The Outstanding New Lawyer Award has been presented to a new lawyer each year since 1987. The award recognizes those who have:
- Made substantial contributions to the legal profession;
- Made substantial contributions to the King County Bar Association;
- Made substantial contributions to the community; and/or,
- Demonstrated excellence in their legal practice.
The winner of this year’s Award is Destinee Evers. I was honored to present the Outstanding New Lawyer Award to Destinee at the Awards Reception on June 27, 2024. Destinee is an associate at K&L Gates, a member of their technology, sourcing, and privacy practice group. Her practice focuses on data privacy and commercial agreements involving intellectual property. She graduated from Seattle University School of Law in 2020 after completing its evening program and while working full-time at the Washington State Bar Association. Destinee was nominated for the award by K&L Gates partner Mark Wittow. Her nomination was also supported by Peter Talevich and Pallavi Wahi. Together they shared this proud statement with the KCBA New Lawyers’ Division: “When we hire new attorneys at our firm, we dream of attorneys who will be enthusiastic and personable, will do great work for our clients, and make us proud because of their involvement in the greater legal community…Destinee’s work in this regard is exemplary and makes us all proud. She is a testament to the work new lawyers can do at an early stage of their career.”
Destinee has demonstrated excellence in her legal practice and has made substantial contributions to the community. Last year, Destinee volunteered with the Legal Foundation of Washington and served as the State-wide co-chair of the Associates Campaign for Equal Justice. She also led her firm’s fundraising efforts for the Campaign. When asked about her reasons for volunteering for the Legal Foundation of Washington, she said, “There’s a huge gap between people who can afford legal services and those who receive legal services, which is not okay. I am trying to use my position to make a difference — and maybe more people will think about donating. It just feels like the right thing to do.”
In addition to her leadership with the Legal Foundation of Washington, Destinee also leads the K&L Gates’ pro bono support of the Mockingbird Society, which is a foster care advocacy organization. There, she has applied her legal skills to develop cross-border licensing of its foster care delivery model. This has enabled the Mockingbird Society to extend its Programs to a wide variety of social service agencies across the United States and around the world.
Finally, Destinee has volunteered with Village Reach, a non-profit organization that aims to improve the delivery of healthcare to rural, low-income populations in Sub-Saharan Africa. Her work has allowed Village Reach to obtain a long-term partner who now contributes support for the sustainability of a tool used for managing supply chain logistics.
Destinee’s contributions to the community, excellence in her chosen legal practice, and focus on helping others are truly inspirational and she is a strong role model for aspiring new lawyers.
