Judge Robert E. Lawrence-Berrey, Jr.

DIVISION III, POSITION 5

March 1, 2014–Present

Appointed by Governor Inslee

I was appointed to Division III of the Court of Appeals on March 1, 2014, following the retirement of Judge Teresa Kulik. Prior to my appointment, I served as a superior court judge in Yakima County for three years.

Before becoming a judge, I was a lawyer for 20 years. I first worked in Yakima with Halverson & Applegate, P.S. Within a year, I transferred to Selah to work with Peters, Fowler & Inslee. I was very fortunate to work with Doug Peters. His sense of justice — helping good people with difficult but worthwhile cases — rubbed off on me, and forever impacted my choice of the people and causes I represented. Every young attorney should be as fortunate to have such a mentor. I eventually returned to Yakima, and worked with Mike Finney, Joe Falk, and (now Judge) Kevin Naught.

As a young lawyer, I sat down with Steve Brown, a newly elected judge with Division III. I told Judge Brown that I wanted to be an appellate judge someday, and asked for his advice. He emphasized the importance of community involvement, both with the bar association, and with the broader community. Partly because of Judge Brown’s advice, but mostly because I wanted to, I served on several bar association and community boards and committees. I would encourage all attorneys to become involved with their bar associations and communities, regardless of their career goals. Judge Brown and I worked together on Division III for two years before his retirement.

My wife and I have three children and three grandchildren. We are fortunate that our grandchildren live next door to us, and we see them almost every day. My hobbies are bike riding, golf, and travel.