The recipient of this year’s King County Bar Association Pro Bono Award is Lianna Bash. This well-deserved award recognizes the many hours and deep experience Lianna has given to the Domestic Violence Legal Advocacy Project (DV LEAD) at KCBA.
Lianna, a member of the litigation group at DLA Piper, has been a volunteer with DV LEAD since 2020 when she stepped up, as the COVID pandemic was unfolding, and represented a domestic violence survivor in a contested Domestic Violence Protection Order (DVPO) case. Lianna successfully represented the survivor client in court obtaining a DVPO and secured safety and stability for the client and her children.
Following that, Lianna continued her volunteer commitment to DV LEAD. She volunteered in her capacity as an attorney with appellate experience and to date has co-counseled three separate appellate cases with staff attorneys from DV LEAD. In addition to co-counseling on appeals, she has advised and consulted on additional appellate work. And has continued to advise on appellate cases post-remand to the superior court.
In the first appeal Lianna co-counseled, Lianna worked to successfully defend the integrity of the decision-making limitation when there is a history of domestic violence. This is outside her practice area, as she is a commercial litigator, but she became well versed in the nuance of the parenting statute and wrote a large portion of the appellate brief. The case was decided favorably without oral argument.
Following that, Lianna co-counseled an appeal filed against a renewed DVPO. The case has important and wide-reaching 5th amendment and statutory implications. Lianna wrote the brief in this case and became familiar with the record and the law. When the case was set for oral argument, Lianna successfully argued in the Court of Appeals on behalf of the DV LEAD survivor client. Lianna was thoughtful in preparation, sensitive in client meetings and well prepared in all the moot sessions for the oral argument. The client expressed immense gratitude at her using her appellate expertise for pro bono. The Court of Appeals ruled in favor of the DV LEAD domestic violence survivor client upholding her DVPO.
Lianna continues to provide representation and assistance in DV LEAD cases. In addition to the cases mentioned above, Lianna co-counseled one of the few appeals DV LEAD has ever filed. Lianna participated in the pre-filing decisions and agreed to co-counsel this case. This appeal concerns the importance of enforcing weapons surrender in DVPO cases. Lianna provided insight, guidance and invaluable support in drafting the opening and reply briefs in that case. The Court of Appeals ruled, without oral argument, in favor of the DV LEAD client finding that the Superior Court decision was not supported by substantial evidence. Lianna has continued to advise DV LEAD following the mandate on this case.
Lianna is survivor focused and thoughtful in her approach to DV LEAD cases. She has given countless hours in supporting, consulting, drafting and arguing in court on behalf of domestic violence survivors. Her impact has gone well beyond the scope of the specific clients she has represented.
Thank you to Lianna for her pro bono work and congratulations on this well-deserved recognition.
Kimberly Todaro is the Managing Attorney of the Domestic Violence Legal Advocacy Project (DV LEAD Project).
