In honor of Ret. Supreme Court Justice Tom Chambers, we thought it important to open a space to recognize a man that dedicated his life to bettering the lives of those around him. This space is a place to remember Tom Chambers, to reflect upon the man that has given so much to our profession, and to share your memories, thoughts and thanks.
On behalf of the WSBA, I thank Tom Chambers for his leadership of our Bar as a tireless president and champion for justice.
As a young lawyer I sat in the outer circle at the Board of Governors’ meetings while Tom led. His leadership style was pragmatic. He always made me want to join in and help realize his vision. And, I was not alone because he always seemed to get the job done, regardless of the size of the task. He was funny, unbelievably kind and always a teacher. He led the Bar by example and led a life that set the bar high. He was an adventurer, a thrill seeker, a man of the people and a man for the people. He was a student of law, a voice for the voiceless, and an accomplished trial lawyer. All of these traits made him the type of Justice whose decisions made not just law, but history, and set a tone for justice that was unmistakably his. I will miss his mentorship and guidance. I will miss his voice in our Bar, from the bench, and in our society. I will miss the man who always made time to give more, and I will miss seeing the constant reminders he created that have inspired me and so many others to continue the march towards a more just society. Thank you Ret. Supreme Court Justice Tom Chambers for all you have done and for all you have done it for.
Please join me in remembering Tom Chambers. Let this blog serve his legacy and may it give all of us a place to go to grieve, to smile, to remember and to see him in the eyes of those around us.
Memorial Services
Information about memorial services, as well as more information about Ret. Supreme Court Justice Tom Chambers’ life, can be found on his website: http://tomchambers.com/.
Patrick Palace. Patrick opened Palace Law Offices in 1995, a firm that emphasizes workers’ compensation, civil rights, and personal injury matters. Palace is President of the WSBA Board of Governors.
Palace served on the WSBA Board of Governors for the Sixth District from 2008–2011. He was also the WSBA treasurer from 2010–2011. Prior to serving as WSBA governor, he was president of the WSBA Young Lawyers Division (1999–2000) and served on the Public Legal Education Workgroup Task Force and the WSBA President’s Advisory Committee, which was created to promote judicial independence.
He received his bachelor’s degree from the University of Washington in International Business and his law degree from Loyola University of Chicago School of Law.
