It’s almost spring and my Mariners tickets should be here any day. In the meantime, I really wish there was a fireplace in my office because being cold is getting old. There are days when crawling under my desk with a space heater seems like a good idea. It’s too dark to work down there though, so I just bundle up and persevere.
New Firm Owners
Angela Belbeck and Doug Yoshida have been promoted to member status at my absolute favorite law firm, Ogden Murphy Wallace, PLLC. Belbeck, who came to the firm as an associate in 2004, was formerly with the Snohomish County Prosecutor’s Office and is a member of the firm’s municipal department and lead attorney for the City of Mukilteo. Yoshida, of counsel with the firm since 2006 and formerly a partner at Thorsrud Cane & Paulich, also is a licensed physician. He is a member of the firm’s litigation and business departments, focusing on toxic tort, medical device and medical malpractice litigation. He is also active in the firm’s healthcare action team.
Seth Berntsen and Akane Suzuki have been promoted to owners at Garvey Schubert Barer. Berntsen, who joined the firm as an associate in 2000, focuses his practice on commercial litigation matters, including labor and employment litigation. He also represents commercial clients in other types of litigation. Suzuki joined the firm as an associate in 2000. Her practice focuses on estate planning, probate and trust administration. She has an LL.M. in taxation in addition to her law degree.
Three Foster Pepper associates — Neil Dial, Chris Napier and Alice Ostdiek — have been named members in its Seattle office. Dial is a part of the firm’s litigation practice group, where he focuses on civil litigation and complex class action defense. Napier, who was an associate at Preston Gates & Ellis before joining Foster Pepper in 2005, is a member of the firm’s real estate practice group. Ostdiek is part of the firm’s municipal government practice group. Her practice focuses on municipal law and public finance. The Law Office of Laurin Schweet has added Paul Rieke and Thomas Linde as members of the firm. As a result, the firm’s name has been changed to Schweet & Linde, PLLC.
Stoel Rives has named four new principals to its Seattle office — Serena Carlsen, Karl Oles, Vanessa Soriano Power and Alan Ross. Carlsen is a member of the real estate practice group, focusing on commercial real property and development matters. Oles is a member of the construction and design section of the litigation practice group. He also has represented a wide variety of clients in commercial disputes. Power is a member of the litigation practice group and has a broad range of trial and appellate experience. Ross is a member of the employee benefits practice group. Before attending law school, he worked for 10 years as a disability insurance and employee benefits consultant and manager.
Tana Lin and Amy Williams-Derry have become partners at Keller Rohrback. Lin is a member of the firm’s complex litigation group. Her practice focuses on class action with an emphasis on employment, ERISA and other complex litigation matters. Williams-Derry litigates national, class action ERISA and consumer cases in the firm’s complex litigation group.
Graham & Dunn has elected Bernadette Bulacan, Nick Drader and Russ Savrann as shareholders. Bulacan is a member of the firm’s emerging companies and entrepreneurs team and handles a variety of corporate matters and tax issues. Drader is a member of the firm’s real estate team with an emphasis on financial services, hospitality, beverage, franchise and real estate law. Savrann joined Graham & Dunn in 2005 as a member of its hospitality, beverage and franchise team. Before joining the firm, he was vice president and associate general counsel of Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide.
Dale Kingman recently joined Gordon Tilden Thomas & Cordell. His practice will continue to center around insurance coverage litigation on behalf of policyholders, along with commercial litigation. He was formerly a founding partner of Kingman Ringer & Horne.
Michael Ricketts and James Horne have become partners in the Seattle office of Gordon Thomas Honeywell Malanca Peterson & Daheim. Ricketts and Horne formerly were with Kingman Ringer & Horne.
Associate Additions
Foster Pepper recently welcomed Miriam Cho as an associate in its litigation and dispute resolution practice group. Cho was formerly with Goodwin Procter, LLP in Washington, D.C.
Christina Smith has been named an associate attorney with McKinley Irvin. She has experience in civil insurance defense litigation with an emphasis on professional liability tort claims, real estate, malpractice and appellate practice.
Aric Jarrett has joined the Seattle office of Stoel Rives, LLP as an associate in the litigation practice group. His practice focuses on general commercial litigation.
