Our firm is pleased to announced that our founding principal has again been honored with a Pro Bono Publico Service Commendation from the Washington State Bar Association for 2018. Our firm completed hundreds of hours of pro bono services for clients who simply cannot afford attorneys in civil matters like family law, landlord tenant disputes, and consumer questions.

If you are in need of free legal aid and you meet the income requirements in Washington State (within 200% of federal poverty guidelines or $51,500 for a family of four using 2019 numbers). If you fit this and need a lawyer for a civil matter in Washington, you must contact the CLEAR hotline 1-888-201-1014 for intake or complete the intake online at www.nwjustice.org. 

If you don't know if you qualify or have questions about where to go in Washington (or Idaho), we are always happy to answer your questions about who to contact. 

It's the time of year again in Washington State. The state legislature passed a number of bills that Gov. Jay Inslee has signed into law that went into effect on July 1, 2019. Here's what you need to know about some of the new laws:

1. TRAFFIC: For those of you in Western Washington, HOV or carpool lane violations have higher fines. For the simple offender, the ticket goes up an extra $50 for a first-time violation. For those of you who try to be sneaky using stuffed animals, mannequins, and other faux-passengers, the violation is $200 more. 

2. Health: The personal or philosophical exception to vaccinating children against measles, mumps, or rubella (the MMR vaccine) is no more. That means that parents must vaccinate their children before sending them to school or licensed day cares. The religious exemption still exists.

3. Employment. A big win for back-to-work moms - employers now have to either provide a private place that is not a bathroom stall or work with the employee to allow her to breast feed and/or pump breast milk in a private setting. 

4. Voting. All ballots in Washington will include prepaid postage for all elections to reduce barriers to voting.

5. Residential Tenants: Renters made two big wins. First, a tenant must give 14-days notice for an eviction due to non-payment of rent. This is 11 days more than under prior laws. Second, a landlord must provide sixty (60) days written notice to increase rent. Per usual, a landlord cannot increase rent while a lease is still valid. That means if you signed a year-long residential lease, you get the stated amount of rent during that year - no changes can occur to the amount of monthly rent. 

This is just a portion of the new Washington laws. Remember, your city or county may have additional new laws, especially if you're in King County. As always, for our Idaho clients, we're happy to give you a rundown of your rights' in Idaho, as they often vary greatly from those in Washington. We're here to help. 

On Sunday, July 23, Washington's new distracted driving law goes into effect. What do you need to know?

1. You are forbidden virtually all use of phones, tablets laptops, and gaming devices while driving. This includes at a stop sign or stopped.
2. You can still have a phone in a dashboard cradle for navigation, but no watching last night's "Daily Show" or any other video. 
3. Hands free systems in your car are still fine. 
4. The initial fine is $136. The second citation is $235.
5. Distracted driving tickets will get reported to your insurance company.
6. Grooming (makeup, hairbrushing, beard brushing) and eating are "secondary offenses," so if you are pulled over for another reason, you can be cited an extra $30 for that kind of distraction. 

Keep you hands on the wheel and your eyes on the road, and text when parked. Brush your teeth before you leave the house and eat your fries when you get home.