Ron Ward
By Joan Leah Middleton
Ronald R. Ward is the 114th President of the Washington State Bar Association (WSBA) and its first African-American President. Mr. Ward’s journey from the housing projects of San Francisco, where he lived with his family of 12 in 1,000 square feet of space, to his current position in life is a compelling story. Mr. Ward is thankful for his personal experiences, proud of being the firstborn of ten children, grateful to his mother who worked as a domestic to support the family, and more than willing to share his life’s journey. Spending an hour with Mr. Ward is both inspiring and motivating. He makes you feel happy to be a lawyer. Just in case you aren’t already, he explains why you should be happy and you leave his office knowing he’s right. He is a lawyer’s lawyer.
“It’s an emotional, astounding experience.”
Ron, as he is known to everyone, used these words to describe where he finds himself today as the new head of a 29,000-member lawyer organization. Being President of the WSBA is an honor and a privilege for him, given the way he feels about the law and lawyers. He says we are leaders, protectors, guardians, advocates and teachers in society. Ron says, “Look to whom the country turns when in times of trouble--Lawyers.”
Ron also says the Bar is much more than a trade association and he plans to lead on issues that far transcend member benefits. He will be fully engaged in the effort to achieve independent and stable funding for the courts and he wants to ensure access to justice for the poorest of citizens. Pointing out that Washington ranks number 50 out of 50 states for providing General Fund revenues for the trial courts, he says simply, “This cannot be something that Washington citizens can be proud of.”
The Justice System is Key
Ron talked about how people from other parts of the world risk their lives every day to reach these shores to have access to our justice system. Regarding diversity, he points out that although we have not made enormous progress, the playing field is far from being level. “There is a paucity of people of color in supervisory positions. When it comes to employment, people of color are not the beneficiaries of retention.” There may be access by being allowed “in the door,” but that access is all too often bereft of accoutrements such as exposure to viable clients, mentors, and genuine care for the quality of work and interest.
Ron’s viewpoint is elegant and simple. “This is a community. It includes Whites, Blacks, Latinos, Asians, Gays, Lesbians and the Disabled. Our community rises and falls together. We need to come together to develop solutions and lawyers need to be thinking about this and providing the societal leadership they always have.”
Ron also points out that, by the year 2050, the majority population in the United States will be persons of color. “Any business or corporation so short-sighted as to not recognize the need for diversity in the workplace is a cultural anachronism on the way to becoming an economic nonentity. We as a community will only achieve full fruition of our possibilities when diversity as a semantic is a given and no longer of any particular moment.”
Role Models
Ron spoke fondly of “Sefu” which in Swahili means Old Man. Sefu was one of his first role models as a young man and responsible “for saving more kids like me than most of the social services agencies in San Francisco through his group Young Adults of San Francisco.”
Ron became involved with Young Adults and developed an interest in civics and community service. As a young man he was inspired by a speech made by Willie Brown who later became the Speaker of the California Assembly and more recently was the Mayor of San Francisco. Willie Brown took an interest in him and Ron took an interest in politics and the law.
Along the way, Ron had jobs as a night switchboard operator at Langley Porter Neuropsychiatric Hospital, as a medical auditor, and was a janitor in an apartment building, too. He also served in the US Army. “The military was a very valuable experience for me. I wasn’t wild about the regimen, but it removed me from my immediate environment, focused me, and vastly expanded my horizons.”
Ron says, “I’ve been really blessed. At just the right time in my life someone has come along to give me positive encouragement.” Ron also believes these mentors literally made the difference between life and death for him.
“Lawyers have no idea of the difference they make when they walk into a classroom.” Ron knows this firsthand because he has volunteered in the past as a reading tutor and teaching-assistant at the Hawthorne School in Seattle. He encourages all lawyers to do volunteer work with kids and to serve their communities.
President Ward determined that “Lawyers Rendering Service: to their Clients, to the Public, to the Profession,” will be the theme of his presidency this year at WSBA.
“I thank God that I am a lawyer.”
Adequate independent court funding, access to justice, diversity, the independence of the judiciary, and preservation of the jury system are fundamental issues of democracy, according to President Ward. He does not see these issues as being Demo-cratic, Republican or Independent and is ada-mant when he voices this opinion. “These needs must be addressed not as wedge issues, but as preservation of democracy imperatives.” He sees the goals of his presidency as daunting but not insurmountable. President Ward describes himself both as an optimist and an extremely brutal pragmatist at the same time.
To emphasize how he renders service to the public, to the legal profession and to his clients, President Ward stands and stretches out his arms and says, “I want to enfold all. If you are human, you are a part of my family.”
“Look at My Wife and My Daughter. That’s who I am.”
Ron speaks of his mother with reverence. Although born in Sacramento, the family lived in the Hunters Point housing project in San Francisco for many years. He attended San Francisco State University and Hastings College of the Law, graduating with his Juris Doctor degree in 1976. His mother had little formal education and worked 10 to 12 hours a day as a domestic earning $15 to $20 dollars a day cleaning other peoples’ homes. When Ron needed to buy a new book for school, she would give him $20 even though that was her whole day’s pay.
He says she was working for the future generation of the family and she invested in his education and in his future. Mrs. Ward died one week after Ron was sworn in as WSBA President, but he feels that he has fully vindicated the sacrifices she made.
Ron’s office is filled with plants, sailboat art, baseball photos (including a much-prized photo of Jackie Robinson), Native American Art with the inscription “In Our Eyes You Are a Warrior,” and family photos. Gazing at the photos of his wife Kiti and his daughter Sara, he says, “Look at my wife and my daughter. That’s who I am.”
His daughter Sara is in her senior year of high school and busy taking the SAT’s and preparing for college. Ron is investing in her education and in her future. He unabashedly says that his daughter is “the apple of her daddy’s eye.” He met his wife when he was in law school and she was a graduate student at the University of Washington. They have been married for 26 years.
Ronald R. Ward is President of the Washington State Bar Association. Mr. Ward has been a shareholder in the law firm of Levinson Friedman since 1982. He represents injured persons. His office is located at 720 Third Avenue, Suite 1800, Seattle, WA 98104-1845. He can be reached at (206) 624-8844 or by e-mail at rrw@admiralty.com.
Joan Leah Middleton is a lawyer, guardian ad litem, certified parenting evaluator, and CASA volunteer. She works with children, vulnerable adults and the elderly. She is listed on various Superior Court registries in King, Pierce and Snohomish Counties. She receives cases by appointment or by private stipulation of the parties. Joan can be reached at (425) 557-5910 or kindlawyer@hotmail.com.
