Q&A with LBAW President Zaida C. Rivera and LBAW President-Elect Sergio A. Garcidueñas-Sease
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Q. How and when did your bar association get started?
The Latina/o Bar Association (LBAW) has been in existence for approximately 36 years. It was founded in 1989 by Sandra Madrid and Dan Gandara, initially named the Washington State Hispanic Bar Association (WSHBA) with the goal of bringing together Latina/o legal professionals and recruitment for law students. Since then, LBAW has grown to provide legal resources to our community and to support our law students.
Q. What are some of the core goals and/or purposes of your bar association?
The Latina/o population is vastly underrepresented in the legal profession, with only 5 percent of WSBA members identifying as Latina/o. LBAW’s mission is to promote, support, and serve not only our members but the broader Latina/o community throughout Washington.
We aim to uplift and empower our members by providing them with unique professional development opportunities, mentorship, and scholarships while also hosting events to celebrate our shared culture.
LBAW strives to help bring positive change to our community by using our legal skills and advocacy to address critical issues impacting our community. We feel a sense of commitment to fight for a legal system that brings equality, equity, and justice to our community.
Q. What need does your bar association fill that is unmet elsewhere?
LBAW is the only statewide association of Latina/o legal professionals in Washington. LBAW has over 200 active members, making it one of the largest affinity bars in Washington and in the Pacific Northwest. We have members from Idaho, Oregon, and even Alaska.
Q. What are some of the opportunities or benefits that your members receive?
LBAW is proudly a very active organization that provides its members with networking events and activities as well as professional development opportunities through CLEs. LBAW sends a monthly newsletter to its members to keep them informed of opportunities.
LBAW organizes a free monthly legal clinic at El Centro de la Raza (see page 31 to read more about this clinic). Our clinic has expanded to rural and remote areas where the need from our community is great, including Omak, Moses Lake, Spokane, Mt. Vernon, and the Yakima Valley. Attorneys volunteering for our legal clinics can earn up to 24 CLE credits during their reporting year as LBAW is a designated Qualified Legal Service Provider by the WSBA.
LBAW also has a judicial evaluation process, rating judicial candidates monthly to ensure that judicial candidates are fair, equitable, and empathetic to LBAW’s mission and our community.
LBAW encourages and supports the next generation of Latina/o lawyers by providing LSAT scholarships, mentorship to students, and participating in pipeline programs such as the LSAC Plus Heritage Pipeline Program.
Q. Does your bar association offer any mentorship or scholarship opportunities? If so, please describe.
To ensure the success of future Latina/o attorneys, LBAW hands out scholarships to law students studying for the bar exam and to support their studies, and to undergraduate students interested in attending law school who are taking the LSAT.
LBAW provides mentorship by participating in the Joint Minority Mentorship Program (JMMP), creating networking opportunities, hosting panel presentations at law schools, and providing support to the law school’s Latina/o law student associations.
Q. What is a recent bar association accomplishment, current project, or event that you are excited about?
With the recent threats and unleashing of racist policies and acts against our community, LBAW volunteers are rising to the occasion and answering the call to fight back. LBAW volunteers are educating our community by hosting “Know Your Rights” seminars–in English and Spanish–that discuss the legal rights every person has, regardless of their immigration status.
Additionally, with the growing demand for pro bono legal assistance, LBAW has successfully expanded its legal clinics program by hosting clinic events in Everett and Vancouver. We plan to continue this expansion to other legal deserts in our state.
We also plan to provide greater access to our members by hosting general member meetings for everyone to share their ideas, suggestions, and learn about LBAW events.
Q. How can WSBA members support the work of your affinity bar association?
WSBA members should join LBAW. LBAW prides itself on being financially accessible. Members should volunteer at one of LBAW’s legal clinics (see page 33 for more information) because they can make a huge impact on our community and earn CLE credit. We encourage anyone interested in the work LBAW does to attend our events or reach out to our board.
Lastly, every year in March, LBAW hosts an annual gala to celebrate its members and their accomplishments. The money raised from this event helps fund LBAW’s programs like our legal clinic and scholarships. Our gala is a great time and ends with a dance party! Vamos!
Q. Is there anything else you would like WSBA members to know about your bar association?
LBAW plans to expand its presence even further in Eastern Washington to support our members and community.
MORE ONLINE > To learn more about the Latina/o Bar Association of Washington (LBAW), visit their website: www.lbaw.org.
About the authorS
Zaida C. Rivera is the director of the Immigrant Justice Clinic at Seattle University School of Law. An immigrant herself, she has been practicing immigration law for over 13 years. Professor Rivera is passionate about access to justice initiatives and enjoys coordinating and volunteering at legal clinics.
Sergio A. Garcidueñas-Sease is an attorney at Schroeter Goldmark & Bender in Seattle where he practices plaintiffs’ personal injury. Garcidueñas-Sease grew up throughout Africa and Latin America in countries plagued by war, inequality, and poverty, igniting his passion for fighting against injustices.