Loretta Story Receives WSBA Local Hero Award
(Loretta Story is Secretary of KCCL and serves on its Board of Directors. Here’s the press release from WSBA. Editor.)
(SEATTLE) — The Washington State Bar Association (WSBA) is pleased to present Bellevue attorney Loretta Story with its Local Hero Award. For the past 15 years, Story has provided pro bono (volunteer) representation of victims of domestic violence; mentored other pro bono attorneys; and presented continuing legal education seminars annually on dissolution, domestic violence, and ethics for numerous law-related organizations.
The Local Hero Award is presented by the WSBA Board of Governors as it travels around the state to those who have made noteworthy contributions to their communities. The WSBA Board of Governors met in Bellevue on April 29. WSBA President Steven G. Toole presented the award at a luncheon on the 29th, attended by members of the Board of Governors and many members of the local bench and bar.
Story is well known for her community involvement and dedication to serving the less-fortunate residents of King County. Since 1997, she has served on the Board of Directors of the Eastside Legal Assistance Program (ELAP), a nonprofit agency that provides access to justice through free or low-cost civil legal aid to low-income residents of east and northeast King County and domestic-violence legal aid throughout King County. She served as president of the ELAP Board of Directors 2005–2007, and in 2005 was named ELAP Volunteer of the Year.
ELAP Executive Director Stan Kehl said this about Story: “Loretta is particularly skilled at representing victims of domestic violence. She has a solid understanding of the emotional, physical, and financial concerns and safety issues, and she works with victims of domestic violence with sensitivity and skill.”
In addition to her work with ELAP, Story has served on the Board of Trustees of the King County Bar Association, Board of Trustees of the East King County Bar Association, and King County Collaborative Law Board of Trustees. She was the co-founder and chair of the King County Bar Association Collaborative Law Section.
For several years, Story’s goal has been to create a collaborative law center for professionals trained in the practice of collaborative law (attorneys, coaches, financial specialists, child specialists, and mediators) so that they would have a presence on the east side of Lake Washington. In realization of that goal, she founded the Eastside Collaborative Law Center in September 2010. Located in downtown Bellevue, the Center is a convenient central place for parties to meet with their various collaborative professionals.
