The Washington state legislature recently expanded who may petition for a sealed name change in the state. The expansion now permits individuals seeking a name change for gender identity and expression purposes, emancipated minors, individuals who have received asylum, refugee or special immigrant juvenile status, and individuals who have experienced… Read more

In 2021, the Washington State Supreme Court’s decision known as State v. Blake found the Washington law criminalizing drug possession unconstitutional.  The Blake Refund Bureau is now accepting applications to refund legal financial obligations (LFO) to people whose convictions were affected by the Blake decision.   Before you apply for… Read more

United Way of King County is sponsoring a pair of free workshops to help low-income renters and previously incarcerated people learn how to improve their credit and better understand their finances.     Free IN-PERSON Credit Score Workshop for Low-Income Renters on July 8th from 1PM – 2PM This workshop… Read more

The Washington state legislature has passed a new law intended to help former prisoners re-enter society.  Without affecting restitution to victims, HB 1169 eliminates some mandatory fees that can often be a counter-productive burden for those who are trying to get their lives back on track. You can read the… Read more

The King County Bar Association’s Kinship Care Solutions program provides free legal advice and representation to relatives or significant caregivers trying to set up minor guardianships.  The service is staffed by volunteer attorneys.  Eligibility is income-based and also uses the following criteria:   The length of time the child may… Read more

To help support unlimited and unrestrained access to ebooks and audiobooks, and combat censorship, Seattle Public Library is joining the Brooklyn Public Library in offering free access to its electronic collections for teens and young adults, regardless of where they live.  The offer applies to anyone anywhere in the United… Read more

King County’s Department of Public Defense (DPD) can help!  They can assist sealing both juvenile or even vacating some adult criminal convictions.  You can read about these services HERE. The Dept. of Public Defense actually offers a number of services – you can read all about them HERE. Read more

LIVING WITH CONVICTION is a team of individuals that are committed to helping people struggling with the burden of Legal Financial Obligations (LFOs) and felony drug possession convictions.  They do not provide legal advice, but they can help you vacate your pre-2021 drug possession felonies (allowed by the State Supreme… Read more

If you are in a situation where a protection order of some type is necessary, join Ross Zimmerman from the King County Law Library, Angela Rogness from the Protection Order Advocacy Program, and Susie Harris and Ivan Sandoval from King County Superior Court to learn more about:   the various… Read more

The 2023 Washington Legislature is now in session – and schedule to end on April 23rd. Local non-profit news source Crosscut has created a really helpful website that allows you to track legislative activity by topic of interest.  At a glance, you can the status of a particular piece of… Read more

Washingtonlawhelp.org has published a new guide explaining what the legal document called a Declaration is, how and when it should and should not be used in a case, and special situations related to declarations. In addition, you can learn how declarations work together with motions and orders by reading through… Read more

The King County Family Law Information Center (FLIC) provides assistance with a variety of family law-related processes including divorce, child support, parenting plans and parenting plan modifications.  FLIC is introducing a new service system affecting both the Seattle and Kent courthouses.  It will launch in January 2023.  In preparation for… Read more

The public can access files and documents for cases filed with the Washington Supreme Court and the Washington Courts of Appeal after January 1, 2020 through the Court’s new Appellate Court Public Document Portal.  You will need to know the case number you want to research.  This system does not… Read more

The National Consumer Law Center has published a very useful article describing the twelve most significant changes to the laws and rules governing repaying or canceling student loan debt. You can also access additional digital content from NCLC, including their publication titled Student Loan Law, directly from King County Law… Read more

In May 2022, ACLU of Washington sponsored a pre-Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization discussion about abortion and reproductive rights.  The speakers included Dr. Erin Berry, Washington State Medical Director, Kia Guarino, Executive Director of  Pro-Choice Washington,  Miranda Varags, board member of Northwest Abortion Access Fund, and Leah Rutman, Health… Read more

WashingtonLawHelp.org has a new guide that helps explain the numerous changes made to Washington State’s protection order forms and process in June 2022.  For example, you can now use a single petition to file for a protection order if you have encountered domestic violence, harassment, sexual assault or stalking.  Some… Read more

One of the ways that the King County Bar Association is working to improve the quality of legal representation in the area is by helping deserving legal students with the cost of licensure.  In addition to a limited number of application grants, KCBA is partnering with no less that four… Read more

The spread of technology into so many areas of our lives has opened up new avenues for harassing behavior.  From “cyber-stalking” to “revenge porn,” there are a number of things that we can do to fight back – but where to start?  Here are a few very helpful resources: CYBER… Read more

The Washington Supreme Court is hosting a virtual memorial service in honor of three retired justices who passed away between December 2019 and December 2021. The service honoring Justices Walter T. McGovern, Roselle Pekelis and Mary E. Fairhurst will begin at 9 a.m. on Wednesday, May 11.  Read more details… Read more

The City of Seattle has ended its moratorium on payment-related evictions.  This Seattle Times article provides a good update on the landscape that local renters may now be facing and also mentions a number of related resources. You can read the article HERE.   Read more

Access breaking and in-depth news about the legal topics via Reuters.  You can now access their content without charge – and if you register for free, you can even customize your views based on topics, entities and columnists. Read the full article HERE. Jump right in to Reuters Legal News… Read more

King County Superior Court issued Emergency Order 35 on January 12, 2022, extending the suspension of all in-person criminal trials until February 11, 2022.  The suspension is in response to concerns about the spread of the Omicron Variant of COVID-19 in King County.  Emergency Order 33 regarding all civil trials… Read more

