On a brilliantly sunny May 1 in Olympia, lawyers, judges, legislators, and educators gathered to talk to the next generation of young leaders about the importance of the rule of law.
In the cavernous and more than century-old Washington Supreme Court Temple of Justice, WSBA President Frances Adewale spoke to the visiting students from the 79th class of the YMCA Youth Legislature.
“This is a moment for you, as young people, to look upon the opportunity that this country offers, to help us build it, to ensure that that promise of our founding fathers is not lost,” Adewale said.
The event was held in commemoration of Law Day, and to launch a statewide campaign for legal professionals to pledge to connect with and visit a Washington classroom to teach experiential civics lessons on or around Constitution Day, Sept. 17.
Washington Supreme Court Chief Justice Debra L. Stephens led legal professionals in attendance in the pledge that day. The pledge states:
I, as a legal professional in Washington state, reaffirm the responsibilities I assumed upon admission to the bar, not only to my clients in the courts, but as a public citizen with a special obligation to the quality of justice in my community. In the spirit of my oath and the rules of professional conduct and to help bridge the gap between the law and the people it exists to protect. I further pledge to connect with and visit a Washington K–12 classroom on or around Constitution Day, Sept 17, 2026, to engage with students about our constitutional values.
This pledge comes one year after the WSBA launched the Rule of Law Ambassador program last Law Day, in which nearly 2,000 legal professionals recommitted to their oaths at courthouses, law schools, and tribal lands throughout Washington.
“Last year in this room, we were filled to standing room only with lawyers who retook their oath pledging their commitment to the rule of law and our democracy, and today we’re going to take a pledge to recommit to that civic engagement …,” Stephens said. “We have to acknowledge, we have to pledge to keep moving forward. But the promise of the Constitution, and on this 250th anniversary of our Declaration of Independence, is that we together can move it forward, And so, looking at the students, … you’re not just the future, you’re the present.”
One of the legal professionals in the audience was Rania Elbasiony, judicial clerk for Washington Supreme Court Justice Theodore Angelis. Elbasiony said she came to take the pledge because she saw it as an opportunity to connect with her community and to bring her knowledge of the law to help engage future generations.
“Oftentimes, the moment you can make the most impact on people is when they are younger,” Elbasiony said. “… I want, if a student sees me, to be like, ‘Oh, she’s an attorney? I can be one, too!’”
Speaking to the students, Thurston County Bar Association President Marie Docter posed the question to them: Why does the depiction of Lady Justice hold a sword as well as the iconic scales?
“If somebody’s holding a sword and you’re standing in front of them, you probably feel a little threatened. But if somebody’s holding a sword and you’re standing behind them, don’t you feel protected?” Doctor said. “So that tells you that the law has two sides—it both protects you and punishes you depending on which side of the law you are on. And what we need to do as lawyers is to help you find your voice. [To] help you speak out, because you guys have innovation and you have inspiration and you have new ideas and thoughts that we may not have had.”
Hundreds of your colleagues across Washington have already taken the pledge and the list is growing. What you bring—your story, your career, your presence is exactly what a student in your community needs to see. For many of them, you may be he first legal professional they’ve ever met. The Lawyers in the Classroom Program provides everything you need to make that first connection and show up prepared. Sept. 17 is the goal, but the truth is: any day a legal professional walks into a classroom is Constitution Day.
