This Year's Award Winners

2026 WACDL Award Recipients

Joy Abrams – Anthony Savage Award

"Born and raised in Spokane, Washington, I discovered my passion for law at the young age of thirteen after my father pulled me out of school to watch a trial where my brother was serving as a juror. In pursuit of my goals, I graduated from the University of Washington in 2007 with a Bachelors in English with a literature emphasis and received my Juris Doctorate from California Western School of Law in 2012. Originally, I went to law school to (mistakenly) pursue a career as a prosecutor. My views on criminal justice were completely changed when I had the opportunity to intern at La Defensoria in Santiago, Chile where I also was taught by Justin Brooks (director of the California Innocence Project). I became a licensed attorney in 2016 and started working at the Spokane County Public Defender’s Office in December 2018. Throughout these years, I have had the opportunity to grow, learn and become even more passionate about effective criminal defense. I have completed twenty-one trials thus far in my career and am pleased to say that only seven of those trials resulted in complete convictions for my clients. My last trial was a third strike Second Degree Assault—Deadly Weapon where my client chose a bench trial rather than a jury trial. I was beyond thrilled when he was acquitted. Prior to that, I tried a child abuse case where my client was charged with three counts of Second-Degree Assault of a child and Fourth Degree Assault. He was acquitted of three out of the four charges, and we successfully argued for a mental health sentencing alternative over the state’s objection. In June of last year, I secured an acquittal for my client who was accused of Second-Degree Assault for striking a pedestrian with her vehicle. During that trial I successfully excluded the State’s toxicologist expert, thus leading to the dismissal of my client’s DUI charge at half-time. I am honored to receive this award and hope to continue successfully fighting for indigent individuals who are the most disadvantaged among us to ensure their Constitutional Rights are honored and protected."

The Anthony Savage Award recognizes an outstanding trial performance or result achieved by an attorney in practice less than ten years. The recipient also becomes the caretaker for Tony Savage’s briefcase, up to the time the next Savage Award is given. Only one Savage Award may be given each year.

Larry Jefferson – Champion of Justice Award

Larry Jefferson was appointed in April of 2021 by the Washington Supreme Court to become the new Director of Public Defense for the State of Washington. He has worked as a public defender in King and Thurston County’s since 1996, and is a graduate of The Evergreen State College and Seattle University’s School of Law. Larry currently serves as President of the NAACP for Thurston County and councilmember with the Washington State Re-Entry Council. He is past President of the Washington Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers and the Thurston County Bar Association, as well as a former board member with the Campaign for Equal Justice. In 2023 he was named the Loren Miller Bar Association’s recipient of the Excellence in Law Award, in 2022 he was named Luminary of Year by the Seattle Clemency Project, and in 2020 he received the Daniel Bigelow award from the Thurston County Bar Association and was named Attorney of the year. Larry is a devoted husband, father of two wonderful adult children, and a self-proclaimed mama's boy. He enjoys spending time transforming harm into justice, standing by his barbecue, and cheering for the Seahawks.

The Champion of Justice Award recognizes an individual who — through legislative, judicial, journalistic or humanitarian pursuits — defended constitutional rights and endeavored to ensure justice and due process for those accused of crime. One Champion of Justice Award may be presented each year.

Geoffrey Burg – President’s Award

Geoffrey Burg is a highly regarded criminal defense attorney based in Seattle, Washington, with over 30 years of experience defending individuals in complex criminal and DUI cases. A graduate of Gerry Spence’s Trial Lawyers College, Geoff has earned a reputation as a fierce advocate both in the courtroom and the state legislature. He has spent over two decades lobbying for the rights of the accused, successfully drafting and fighting for numerous bills that have been enacted into Washington state law. A frequent lecturer at continuing legal education seminars, Geoff is a former board member of the Washington Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers (WACDL) and a founding member of the Northwest Academy of DUI Defense. He currently serves on the Board of Directors for the Washington Foundation for Criminal Justice and co-chairs the Judicial Evaluation Committee for the Cardozo Society.

Bob Butler – President's Award

Bob Butler is a 1992 graduate from University of Puget Sound Law School (now Seattle University School of Law) and a 1984 graduate from the University of Portland’s Secondary Education bachelor’s degree program. Bob taught elementary school for several years before going to law school and has been in private practice in Bellingham since 1992. Bob was WACDL’s President from 2019-2020 (WACDL forever!) and served on the NACDL board from 2018 – 2021.

Lisa Mulligan – President's Award

Lisa Mulligan began her legal career by interning for the Legal Aid Society (Prisoners’ Rights Project), the Innocence Project, the Gay and Lesbian Anti-Violence Project, and the New York Capital Defenders Office. After graduating from New York University School of Law, Lisa was awarded a fellowship position with a law office in South Carolina that provides legal representation to prisoners on death row. Upon completing that fellowship, Lisa began working as a public defender for SCRAP. In 2011, she opened her own law firm where she handles mostly serious violent offenses in State court. In her free time, she enjoys coaching the mock trial team at Chief Sealth High School.

President's Awards are given to recognize distinguished service to the highest traditions of the criminal defense bar. This award may be given to recognize achievement in a particular case or series of related cases, or long-time service to the criminal defense bar. Up to three President’s Awards may be given each year.

David S. Marshall – William O. Douglas Award

David Marshall is the founder of Marshall & Saunders in Seattle. Since 1997, he has focused his practice on defense of persons accused of sex crimes, child abuse, and domestic violence—criminal defense in Washington, and defense of civil claims for compensation in Washington and California. As part of his practice, David studies developments in psychology and medicine that relate to sex crime and child abuse allegations. David grew up in the Deep South during the civil rights movement of the 1950’s and ‘60’s. His early experiences heightened his sensitivity to injustice and strengthened his desire to fight it. As a volunteer, he worked with missionaries in El Salvador during that country’s civil war in the 1980’s. In his pro bono publico work, David represented prisoners at Guantanamo Bay for eight years. He is now working with the Detention Bridge project of Lawyers for Good Government. David is a graduate of Cornell University, UC Berkeley School of Law, and the Trial Lawyers College. David and his wife have two sons. He loves to ski and to cycle, and to study foreign languages in the countries in which they are spoken.

The William O. Douglas Award is WACDL’s most esteemed award, and is normally given to recognize a pattern of extraordinary achievement, courage, and dedication in the practice of criminal law. Normally, only one Douglas Award is presented.

Certificates of Appreciation

Each year, WACDL’s President selects recipients for Certificates of Appreciation in recognition of their outstanding contributions and dedicated service to the organization. These awards honor individuals who have gone above and beyond to support WACDL’s mission—whether through leadership, advocacy, education, or tireless behind-the-scenes efforts.

This year’s recipients include:

JJ Hodgins - For his support during the 2026 legislative session as our Legislative Intern.
Nate Poston - For his outstanding work on the Trial Skills Academy and his leadership on the Public Disclosure Task Force.
Emma Scanlan - For her work and leadership co-chairing the Executive Director hiring committee.
Anna Tolin - For her work and leadership co-chairing the Executive Director hiring committee.
Elaine Whaley - For her outstanding work on the Trial Skills Academy