We are so excited to invite you to this year’s Defender Conference! Although COVID-19 has prevented us from coming together in person, our virtual conference promises to provide you the same valuable, timely content and the opportunity to connect with the Defender Community.  

At this year’s Defender Conference, we will explore the Washington Supreme Court’s decision in State v. Blake and other currently trending areas of the law.  Presenters will talk about ways to assist clients whose cases Blake affects and ways public defenders can address other ongoing problems.   

Our featured keynote speaker is David Singleton, Executive Director at Ohio Justice and Policy Center- Beyond Guilt. Founded in 2019, Beyond Guilt is an Ohio network set up to identity people with unfair sentences. Seeking to bring humanity to the courtroom, Beyond Guilt works with clients, communities, and networks across the United States to advocate for both sentencing reforms and resentencing hearings in individual cases. 

Also – to kick off the Defender Conference, we’ll be presenting the annual WDA Defender Conference Awards, with remarks by Larry Jefferson, the new director of Washington State Office of Public Defense, on May 19th at 4:00 PM. Registering for the conference will automatically sign you up for the ceremony. For the list of award winners, click here!

10.25 CLE credits have been approved for this program by the WSBA, including 2.0 Ethics Credits.

For a full schedule, click here!

For presenter biographies, click here.