Washington Courts: Press Release Detail

Washington Supreme Court Appoints Sara Robbins to Lead Office of Civil Legal Aid

The Washington Supreme Court has appointed attorney Sara Robbins to lead the state Office of Civil Legal Aid following the retirement of longtime director Jim Bamberger at the end of the year.

Robbins’ appointment is effective January 2, 2024. 

The Office of Civil Legal Aid (OCLA) oversees publicly-funded legal aid for low-income Washington residents with civil legal problems such as eviction and foreclosure, healthcare or health coverage disputes, domestic violence and civil matters arising from crime victimization, discrimination, representation of children in child welfare cases, cases involving access to essential services and benefits, and more. Depending on the program, OCLA contracts with non-profit legal aid programs, private attorneys, and law firms across the state to underwrite essential civil legal aid services. 

Committed to transparency and accountability, OCLA actively monitors contractor performance with the goal of ensuring meaningful results for members of communities most at risk and least able to access intended services. In addition to the core general civil legal aid program, OCLA operates two legislatively directed programs for court-appointed counsel – (a) a program to represent children and youth in dependency and parental rights termination cases, and (b) the nation’s only program for appointed counsel for indigent tenants in eviction cases.

“The Office of Civil Legal Aid does vitally important work for the people of Washington, and has significantly expanded that work under the dedicated leadership of Jim Bamberger,” said Chief Justice Steven González. “The justices of the Washington Supreme Court are very happy to appoint Sara Robbins. She brings passion, expertise and experience to advocate for the continued provision and expansion of important legal services. We know her leadership capabilities will benefit OCLA, the people it serves and our legal system.”

Robbins is a 2007 graduate of the Seattle University School of Law and has served as a Benefits Attorney at Solid Ground’s, Benefits Legal Assistance, a contract manager for the Washington COVID-19 Immigrant Relief Fund at the Legal Foundation of Washington, contract and programs manager for the Scholar Fund, and senior policy and operations manager for the Seattle King County Coalition on Homelessness where she also served as a longtime board member and secretary. 

“Much of my career has been providing representation of clients regarding public benefits and working to address systemic barriers that low-income clients face,” Robbins said. “Then I made a transition to working in contract management, compliance, monitoring, and publicly funded contracts.” 

Robbins said that she has focused her career on managing limited resources to ensure those who are least able to access services receive priority and help. 

“I am thrilled and honored to be the next Director of OCLA,” Robbins said. “Civil legal aid is a critical part of our justice and safety net system and I am looking forward to working with the team at OCLA to continue the amazing work that is currently being done.” 

Under Bamberger, who has led OCLA for 18 years, the agency conducted two in-depth studies of civil legal gaps and needs in Washington, and with support from the state Legislature expanded to add legal offices across the state, add the successful children’s representation program that has significantly improved outcomes for children and youth in the child welfare system, and has added a first-in-the nation eviction defense program. 

“Access to legal assistance in life-changing civil cases is a critical part of administering equal justice for Washington residents,” González said. “Jim Bamberger has worked with commitment and dedication to build that access using research, innovation and collaboration. We are very grateful for his work and the healthy civil legal aid system that he leaves us as he moves into retirement.” 

“The OCLA team looks forward to Sara’s leadership and support for the critically important work of the agency,” said founding OCLA Director, Jim Bamberger.  “Her knowledge and experience as well as her deep commitment to equity and justice for those at greatest risks of harm and who experience the greatest barriers to accessing necessary assistance will ensure continued trust, bipartisan support, and confidence of key interest holders in the coming years.”   

The Washington State Office of Civil Legal Aid was established in 2005 (RCW 2.53.005) by state lawmakers as an independent judicial branch agency to oversee state funds appropriated by the Legislature to provide civil — not criminal — legal aid services to low income people in Washington State. RCW 2.53.005 found that “The provision of civil legal aid services to indigent persons is an important component of the state’s responsibility to provide for the proper and effective administration of civil and criminal justice.”

CONTACT: Lorrie Thompson, Senior Communications Officer, Administrative Office of the Courts,Lorrie.Thompson@courts.wa.gov.