Michelle Luna is the Chief of the Civil Division of the Pierce County Prosecutor’s Office. Her department handles a variety of work including giving advice on everything from elections to law enforcement. Michelle grew up in Sumner where her interest in the legal profession first began through a high school course on “you and the law,” where she was able to be a lawyer in a mock trial competition. (Years later she even went back to teach this course at her former high school!) This experience had a lasting impact on her, which eventually led her to law school.

In addition to her local work at the TPCBA —Michelle is also a WSBA Rule of Law Ambassador and was very excited to get involved with the WSBA’s Speak Up for Justice, Washington programming. Earlier this year she served as a host for a Speak Up event in Tacoma at the University of Washington campus.

In this episode Michelle discusses her career, personal and professional background, the importance of communication around the rule of law, current and future potential leadership roles, and more!

Judge Gipe’s path to the bench first began with a career as an intelligence analyst and interpreter with the U.S. Navy. He then moved to Seattle where he pursued a master’s degree in painting, and worked in activism towards LGBTQ+ equality, and then got his J.D. from the University of Washington School of Law.

Judge Gipe has a tenured legal career of service, including serving as WSBA President in 2014-2015. During his time, Judge Gipe did something special for his Bar News columns. He only wrote his first and last column and used his other columns to invite affinity bar organizations to share their perspectives and use this platform to discuss the future of the legal profession. His Board service has been impactful in shaping the WSBA and the future of the legal profession here in Washington state. 

In this episode Judge Gipe discusses his career, what led him to where he is today, the importance of the rule of law, personal anecdotes, and more!

Judge Smith had an unconventional path to the bench, with a 16-year career in medicine, as a physician associate. In 2001, he made the decision to pivot to law and graduated from Gonzaga University School of Law in 2004.

Judge Smith was elected to the Spokane County District Court bench in 2016 and elected to full terms in 2018 and 2022. The court is comprised of eight judges and roughly 80 employees, handling between 40,000 and 50,000 cases annually. Judge Smith currently serves as presiding judge and also oversees the Mental Health Court and DUI Therapeutic Court dockets.

In this episode Judge Smith discusses his career, how working in medicine and the law can be surprisingly similar, the importance of listening with empathy, and some personal anecdotes, including advice for new lawyers, and more. 

Since graduating law school in 2021 from Gonzaga University School of Law, Alex has an incredibly impactful career working at the Northwest Justice Project as a Staff Attorney for the past five years, with his first three spent in Spokane, and now Vancouver, WA.

In this episode Alex discusses his passion for his work assisting the communities of Southwest Washington, his involvement as Chair of the WNMC, his background that led him into the practice of law, and more!

Alex’s grandfather instilled a passion for giving back to his community and would say to him:

“If you have skills that can benefit the community, and you can find work and have a passion for it, then you have a duty to use those skills to do the work, and help out the community.”

Erin has a distinguished career previously working at the Washington Supreme Court and as an adjunct professor at Seattle University School of Law. Erin discusses her time working at the Washington Supreme Court for 13 years, the path that led her to law school, importance of community, what inspires her, and more. 

Erin is also the 2025 APEX Award recipient for the Norm Maleng Leadership Award, one of the WSBA’s highest honors!