Pierce County Superior Court is pleased to announce that Jennifer Andrews and Joseph Evans have been appointed by Governor Jay Inslee to fill the vacancies created with the retirements of Judges Stephanie Arend, Department 12 and Elizabeth Martin, Department 16.
Judge Andrews will take over Department 12 in Superior Court on October 18th. Judge Andrews has made Washington State her home since 2002. After earning a Bachelor of Arts in History from Southern Utah University Andrews earned her Juris Doctorate from the William S. Boyd School of Law at University of Nevada, Las Vegas, awarded with honors She came to Washington as a Goldmark Intern for the Legal Foundation of Washington. She worked at a small civil practice in Bremerton prior to becoming a Deputy Prosecuting Attorney in Kitsap County. In 2012, she established a thriving private practice in Tacoma, and has been a partner in The Narrows Law Group (formerly Andrews & Arbenz, PLLC) since 2014, practicing civil litigation primarily in the area of family law. Andrews has also served as a Commissioner Pro Tem for the Pierce County Superior Court. She has been President of both the Robert J. Bryan American Inn of Court and Pierce County Washington Women Lawyers, and has served as Trustee for the Tacoma Pierce County Bar Association. She is on the Board of Big Brothers Big Sisters of Puget Sound, and enjoys volunteering with Habitat for Humanity. In 2020, Andrews was presented with the Legacy Award by Washington Women Lawyers, honoring her professional achievements and personal commitment to service. Her public swearing-in ceremony will be held at a later date due to COVID restrictions.
Judge Evans will take over Department 16 in early November. He attended Seattle University School of Law and the University of Washington -Tacoma, and is a lifelong resident of Tacoma and Pierce County. For the past 15 years Evans has been a trial lawyer for the Department of Assigned Counsel and has spent the last 3 years as the supervisor of the Juvenile Delinquency Unit. Over the past year he has served as the Program Manager for the Pierce County Executive’s Criminal Justice Reform Work Group, that examined the Pierce County Criminal Justice system and continues to work to identify and address disparities within the legal system. He has also served as a member of the Pierce County Diversity Equity and Inclusion Strategic Oversight Committee.
Evans is a past three term president of the Pierce County Minority Bar Association and has been a participant and organizer of their annual Youth and Law forum. He has also served as a board advisor to the group Lawyers Against Systemic Racism. Judge Evans was awarded the University Washington Tacoma Alumni of the year award in 2016. His public swearing-in ceremony will be held at a later date due to COVID restrictions.
In appointing Judge Andrews and Judge Evans as Superior Court Judges, Governor Jay Inslee had this to say.
“I’m confident that Jennifer and Joe will be fine additions to the Pierce County Superior Court bench,” said Inslee. “They bring diverse professional and personal experiences that will help them navigate the challenges they will soon face as members of the judiciary.”
Please join us in congratulating Judges Andrews and Evans on their appointment to the Pierce County Superior Court bench.
About Pierce County Superior Court:
Pierce County Superior Court is the second largest superior court in the state of Washington and is proud to serve the citizens and visitors of Pierce County. The court is staffed with 23 judges and nine commissioners. There are three sites where court is held: the County City Building at 930 Tacoma Ave S., Tacoma, Remann Hall Juvenile Court at 5501 6th Ave, Tacoma, and Western State Hospital at 9601 Steilacoom Blvd SW, Lakewood. For more information, please visit our website at www.piercecountywa.gov/superiorcourt.
Media Contact:
Chris Gaddis, Superior Court Administrator
[email protected]
253-798-3963