Patterson Buchanan Fobes Leitch & Kalzer has continued to grow since its formation last summer, and the following associates have joined the firm in the last couple of months: Daniel Paul Crowner, Nguyen Koi Do, Brian Dolman, Keith Talbot and Monica Torrez.
William Hsu has joined Oseran Hahn Spring Straight & Watts as an associate. He has an LL.M. in tax and is fluent in Mandarin Chinese. His practice will focus on general business, tax, real estate and estate planning.
Of Counsel and Other New Attorneys
Matthew Nyman has joined Foster Pepper as of counsel in its real estate practice group. He was most recently senior counsel at Wyndham Vacation Ownership, Inc. His practice will focus on real estate and corporate transactional matters.
John Creahan has joined Amicus Law Group. He has extensive experience representing individuals, corporations, LLCs and partnerships in business, tax and real estate matters.
Del Miller has rejoined his former Bogle & Gates colleagues at Rohde & Van Kampen, PLLC. Miller adds his almost 40 years of commercial trial experience to the firm’s depth in securities, intellectual property, antitrust and other complex litigation.
Outside of Private Practice
Governor Christine Gregoire recently appointed Monica Benton to the King County Superior Court. Judge Benton has been a magistrate judge for the U.S. District Court, Western District of Washington, since 2000. Before that, she was a judge in the King County District Court and a senior deputy prosecuting attorney for King County.
Ron Whitener has been appointed chief judge for the Confederated Tribes of the Chehalis. His responsibilities will include deciding both criminal and civil legal cases, as well as managing the administration of the tribes’ judicial system. Whitener is of counsel to Foster Pepper, PLLC, and director of the Tribal Court Criminal Defense Clinic at the University of Washington School of Law.
Rosemary Daszkiewicz was recently appointed senior director, law, for Plum Creek Timber Company, Inc. Daszkiewicz will manage employment and human resources law. She was previously the head of Cairncross & Hempelmann’s employment law practice.
Honors, Appointments and Awards
The Federal Bar Association of the Western District of Washington has named the following officers and trustees for the coming year: Tracy Morris, president; Stuart Dunwoody of Davis Wright Tre-maine, LLP, vice president; Kirk Johns of Stafford Frey Cooper, treasurer; James Savitt of Savitt & Bruce, secretary; and Jennifer Wellman of the Office of the Federal Public Defender; Ann Marie Bender of Smith Hennessey; and Spencer Hall of Hall Zanzig Zulauf Claflin McEachern, trustees.
Playwright/attorney Bryan Harnetiaux recently had his play, “Vesta,” performed at the Capitol Hill Arts Center. The 90-minute drama deals with a grandmother confronting her own loss of independence after a stroke.
Stan Barer, of counsel to Garvey Schubert Barer, recently was chosen as the 2007 recipient of the Greater Seattle Chapter of the American Jewish Committee’s Human Relations Award.
Fred Burnside of Davis Wright Tremaine, LLP has been elected to the American Law Institute. He is currently part of the ALI Members Consultative Group that is drafting the Principles of Aggregate (Class Action) Litigation.
Jeffrey Dunbar has been selected as chair of Ogden Murphy Wallace, PLLC’s litigation department. Dunbar’s practice focuses, not surprisingly, on litigation.
Kumi Baruffi and J.J. Leary have been elected to the Board of Directors of Graham & Dunn. The firm also announced that Mike Fandel will be the president/managing partner in 2009 and will transition with the current President John T. John during 2008.
Stoel Rives, LLP recently appointed Melanie Curtice of the Seattle office to its firm-wide executive committee.
Obituaries
Richard Reed recently died at the age of 86. After graduating from law school, he joined a law firm that became known as Reed McClure. He retired from Reed McClure in 1989 to join Pensa International and later Altman Weil, Inc., where he was a principal consultant.
Bill Williams recently died at the age of 82 of heart failure. He practiced with his son in Williams & Williams, where he focused on eminent domain cases.
Pat Mucklestone recently died at the age of 82. She and her husband practiced together at Mucklestone & Mucklestone.
Karen Sutherland can be reached at 1601 Fifth Ave., Suite 2100, Seattle, WA 98101, by fax at 206-447-0215 or by email at ksutherland@omlaw.com.
Go Back