The FBA-WDWA's Annual Dinner, traditionally held in early December at Seattle's Fairmont Olympic Hotel, is one of the premier annual social and networking events for federal judges and practitioners in the Western District of Washington. The Dinner is preceded by a cocktail hour during which new and old friends gather, mingle and chat. The Dinner features dynamic speakers and moving tributes to judges and practitioners who have contributed significantly to the legal community and the administration of justice in this District. Honorees at several past Dinners have included former FBA-WDWA Presidents Valerie L. Hughes, J. Todd Tracy and Steve Koh; former Chief Judge of the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals Mary M. Schroeder; former Chief Judge of the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington John C. Coughenour; Judges Franklin D. Burgess, Monica J. Benton, J. Kelley Arnold and Philip H. Brandt; and Clerk of Court Bruce Rifkin. Speakers have included Judge Michael W. McConnell of the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals; Lt. Commander Charles D. Swift (who served as defense counsel for Salim Ahmed Hamdan); and John L. McKay, the former U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Washington; Linda Greenhouse, Knight Journalist-in-Residence and Joseph M. Goldstein Senior Fellow in Law, Yale Law School; and Jenny A. Durkan, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Washington.

Preceding each Dinner is the FBA-WDWA's Annual Federal Practice CLE. These CLE programs have featured distinguished panels of federal judges, practitioners, and legal experts from around the country.