Lewis County Sirens.com

By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

CHEHALIS – The Washington State Bar Association has posthumously honored Chehalis attorney James A. Vander Stoep with its 2014 Lifetime Service Award, in recognition of his 53-year career of service to the legal community.

Vander Stoep’s highest priorities were reflected by his ongoing dedicated service to family, his profession and his community, WSBA Governor Brian J. Kelly said in a prepared statement shared with the news media yesterday.

“Jim’s accomplishments to our profession were made as a small-town lawyer.” Kelly stated. “His time was a valued commodity, but he unselfishly shared it with us. Jim exemplified service above self through his life.”

The award was presented to his wife Suzi Vander Stoep at the group’s annual awards dinner on Thursday night at the Seattle Sheraton Hotel.

Vander Stoep began practicing law in Chehalis in 1950, when only one judge worked in the county courthouse on Main Street in Chehalis, and fewer than 20 lawyers practiced in the Twin Cities. He retired in 2003 from the firm Vander Stoep, Remund, Kelly & Blinks.

During a career that spanned five decades, he also chaired the committee to bring a public swimming pool to Chehalis and co- founded the Chehalis Little League.

According to the WSBA, Vander Stoep was a former WSBA president and Board of Governors member, a former Lewis County Bar Association president, a life member of the Fellows of the American Bar Foundation, and a member and former state chair of the American College of Trial Lawyers.

His longtime law partner Rene Remund offered formal praise as well.

“Jim was a person who was fierce in the courtroom and courteous outside it,” Remund stated. “His practice of law was based on competence civility, and honesty. He was a credit to his profession and a contributor to his community.”

The WSBA is authorized by the Washington Supreme Court to license the state’s lawyers and other legal professionals, regulating them under the court and acting as a professional association for its members.

Tags: By Sharyn L. Decker, news reporter

This entry was posted on Saturday, September 20th, 2014 at 2:41 pm and is filed under News briefs. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.