronouns: she/her 

1325 Fourth Avenue, Suite 600 | Seattle, WA 98101 | wsba.doxy.me/wellness  

We are currently accepting applications.  Links to additional information and application information are below

• International students (those needing student visas):  Preferred deadline April 15 (later applications still considered, admission may be deferred if too late for visa processing)
• US-based students:  Applications considered on a rolling basis through July 15

As the world emerges from the pandemic and faces threats to the environment and the stability of economies and democracies worldwide, graduates of the UW Law Graduate (LLM and MJ) Program in Sustainable International Development are the problem solvers who will help navigate these challenges.  Our students focus on legal and policy strategies and tools to balance sustainable economic development with the well-being of communities, the rights of individuals, and the health of the planet. Key areas of focus include:

The Washington State Bar Association is partnering with the American Bar Association and Baylor University on a survey about the provision of legal services to persons of limited means. This survey will gather information on the experiences and perceptions of pro bono/low bono work, the barriers to pro bono and low bono services, shifts in volunteering since the COVID-19 pandemic, and other important data that will help inform the WSBA’s pro bono and public service programming. If you would like to read the results of the previous survey conducted in 2018, please click here. 

Please help us distribute this survey with your networks and members so we can help understand how WSBA can best promote a culture of service, reduce barriers to pro bono volunteering, and expand access to justice. We have suggested language below for your convenience.

You are being invited to complete a survey about the provision of legal services to persons of limited means. We are interested in your perspectives on this work, as well as whether or not you have provided these services. 

This survey is completely anonymous. Please complete it by May 28^th, 2023. Depending on the amount of pro bono work you did in 2022, this survey may take anywhere between 10 and 20 minutes. Thank you in advance for your time.

Click here to access the survey

About: This survey is distributed in partnership between several state bar associations and the American Bar Association, with the study design and platform managed by Baylor University. If you are licensed in more than one state, you may receive this from each of the states for which you have a license. Please complete this survey only once.

Questions? Email PublicService@wsba.org