HARRISBURG (March 16, 2006) - The Pennsylvania Bar Association Children's Rights Committee will present its 2009 Child Advocate of the Year Award to lawyer Barbara Lee Krier, senior assistant public defender in the Office of the York County Public Defender.

The award will be presented on April 3 during the committee's spring seminar, "Current Issues for Child Advocates 2009," which will be held in Mechanicsburg.

The Child Advocate of the Year Award was established to recognize the accomplishments of lawyers and judges who are advocates for children within the commonwealth or who are involved with child advocacy.

Krier represents juvenile offenders in trial court proceedings. She was instrumental in starting alternative treatment courts for York County juveniles, including the drug court and mental health treatment court.

According to the award nominations, "Attorney Krier is a zealous advocate for all of her clients. She has consistently made sure that the proper procedures are followed and that the treatment needs of her clients are adequately met." In addition, Krier's work is "marked by a level of knowledge and determination that is greatly admired and respected by all involved in the Juvenile Court System in York County, including the judges and juvenile probation officers."

Active in the community, Krier currently serves on the board of directors for the School District of the City of York.

Krier is a graduate of Elizabethtown College and the Claude W. Pettit College of Law at Ohio Northern University.

The child advocate's seminar, which offers lawyers up to six continuing legal education credits (five substantive law and one ethics), includes sessions on laws and directives for educating dependent children, updates on case law and perspectives from the judiciary. The morning keynote speaker is Chuck Williams, PhD., co-host of the Grimaldi & Williams Show on WPHT 1210-AM, The Big Talker, Philadelphia, and assistant clinical professor and director of the Center for the Prevention of School-aged Violence at Goodwin College School of Education, Drexel University.

Additional information about the seminar is available by calling the Pennsylvania Bar Institute at 800-247-4724 and at this Web site address: http://www.pbi.org.

Founded in 1895, the Pennsylvania Bar Association strives to promote justice, professional excellence and respect for the law; improve public understanding of the legal system; facilitate access to legal services; and serve the 29,000 lawyers who are members of the association.