About Michael Pettit
Michael Pettit, Senior Vice President & Chief Growth Officer at Wabash National, was recognized by the Washington State Bar Association with the Professionalism Award at the 2019 APEX Awards. In his acceptance remarks, Pettit thanked his nominators, describing them as "all my dear friends." He also expressed appreciation to the University of Washington legal clinic, stating, "I do want to extend my appreciation to the University of Washington legal clinic for the hopes that I got." Pettit noted that he was receiving the award but said of the clinic, "we were the defendant together and they deserve it too."
Colleagues and associates described Pettit as a tenacious and trustworthy attorney who puts clients first. One speaker recounted a case in which Pettit represented a college-aged DACA recipient facing deportation, and Pettit successfully argued against prosecution by highlighting the client's positive contributions to the community. The speaker noted that Pettit "was able to show us many many particularly good things about his client which our community would be deprived of if his client were to be deported."
Source: AI-verified profile updated from Michael Pettit's recent appearances.
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Transcript (4 segments)
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Narrator0:00
When you think of a small-town country lawyer in a good way, that's Mike Whitman.
County is in a rural part of the state. All the lawyers here know each other. We tell the new lawyers that we see when Mike Pettit says something, take it to the bank. We hold him out as an example of excellent behavior. I've known Mike Pettit for over 40 years. I'd like two people to know how genuine a person he is, how honest and caring and trustworthy, and how he respects the judicial system and the people he works with. He is tenacious. He works hard for his clients. He puts his clients first and he gets the job done.
This was the first client I'd really had who was in jeopardy of being deported. And my client's family was from the Columbia Basin. He is from my great family. He's the first in his family to go to college. His client happened to be on a DACA status. DACA stands for Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals. This was a college-aged young man who had gotten a DUI. We could prove it and we were gonna go forward. Mike was the defense attorney and came to the deputy prosecutor in my office and said, 'Well, you know, there's something special about this case. You shouldn't go forward.' I said to Mike, 'Well, so you're asking for a better-than-average deal just because your client isn't a citizen?' And he said, 'No, no, no.' So Mike went to work. This young man was about to be sent back to a country he didn't know and, more importantly, separated forever from his family. This young man had done a lot. If you were gonna help anybody, this was the kid. I just did the very best I could possibly do. And Mr. Tracy listened. He was able to show us many, many particularly good things about his client, which our community would be deprived of if his client were to be deported. He's back in school. You know, they just hop. Mike Pettit can tell you some of the best places to go in the wilderness of Idaho to catch the biggest trout. Mike likes to doodle. He's probably out doodling right now.
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Michael Pettit2:27
I want to take the opportunity to thank all of the nominators. I just got read a list of everyone and they're all my dear friends and I thank you very much. I do want to extend my appreciation to the University of Washington legal clinic for the hopes that I got. I'm getting this award, but we were the defendant together and they deserve it too.
