By Karen Sutherland
I grew up watching minor league baseball in Tacoma, and I have been a regular attendee of Mariners games for most of my adult life. Initially, I went because I love baseball, and to see the great players, most of whom unfortunately were on the other teams (unless you count watching Gaylord Perry at the tail end of his career, or you consider Alvin Davis to be “great”). Then I got spoiled. My baseball buddies and I were giddy when the Mariners had their first .500 season, and delirious when the possibility of October baseball arose. This year, I have had to readjust. Once again, I am arm-twisting people to go to the ballpark with me for the spectacle of the event and the love of baseball, as opposed to the prospect of winning. I suppose there’s always next season.
So much for venting. On with the law.
Ascent to Partnership
Buck & Gordon has named Jeff Weber and Adrienne Quinn as partners. Likewise, over at Preston Gates & Ellis LLP, Andrew Zuccotti has become a partner.
Melissa O’Loughlin, Michael Ballnik and Theodore Bryant have become members of Cozen & O’Connor.
Associate Additions
Matthew King has joined my absolute favorite law firm, Ogden Murphy Wallace, P.L.L.C. as an associate. He practices in the firm’s litigation department. King is a 2001 graduate of Seattle University School of Law and a
reliable Bar Bulletin writer.
Courtney Anderson and Patrick Evatt have become associates at Foster Pepper & Shefelman PLLC. Anderson is in the firm’s creditors’ rights and bankruptcy practice group, following six months of working with them as of counsel. Before joining the firm, she worked with Winterbauer & Diamond P.L.L.C. Anderson received her J.D. from Seattle University and her B.A. from the U-Dub.
Evatt is in the municipal practice group, where they focus on bond counsel. He has considerable experience in the area, having previously worked as an associate with a firm in Omaha, Nebraska. Evatt received his J.D. from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, with high distinctions and his B.A. degree
from the U-Dub.
Gordon & Polscer, LLC, recently added three associates to its Seattle office, William “Chris” Gibson, Brett Sommermeyer and Catherine Pruett. Gibson earned his B.A. in Government from Southeastern Louisiana University in 1987, cum laude, and his J.D. from Mississippi College School of Law in 1990. He is admitted to practice in California and Washington. His practice is in the areas of construction defect and general insurance coverage, bad faith and insurance defense litigation. He was in-house counsel for Safeco before joining Gordon & Polscer, and was in-house counsel for St. Paul Insurance for several years before that.
Sommermeyer graduated from Duke University in 1990 and obtained his J.D. from Northwestern School of Law, Lewis & Clark College in 1995. He is admitted to practice in Oregon and Washington and will continue his practice in the areas of environmental and general insurance coverage and bad faith litigation. He has been at Lane Powell Spears Lubersky for the last three years, and before that was in Gordon & Polscer’s Portland office. He is the only attorney in G&P’s ten-year history to have practiced in both offices.
Pruett obtained her B.A. from the University of Hawaii at Hilo and her J.D. from Willamette University College of Law in 2002. She is admitted to practice in Hawaii and has just passed the Washington bar, which I am sure comes as a great relief, removing the necessity of spending the summer studying. Pruett will continue her practice in the areas of construction defect litigation. She worked in an insurance defense coverage firm in Honolulu before joining G&P.
Williams, Kastner & Gibbs P.L.L.C. recently welcomed two associates, Heidi Evatt and Tom Falkner. Evatt has been an attorney for five years, most recently with a firm in Nebraska. Her litigation practice focused on civil defense of corporations and public utilities, including appellate advocacy. She graduated with a J.D. with High Distinction from the University of Nebraska College of Law and received a B.A. in English Literature and Creative Writing from U-Dub. I also note that Evatt is the second Evatt from Nebraska that I have written about in this column today, which leads me to believe that perhaps there is some connection there.
Falkner spent four years in the product liability practice group at Perkins Coie LLP before joining WK&G. His practice in his new home will concentrate on commercial litigation. Before leaping in to the private sector, Falkner spent two years as a professor of legal writing at Seattle University School of Law, which is also where he received his J.D. with Honors. Falkner received his B.A. in Economics from Simon Fraser University in Vancouver, B.C.
Anne Rhodes has joined Rogers & Fleck, PLLC.
Other Attorney Additions
Dorsey & Whitney recently added Beth Van Moppes to the firm’s labor and employment practice group.
Judicial News
J. Wesley Saint Clair was appointed by Governor Gary Locke to fill out the rest of King County Superior Court Judge Donald Haley’s term. Haley retired after serving more than 20 years as a King County Superior Court judge. Saint Clair has been the presiding judge in the King County District Court, where he received the King County Bar Association’s “Outstanding Judge for 2003” Award. Saint Clair is a 1982 graduate of the U-Dub Law School.
Law School Life
Four new faculty have joined the U-Dub Law School, namely, Joel Ngugi, Kristen Stilt, Paul Miller, and Clark Lombardi. Ngugi was formerly with a law firm in Boston, and will be an assistant professor in international law. Stilt will be an assistant professor in international law, and recently earned her Ph.D. from Harvard. She was formerly with an international law firm in Washington, D.C.
