LEMOORE — William Parry has been named as the recipient of the first Lemoore Chamber of Commerce Chairman’s Award. Parry, a lawyer who just wrapped up a six-year term on the chamber’s board of directors, will be honored for his service at the organization’s annual gala Friday night at the Tachi Palace. “I’m really humbled and honored because the award’s coming from people who volunteer a lot and do a lot for their community and give back a lot,” Parry said. “The chamber board, our CEO, Amy Ward, and her staff — all those people work really hard.” The Chairman’s Award is newly added for this year’s gala, joining categories such as Organization of the Year, Citizen of the Year, Business of the Year and Public Safety Individual of the Year, which was implemented three years ago. The idea of an award to honor board members came at Parry’s final board meeting of 2019. “Much to my surprise, one of my fellow board members nominated me,” he said. “They voted me in and it was a really nice surprise.” Parry said that he and his wife, who also serves on the board, were both surprised by the nomination. Parry has also served on the Kings County Fair board of directors for 14 years as well as the United Way board and is currently on the Lemoore High School Foundation board. Parry began daydreaming about a career in law around the eighth grade, he said. Growing up in a house with parents who taught school for a living, liberal arts and language skills were highly valued in his home. “My mom always said I liked to argue,” he joked. “The lawyer thing, for lots of reasons, seemed attractive to me to my skill set.” After graduating from Lemoore High School, Parry went on to graduate magna cum laude from California State University, Fresno, in 1995. He later earned a degree at San Joaquin College of Law before working at various law firms in Visalia and Hanford. Parry established his own law firm, focused solely on criminal defense, about three years ago. “I learned a lot from a lot of good lawyers but I thought, at this stage in my career, it’s a good move for me. It was time for me to open my own practice and take the good lessons and mentoring that I’d received, but also do things the way I wanted to do them,” he said. Parry said that, as King’s County’s only private lawyer that solely takes criminal defense cases, he’s sometimes asked by friends and acquaintances how he can defend alleged criminals. His reply is simple – how can he not? “It boils down to the Constitution. People have rights. When criminal accusations come to a person, it affects them, it affects their kids, and it affects their family and their job. It’s a tremendously scary and stressful time for them. I’m happy to help them navigate through what is probably going to be the toughest time of their life,” he said, adding that he’s helped a lot of good people over the past two decades. Proud of the work he does in the courtroom, Parry is equally proud of the work he’s done with the Lemoore Chamber of Commerce. “I’m really proud of the good relationship we’ve forged with the City of Lemoore. I feel that we have an excellent working relationship with the City and that helps the Chamber and the business community of Lemoore,” he said. “It also helps the city as a whole.” SOURCE- HANFORD SENTINEL

William “Bill” Parry, 44, is a self-made man. The 1991 Lemoore High School graduate was a standout student, a top-notch athlete (basketball), member of the student council, and the school’s pick for the prestigious leadership program Boys’ State. Let’s face it, Parry was no slouch when it came to his school work habits. As a senior he was the school’s Tiger of the Year and served his final two years of high school as the editor of the school newspaper, The Tiger Tribune. The second son of longtime educators Les and Pat Parry went on to a distinguished academic career at Fresno State where he graduated magna cum laude, a Latin term indicating a high level of achievement. He also has an older brother Tom, a vice principal at Carmel High School. The 1995 Fresno State grad, upon graduation, was ready to challenge the world and prepared himself for life and a career. The proud recipient of a bachelor of arts degree in English could have done just about anything. Instead, Parry became an attorney. But don’t hold that against him. All kidding aside, Parry had been thinking about a career in law since he was an over achiever in middle school. “Even back in the eighth grade, I knew I wanted to be a lawyer,” said the personable Parry as he sipped coffee from a Starbucks cup in Hanford. “I’ve always wanted to be a lawyer,” he insisted, “as far back as in eighth grade when I can remember being in Ms. Pike’s social science class at P.W. Engvall, talking about vocations. “In high school and college, at job fairs, I would always gravitate right to the attorneys and ask questions and seek advice.” Since his 1998 graduation from the San Joaquin College of Law where he was a member of the Law Review, the college’s student bar, and a two-time recipient of the Leon S. Peters Leadership Award, Parry passed the difficult California Bar Exam and went to work, initially as an administrative hearing officer for the City of Visalia and the Visalia Police Department. He also worked as a criminal defense attorney for Kapetan Brothers Law Firm, and from 2001-2013 was a litigator in the Hanford law firm of Kahn, Soares & Conway. From 2013 to 2017 he was the managing shareholder of the Hanford office of the Hammerschmidt Broughton Law Corp. Just this past month, after working for others, Parry decided to open his own law office. He is the sole owner and founder of William Parry Law, a criminal defense firm located in Hanford. He opened his office officially on Jan. 5 and plans to focus on criminal law. “I just always had a dream in the back of my mind that I wanted to set up my own law firm under my own name. I’ve worked for and with some excellent attorneys over the years, but it’s always been a dream of mine to hang my own shingle and help out people my way the best that I can.” Why focus on criminal law? “Of all the areas of law, criminal defense clients are the ones who need the most help,” said Parry. “Of course, it’s important to at times to get legal assistance to protect your property or your money, but when your very freedom is at risk and when the stakes are the highest, I’ve always just held the constitution in a very high regard and I’m proud to be a criminal defense lawyer.” The outgoing, friendly lawyer, who has a fondness for the music of Tom Jones – he’s seen him live 10 times and the playlist on his phone consists of the singer’s entire repertoire – isn’t shy about fondness for his community either. He currently serves on the Kings County Fair Board of Directors and since 2005 has been a member of the Lemoore High School Foundation for Educational Excellence board. He was inducted into the Foundation Hall of Fame in 2011. He’s also a member of the Kings County Bar Association and served four consecutive terms as its president. He’s currently the president of the Lemoore Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors and in 2011 was honored by Fresno State as one of the “100 Most Distinguished Alumni” from the school’s Arts and Humanities Department. He also sits on the board of directors for the Fresno State’s Advisory Board. “I would like my clients to think, and hope that they would be able to look back, and say that I did a good job for them,” insisted Parry, “and that I fought hard for them, and that I was a good attorney, respected by my clients and my peers in the legal community. That would be my hope first and foremost. Ultimately you want to be respected and be recognized as someone who did an honest, good day’s work.” Parry, because of his track record, could have ended up elsewhere, in a big law firm in San Francisco or Los Angeles, but instead chose to remain close to his roots. “I was born and raised in Kings County,” he said. “I had many opportunities elsewhere, but I like it here and I wanted my business here.” It’s also a good place to raise his two sons, Evan and Owen. Parry is a big believer in American jurisprudence. “Criminal defendants and criminal defense clients all too often have a stigma attached to them. But after having done this and represented people in this community for 18 years, I know that bad things can happen to good people, and it may sound a bit idealistic but I truly believe that everyone is entitled to a defense under the Constitution.” William “Bill” Parry’s law office is located in Hanford at 802 N. Irwin St. Suite 202. His phone is 559-904-7530 and email address is attorneywilliamparry@gmail.com. Find the complete article here: http://www.mylemooreleader.com/145561