SPL is offering free classes for people who are preparing for their citizenship exam.  The virtual classes are available in Spanish, Vietnamese, Chinese and English languages. For more information and to register, visit Seattle Public Library’s event calendar HERE.   Read more

Very often, lawyers write and post very informative articles to their websites or blogs that provide helpful summaries of legal topics.  Running a general Google search will surely include some of these articles in their results – but they will be included with all of the other materials found across… Read more

If you have a civil case in King County Superior Court and need to ask your assigned judge to do something, this packet may be very helpful.  It has instructions and forms for submitting a motion (the way you ask the court to do something) and a proposed order (the… Read more

Thanks to the folks at WDET 101.9 FM, Detroit’s NPR station, you can learn more about the US Constitution and Bill of Rights through the WDET Book Club.  Whether you prefer books, films or podcasts, WDET has assembled a great list of resources to help you better understand the documents… Read more

Unpaid traffic fines will no longer be used as grounds for suspending a person’s driver’s license.  Not only that, but licenses that are already suspended – due to fines or a failure to appear for a noncriminal moving violation – will be reinstated.  This moratorium stems from a recent Thurston… Read more

If your household qualifies, the Emergency Broadband Benefit will provide a discount of up to $50 per month towards broadband service.  Qualified households on tribal lands will receive up to $75 per month.  Your household can also receive a one-time discount of up to $100 towards the purchase of a… Read more

Low income residents of King County who are behind on their rent can now apply for a new assistance program.  Recipients will be selected in a weekly lottery-style drawing and can can receive up to 12 months of total rent – including up to three months of future rent.  To… Read more

Having legal representation can make all the difference in the world – from keeping someone in their home, to securing proper citizenship status, to protecting people against consumer fraud.  This week, the White House announced that it was reinvigorating federal efforts to provide that critical aid – including a request… Read more

There is an effort to protect family cohesion when they face allegations of neglect or abuse.  The effort includes legislation in Olympia (HB 1227) and seeks to emphasize alternatives to placing children into foster care, where appropriate. You can read the full story HERE. Read more

The Seattle City Council voted unanimously to guarantee legal representation for people who are facing eviction and and cannot afford their own lawyers.  A recent amendment to the measure simply requires that one sign a statement that they cannot afford their own counsel. You can read the entire story HERE. Read more

KCLL subscribers have remote access to a growing list of important treatises – and that includes Corbin on Contracts.  Corbin’s publisher LexisNexis is putting on a free 90-minute webinar that will look at the topic of Force Majeure in age of COVID-19.  Covered topics will include rights of recovery, how… Read more

As we reflect upon and honor the many contributions that have made us a richer nation and region, here are a few suggestions to help celebrate this important month: AfricanAmericanHistoryMonth.gov Black History Month: Legacy Washington Profiles Black History Month at the New York Public Library King County Library System’s Black… Read more

The Seattle Public Library is kicking of a series of events to designed to educate, inspire, and celebrate Black-owned businesses.  The first event for this year is scheduled for February 2nd. For more information and to register, click HERE. Read more

The King County Law Library is proud to announce that we are making the NOLO Press database of DIY (do-it-yourself) legal materials available for free to all King County Residents. The books contain helpful guidance and sample forms on a number of very popular topics.  Titles include “Credit Repair,” “Neighbor… Read more

In response to COVID-19, governments and agencies at various levels have instituted protections for both residents and small businesses.  Things such as eviction moratoria rental assistance programs continue to be extended and modified, but it’s sometimes hard to keep track of them all.  Local attorneys have created a helpful guide… Read more

Significant changes were made to our State’s nonparental custody laws in 2020.  The new laws were set to take effect after December 31, 2020 but the King County Superior Court Clerk’s office has recently learned that the implementation of these new laws has been postponed.  For more details about how… Read more

There is a wealth of legal and scholarly information in HeinOnline – one of the resources you can access from the Remote Databases page of our website.  It’s chock full of law review journals, historical documents, 50-state surveys, and much more. Have you never used it?  Now is your chance… Read more

A recent order from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) prohibits evictions due to an inability to pay – under certain circumstances.  The Suffolk University Law School has created an interactive questionnaire to help people decide whether they qualify under the federal guidelines.  It also generates a declaration… Read more

Washington State’s 24th Annual Biz Fair is going virtual.  Current and aspiring small business owners in Washington State are encouraged to attend this all-day online event to learn about all aspects of small business management, including human resources best practices, packaging and pricing services, selling online and the basics of… Read more

The Washington Small Business Development Center (SBDC) is a network of business development experts working in communities across Washington State to help entrepreneurs or small business owners start, grow or buy/sell a business. SBDC offers a variety of free e-Learning business development webinars covering such topics as business planning, financial… Read more

The Washington State Department of Children, Youth and Families is looking for help in identifying youth who will age out of or have aged out of Extended Foster Care at age 21, between March 1, 2020 and Dec. 31, 2020. The Department of Commerce: Office of Homeless Youth is seeking… Read more

Beginning Monday, Oct. 5, anyone seeking a civil protection order will need to use the King County Superior Court Clerk’s new Virtual Civil Protection Order Office.  They will be able to submit their protection order petitions, have them reviewed by the Clerk via live conversation and receive real-time customer service. … Read more

Without public debate or a formal hearing on the topic, the Washington State Supreme Court decided last month to end the Limited Licence Legal Technician (LLLT) program.  The June letter ends a program that broadened access to legal representation and served as a model for other states across the nation.   Please… Read more

With help from two partners, the City of Seattle Office of Immigration and Refugee Affairs has complied a spreadsheet that can help you determine what benefits a person is eligible for based on their immigration status.   The spreadsheet no substitute for legal advice, but is rather intended as a… Read more