Connect Events Give Back Membership About Alumni Events Section Menu 2012 DAMA Recipient - Richard (Dick) Sayre return Richard (Dick) Sayre 1979, J.D. Principal/Attorney, Sayre & Sayre Attorneys at Law, P.S. The Person Dick Sayre, it seems, can trace his interest in law all the way back to his childhood. His father was an attorney and, during his formative years, Dick enjoyed many lunches with his father at a Seattle diner popular with lawyers. “I had a background in law,” Dick said. “Over time, I gravitated to where I could best utilize my skills.” It didn’t take Dick long to discover his strengths. His mother instilled in him from an early age the importance and power of words. Dick takes particularly pleasure in recalling a memory from 7th grade, when he impressed his teacher by displaying the depth of his vocabulary. “I used the word empathy in a paper one time and the teacher thought there was no way I could know the meaning of this word,” Dick said. “So he called me up in front of the class to recite the definition of the word. Basically, he was doing it to embarrass me. But bad news for him — I knew.” After earning his undergraduate degree from the University of Washington in 1976, Dick considered law schools. He looked at UW and the University of Puget Sound, but “they were nothing special,” he said. “I came to Gonzaga and liked it. It was an aesthetic choice; it was a better fit.” Dick graduated from the Gonzaga School of Law in 1979, the same year he married his wife and became an instant father to two girls. He worked for Spokane County at a mid-sized firm before establishing his own firm with Karen in 1992. The Purpose During the 20 years he and Karen have owned their own practice, Dick estimates they have probably helped well over 10,000 clients. “Law was something that I was always attracted to,” Dick said, “because those people were changing the world.” Much like his wife, Dick has also been repeatedly designated a “Super Lawyer” by the publication Washington and Law Politics and is often recognized as one of the best lawyers in the area by Spokane Magazine. He was also named the 2005 Member of the Year by the Washington Chapter of the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys. In addition to teaching a skills lab at Gonzaga, Dick and Karen have even taught in the ever-popular Gonzaga-in-Florence study abroad program. The couple spent five weeks in Italy during the summer of 2009 teaching International Comparative Elder Law. “Working together has worked for us,” Dick said. “The biggest problem is getting away from work.” In order to keep their sanity, the couple rides motorcycles, camps and regularly takes their sailboat out on Lake Coeur d’Alene. The Passion When referring to the perceived lack of ethics in his profession, Dick often refers to something one of his Gonzaga professors once said. “There are no shyster lawyers. There are shyster people and some are lawyers. Either you have morality built into you or you don’t. We can’t change that.” His high standards, no doubt, make Dick an exceptional lawyer. But perhaps that’s also why he was so drawn to Gonzaga for law school. “It’s the Jesuit education,” he said. “They require students to think on a moral level. They want them to think about making the right choices. “Without Gonzaga, I wouldn’t be able to do what I do,” he added. “I wouldn’t be what I am today but for Gonzaga University.”