Helen M. Geisness Award: Kate Battuello
By Steven Rovig
The Helen M. Geisness Award was named in honor of King County Bar Association’s first executive director, who served from 1966 to 1981. During her tenure, Helen Geisness (a 1929 graduate of the UW School of Law) helped develop the Bar Association to better serve the people of Seattle and King County, and foster an association of lawyers committed to improving the practice of law in King County. Reflecting that storied legacy, the Geisness Award recognizes a lawyer or non-lawyer for exemplary, distinguished service on behalf of KCBA.
This year’s recipient of the Geisness Award, Kathryn M. Battuello, has demonstrated an extraordinary level of distinguished service to KCBA throughout a career that spanned private practice, academia, and public service and focused on ethics, health law, and public interest. After earning her law degree from Duke University, she practiced at Karr Tuttle Campbell for 10 years, becoming a partner. She later earned a master’s degree in public health and became a University of Washington research professor, coauthoring a casebook, “Genetic Technologies and the Law.” She culminated her career at the Washington Attorney General’s Office, where she litigated in the Torts Division and led the Health Care Practice Team.
In 2007, Kate stepped into a leadership role for the Bar Association as a member of the Board of Trustees of the King County Bar Foundation. In subsequent years she was elected to serve as KCBF’s secretary, vice president, and ultimately, president. With her guidance and inspiration, KCBF continued to grow its efforts to raise critical funds for the Association’s pro bono programs and its diversity scholarships for law students at Seattle University and University of Washington.
Not content to sit on the sidelines after completing her term as KCBF president, Kate rolled up her sleeves to ensure that funding would be available for the Association’s pro bono and diversity programs in perpetuity. Kate agreed to co-chair KCBF’s 125th Anniversary Endowment Campaign. Kate and Co-Chair Harry Schneider led an effort to reinvigorate the Foundation’s languishing endowment with a highly successful campaign to bring in new supporters and persuade existing donors to increase their commitment. The campaign exceeded its goal of $1 million.
Given her track record, it was not surprising that KCBA recruited Kate to bring her signature leadership skills to the Association. She served as first vice president and second vice president before being elected president for 2016-17. At that time, a profile of Kate written by past KCBF President Diana Carey quoted Kate’s friend and colleague Steve Ellis. He said Kate has the litigator’s ability to summarize discussions around the table and keep them moving forward in a positive manner. He added that her hallmark smile never wavers, even when things are not always going well.
Clearly, those characteristics served Kate and the Bar Association throughout her successful term as president. During that time, she launched the Juvenile Reform Task Force, strengthened ties with minority and specialty bar groups, and championed diversity, pro bono work, and member engagement.
Clearly Kate Battuello has earned her place in the ranks of past recipients of the Helen M. Geisness Award as an outstanding lawyer who has distinguished herself by her dedicated service to the King County Bar Association.
Steven Rovig is an Emeritus Member of Hillis Clark Martin & Peterson, P.S., served as KCBA president from 2014-15, and is a fellow recipient of the Helen M. Geisness Award.
