WA: changing of the guard

The latest public defender want ads posted by the Washington Defender Association show job openings for the chief position at both the Pierce County Department ofAssigned Counsel and the Whatcom County Public Defender.

Both Jon Ostlund of Bellingham and Jack Hill of Tacoma will be honored at this weekend's WDA 2006 Defender Conference in Ocean Shores.

A blurb for each:

Mr. Hill serves as the Director of the Pierce County Department of Assigned Counsel (DAC) located in Tacoma, Washington. He is a graduate of Willamette University School of Law. He has directed DAC since 1982. He has received Tacoma-Pierce County Bar Association's Liberty Bell Award for protecting the best interests of our children, and the Local Hero Award by the Washington State Bar Association in 2001.

Mr. Ostlund is a 1974 graduate of the Gonzaga University School of Law, and has practiced in Bellingham since then. For the last 19 years, he has been the Whatcom County public defender. In addition to the WSBA board, Mr. Ostlund is a board member for the Washington Defenders Association and the Washington Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers. He served two terms on the Washington State Sentencing Guidelines Commission and has been actively involved in legislative matters on behalf of criminal defense lawyers.

When I was looking for p.d. work on the west side of the Cascades, Jack Hill gave me an hour of his hard-pressed time when there wasn't even an opening in Tacoma, along with some very helpful advice and contacts. Never turn down an informational interview; it can lead somewhere, even years later.