On September 24, 2009, GTH Partner Salvador Mungia was sworn in as the Washington State Bar Association's President for 2009-2010. As President of the WSBA, Sal's hope is for the Bar Association "to give a voice to those in our society who do not have voices, to restore hope to those who have lost hope, and to be a pain in the sides to those who seek to take the voices and hopes away from others."

Sal's parents both immigrated to the United States, his father from Mexico and his mother from Japan. "My parents taught me the value of tenacity and hard work," says Sal. "My mother and father were immigrants with limited formal schooling. They both worked hard; my mother worked in a fabric store and my father was a cook after he retired from the military. They inspired me with the sacrifices they made so that I could attend school."

Sal's legal practice is in trial work with emphasis in medical malpractice and serious personal injury, business, real property and general aviation litigation. He earned a Bachelor of Arts degree (magna cum laude) from Pacific Lutheran University and continued to Georgetown University Law Center, graduating cum laude in 1984. He is recognized for being extremely active within the legal community and with local minority-focused organizations, including the R. Merle Palmer Minority Scholarship Foundation and the Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under the Law. "Knowing what it feels like to come from a powerless segment of society has made me a more compassionate lawyer. For me, being a good lawyer means commitment to pro bono and legal services in addition to a commitment to the justice system."

We congratulate Sal and look forward to a year of exemplary service.