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ABOUT HOPE
Quarterly Newsletter of
The WAVE Foundation and
Legal Hope
2021 Spring Newsletter
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We Changed the Law!
Governor Inslee signed our bill into law on May 10th.
Legal Hope staff Ariana Orford and Carlen McKee worked with Senator Manka Dhingra and her legislative team to draft SB 5180 and advocate for the passage of this new law. This new law allows survivors of sex trafficking, domestic violence, and sexual assault to clear more types of criminal convictions connected to their victimization so they can get employment, housing, and hope for the future.
To learn more, watch Legal Hope Program Director Carlen McKee and a Legal Hope Program participant testify in front of the legislature here.
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Record Clearing Off to a Strong Start in 2021
In just the first 12 days of 2021, our Legal Hope Program cleared 11 wrongful convictions for survivors of trafficking. These survivors now have access to employment, housing, and other essential resources and have hope for the future.
Thank you to our pro bono teams working on these issues, including Michelle Nance of Orrick and Nicole Mormilo, Rose McCarty, Maalya Ramachandra, and Brith Croghan of Davis Wright Tremaine!
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Educating Judges About Sex Trafficking
Davis Wright Tremaine recruited over 60 attorneys and legal staff to partner with Legal Hope to create a judge's guide to educate judges nationwide on sex trafficking. Pro bono attorneys from Davis Wright Tremaine, Uber, Bloomberg, and other corporations are writing about the impact of convictions on sex trafficking survivors, the racial equity implications, and the trauma suffered by survivors. With this resource, judges nationwide will be able to better identify and assist survivors and hold more trauma-informed courtrooms.
Huge thanks to Rachel Brown and Joanna Boisen of Davis Wright Tremaine for initiating this important work.
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Pro Bono Attorney Trainings
Virtual Help Training
Another Virtual Help training in January added 35 new attorneys to the Virtual Help program, our partnership with Microsoft and Perkins Coie to provide virtual legal aid to survivors seeking domestic violence protection orders. Thank you to the new team members from Microsoft, Perkins Coie, and Facebook.
Financial Pro Bono Day
Pro bono attorneys from financial institutions nationwide helped us begin our judge’s guide on sex trafficking as part of The Pro Bono Institute's Financial Pro Bono Day. Thank you to Davis Wright Tremaine for including us in this amazing event. Davis Wright Tremaine then hosted another Legal Hope training in February with over 60 attorneys and legal staff to jump start the judge's guide project.
Amazon and Morgan Lewis
Attorneys from Amazon and Morgan Lewis attended a Legal Hope training in February and partnered together to take cases to clear records for survivors of sex trafficking and domestic violence.
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Pro Bono Attorney Spotlight:
Michelle Nance, Orrick
At Orrick, Michelle Nance advises clients on privacy and cybersecurity matters, but she has spent countless hours volunteering as a pro bono attorney with Legal Hope since 2020. She served as the keynote speaker at The WAVE Foundation's 2021 Gala, along with one of the survivors she assisted. She has represented multiple survivors in clearing their criminal records that were a result of their victimization.
Michelle consistently goes above and beyond in her cases - she cleared more than $6,000 of legal fines for her two clients and advocated for her law firm Orrick to pay $3,000 of those legal fines. We are honored that Michelle chooses to dedicate her pro bono hours to helping survivors in our program.
We couldn't do this important work without pro bono attorneys like Michelle!
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Partner Spotlight:
Alpha Chi Omega
The WAVE Foundation is the philanthropy of the Alpha Chi Omega Sorority at the University of Washington and their support is instrumental to our success in so many ways. Toni Rende and Lizzy Hong, two members of AXO, currently serve as Student Ambassadors to the WAVE Foundation Board of Directors.
Unable to hold their usual fundraisers due to the pandemic, AXO got creative. Last fall, led by Toni Rende, they designed and sold “Healthy Love” sweatshirts to benefit The WAVE Foundation. This spring, Lizzy Hong coordinated with jewelry designer Kendra Scott to have the proceeds from jewelry sales benefit WAVE. Whenever we hold a fundraiser, AXO is there to help! Huge thanks to Toni Rende and Lizzy Hong for their amazing behind-the-scenes work managing Zoom for our 2021 Virtual Gala.
Thank you, Alpha Chi Omega!
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Partner Spotlight:
Rachel Haney, Perkins Coie
Rachel Haney, an attorney at Perkins Coie, recently received the firm’s Pro Bono Leadership Award for her outstanding pro bono service and leadership. The award includes the benefit of $5,000 to donate to an organization of her choice – and she chose The WAVE Foundation!
At Perkins Coie, Rachel Haney defends companies in privacy and security litigation on a range of matters, including government investigations and data breach reporting. In her pro bono work, Rachel has gone above and beyond and volunteered for every one of Legal Hope's programs – clearing records, protecting privacy, and Virtual Help. She also helps lead our partnership with Perkins Coie to protect victim privacy in criminal cases.
Thank you, Rachel!
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Welcome to Our New Members of the Board of Directors
Mia Little, Cybersecurity Attorney, Microsoft
Lizzy Hong (Student Ambassador), Student, University of Washington
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Voices – This issue:
Maria Manza, Board Member
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Since joining The WAVE Foundation board in 2019, I have been continually inspired and impressed by the partnerships forged between public, private and community-based organizations to quickly respond to emergent needs. Throughout my career, I have been drawn to interdisciplinary approaches to problem-solving. It’s why I’ve focused my legal career on rethinking how the criminal legal system operates, and it’s why I support The WAVE Foundation.
I see the magic of interdisciplinary approaches every day in my work at the King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office. In my current role as a prosecutorial liaison to the LEAD program (Law Enforcement Assisted Diversion/Let Everyone Advance with Dignity), I sit at (virtual) tables with case managers, law enforcement, mental health professionals and other community partners to support people engaged in criminal activity due to behavioral health, substance use, and/or extreme poverty in reducing the harm they cause to themselves and to the community.
Through this work, I have learned so much about why many people with histories of trauma, often starting in childhood and exacerbated by many systemic failures, end up cycling through the criminal legal system (labeled as both victims and defendants) without ever having the root causes acknowledged or addressed. Incorporating this understanding into the criminal legal system is a paradigm shift.
The WAVE Foundation’s Legal Hope program helps rectify the harm done by criminal convictions stemming from a person’s victimization. While the criminal legal system has come a long way in understanding the impacts of trauma, there is still a long way to go, which is why I’m so excited about The WAVE Foundation partnering with Davis Wright Tremaine on a national bench book to help judges understand why survivors may end up in the criminal legal system as defendants and the impact of criminal convictions on survivors.
By supporting The WAVE Foundation, you will help expand The WAVE Foundation’s reach even further. Your support truly makes a huge difference in supporting survivors and creating a future of nonviolent, healthy relationships and communities.
- Maria Manza, Board Member, The WAVE Foundation
Deputy Prosecuting Attorney, King County Prosecuting Attorney's Office
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