Miller was formerly Commissioner for the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, and joins the school as a professor. Lombardi is an assistant professor and will teach Asian Law. Lombardi was formerly with Columbia University’s School of Law and the Afghan Commercial Law Project.
Doing the Downtown Office Shuffle
Rogers & Fleck, P.L.L.C., will be moving into new offices in the Seaboard Building, which, if I remember right, is on Westlake Plaza above what used to be Rifkin’s Jewelers, which would be within spitting distance of our office if our windows opened. The firm will continue its practice in product liability, crashworthiness and serious personal injuries.
The Washington State Bar Association recently inked a deal for three floors of office space at Puget Sound Plaza, beginning in January 2007. In case you haven’t had occasion to visit them, the WSBA is currently located at Fourth and Blanchard, which is euphemistically known to some as the “Darth Vader Building,” across the street from the King County Public Health Department’s downtown facility and a transmission shop stocked with employees who love to offer their opinion on what I am wearing whenever I walk by.
Anyway, the WSBA’s move is part of a larger downtown office shuffle spurred by that large hole in the ground next to the Seattle Art Museum on First Avenue. In January 2007, that large hole in the ground will be transformed into expansion space for SAM and a new office tower for Washington Mutual Bank. The space the WSBA is moving into is currently occupied by Washington Mutual, which will then move from the Puget Sound Plaza office space into the as-yet-unbuilt tower next to SAM.
Davis Wright Tremaine, which has been in Century Square ever since that building’s inception, or darn close, will be moving in 2007 into eight floors of the Washington Mutual Tower at 1201 Third Avenue. It, too, will be occupying space that Washington Mutual will be giving up as it moves into the new tower next door to SAM. Both the WSBA and Davis Wright have signed long-term leases, the WSBA’s for ten years, and Davis Wright Tremaine’s for twelve. DWT’s lease will include an option for expansion if needed. In the meantime, a walkway is due to go up along First Avenue next to the large hole in the ground by SAM so that pedestrians like me will be less frustrated getting to and from work everyday.
Honors and Awards
Bruce King of Garvey Schubert Barer has been appointed chairman of the Marine Financing Committee of the U.S. Maritime Law Association.
The Defense Research Institute, inspired by DRI past president Sheryl Willert, a member and former managing director of Williams, Kastner & Gibbs, established its first Diversity Scholarship in honor of Law Day, which was in May. The scholarship, which is nationwide, provides $10,000 to two law students of color and females who have completed their second year of studies.
The Washington State Bar Association Indian Law Section recently provided $5,000 in scholarships to the Northwest Native Law Students as part of an ongoing effort to support Indian students seeking a legal education. According to Gabe Galanda of the Northwest Indian Bar Association (NIBA), Indians are by far the most under-represented ethnic demographic in the legal profession, comprising just .5% of the Washington State Bar Association. NIBA, which was founded in 1991, works to increase the number of Native and Indian attorneys in the Pacific Northwest for legal education and advocacy. The WSBA Indian Law Section, which was established in 1988, seeks to further develop Indian law within the bar.
King County Washington Women Lawyers is hosting its 2004 Judicial Appreciation and Honors Luncheon on June 15 at the Olympic Fairmont Hotel. Assuming there is still space available by the time you read this, email kristenculbert@yahoo.com to register.
Anthony Johnson, Commissioner of the Lawyers Basketball League and coincidentally a member of the winning team, recently let me know that Johnson & Associates has captured the 2004 Seattle Lawyers Basketball League crown. Johnson & Associates is not
the name of a law firm, but is the name of a basketball team consisting of James Clark (Willamette ‘87), Eric Hanson (Seattle University ‘96), Robert Iannucci (Boston University ‘88), Anthony Johnson (Boston University ‘88), Joshua Lipsky (Georgetown ‘95), Eric Nelson (Pepperdine ‘92), Charles Paglialunga (UPS ‘92), Robert “Jack” Slavik (Seattle University ‘96), and William Spurr (Boston University ‘90). They defeated number three seed Stanislaw-Ashbaugh in an epic battle where blood from both teams spilled on the court. According to Johnson, it was a loud, high energy contest with a majority of the players being litigators and trial lawyers versus transaction attorneys.
Obituaries
During my brief hiatus from running obituaries, William Messer, died at the age of 57 of injuries he received in a beating. Messer was a bankruptcy attorney who practiced in Auburn.
Digression of the Month
Happy birthday, America!
Karen Sutherland is the Assistant Managing Member and chair of the Employment and Labor Law Practice Group at Ogden Murphy Wallace, P.L.L.C., and chair of the King County Bar Bulletin Committee. Her practice focuses on employment law and complex litigation. She can be reached at 1601 -- 5th Avenue, Suite 2100, Seattle, WA 98101, by phone at (206) 447-7000, by fax at (206) 447-0215, or by e-mail at ksutherland@omwlaw.com.
