In 2004, the national Appleseed Foundation approached major law firms in Washington State about founding a local chapter. Perkins Coie LLC acted early to donate office space. Sue Donaldson acted as local incorporator and the founding board of directors accepted control of the nonprofit on June 6, 2005. The new Washington State chapter of the Appleseed Foundation shares the national mission, promoting systemic policy change, using the joint power of citizen advocates and pro bono attorneys.

The Board of Directors is currently comprised of representatives of major law firms, the public sector and lawyer-activists with strong public policy experience. Sue Donaldson serves as executive director. The board is being expanded to increase major law firm representation and to broaden ethnic and occupational diversity. While the scope is state-wide, the start-up effort focuses on Puget Sound (King County). Local objectives and strategies are as follows:

LOCAL OBJECTIVES AND STRATEGIES: Washington State has a history of outstanding efforts to increase legal services to indigent or underrepresented populations and of social policy reform. Washington Appleseed works in ways that are supportive of existing legal service providers, focusing on policy solutions to local social and civic problems. By changing the policy environment, we hope to reduce the need for legal services in some sectors.

Appleseed chapters are also focused on finding new ways for attorneys to participate in pro bono work. The changing nature of legal practice, and the continued move toward more specialization, means that many attorneys continue to have difficulty in finding meaningful pro bono work that meshes with their work schedules. We work with major law firms to find pro bono work that not only adds social value but also meets the needs of today's attorneys. We also hope to raise the profile of law and policy as mechanisms for social justice.