Ronald R. Ward, J.D.

Attorney at Law, WardSmith

Ronald R. (Ron) Ward earned his juris doctor from the University of California, Hastings College of the Law. He served as a Washington state assistant attorney general before entering private practice in Seattle. Mr. Ward was elected 2004-2005 President of the Washington State Bar Association, the first African-American and first person of color to serve as WSBA president in the association’s then 114-year history. Mr. Ward successfully founded and put into action the WSBA Leadership Institute (WLI), which now serves as a developmental program for young lawyers seeking leadership positions. The WLI pays particular attention to diverse groups of lawyers that would otherwise be traditionally underrepresented. Since his status as president of the WSBA in 2004, This WLI program has won national honors, including the American Bar Association Partnership Award (2005) and the LexisNexis Martindale-Hubbell® Legal Fellowship (2006). Mr. Ward served as the president of the Washington State Bar Foundation from 2008 to 2011, and he became president of the Washington chapter of the American Board of Trial Advocates in November of 2012. He has been a tireless and eloquent state-wide and national advocate for the preservation of the independence of the judiciary and for access to justice for disadvantaged citizens. He has served as a member of the Executive Committee of the Board for Judicial Administration (BJA)-Washington Supreme Court, and as a representative to the BJA Court Funding Task Force. He is a member of the Advisory Council of the Washington Equal Justice Coalition for the support of legal services to deprived citizens.

Mr. Ward has received numerous awards including the Washington State Bar Association Award of Merit (the WSBA's highest honor), the Washington State Bar Association Excellence in Diversity Award, the Washington State Trial Lawyers Association President's Award, and the Washington Defense Trial Lawyers Outstanding Plaintiff's Trial Lawyer Award. Since 2003, he has been included in Washington State’s Super Lawyers®