By Karen Sutherland
This month’s Bar Bulletin is the Gift Issue, which prompted me to write a somewhat stultifying article on employee bonuses that can be found elsewhere in this issue, and also caused me to contemplate the subject of gifts on a more personal level. Maybe I over-think such things, but I have a lot of trouble figuring out what to give people without sending the wrong message. For example, I love my extended family and I want them to be safe, but would a carbon monoxide detector be received with warm regards? Will a food gift be resented by someone who is on a diet that I don’t know about? Do people like to read the books that I select, or do they see my selections as trying to change their worldview, or do they even read at all? Is money insulting because it implies that I don’t know the recipients well enough to figure out what they really like? I just hope everybody understands that I mean well, even if I don’t manage to select their heart’s desire.
Partner And Shareholders
Stephanie Croll and Richard Jolley have become shareholders in the law firm of Keating Bucklin & McCormack, Inc. P.S.
Malcolm Lindquist has joined Lane Powell Spears Lubersky LLP as a partner in its business department. His practice continues to focus on commercial finance, creditor rights, bankruptcy, equipment leasing, mergers, acquisitions and the Uniform Commercial Code. He will maintain offices in both Tacoma and Seattle.
New Associates
Marlo DeLange and Scott Winship have become associates at Vandeberg Johnson & Gandara. DeLange received her J.D. from Seattle University School of Law in 1997 and her undergraduate degree from Idaho State University. She previously was an associate with Gordon Thomas Honeywell Malanca Peterson & Daheim, LLP. Her practice includes securities and franchise law, mergers and acquisitions, taxation, corporate finance, business organizations, corporate governance, succession planning and commercial transactions.
Winship graduated from the University of Puget Sound School of Law in 1986. Immediately prior to joining VJ&G, he helped organize and open Northwest Commercial Bank in Lakewood. His practice focuses on corporate and business representation, employment and labor relations, commercial transactions and commercial real estate.
Thomas Braun recently became an associate at Cozen O’Connor. Braun concentrates his practice in insurance coverage litigation. He previously served as a judicial law clerk to Justice Charles Johnson of the Washington State Supreme Court. Braun earned his undergraduate degree from the University of Iowa in 1995 and his law degree from Seattle University School of Law, summa cum laude, in 2003.
Jaime Allen recently joined my absolute favorite law firm, Ogden Murphy Wallace, PLLC. She is practicing in the litigation department. She was previously with Goodwin Procter in Boston, and is a 2001 graduate of the Boston Uni-versity School of Law.
Graham & Dunn recently added three associates, Derek de Bakker, Steven Miller and Mere-dith Santos. de Bakker, who works with the real estate team, focuses his practice on structured finance. Miller, whose practice is with the financial services team, focuses on representing banks, credit unions, and other financial institutions in litigation. Santos, who also practices with the financial services team, focuses on mergers and acquisitions, securities and corporate planning and governance for clients in the financial services and banking industries.
Loren Armstrong and Duff Bryant have joined Stoel Rives LLP’s Seattle office as associates. Armstrong joins the firm’s litigation practice group. His experience includes construction and patent litigation. Armstrong is a 2002 graduate of the U-Dub School of Law and a 1994 graduate of the United States Military Academy at Westpoint. Before joining Stoel Rives, he was an associate at Dorsey & Whitney LLP.
Bryant is an associate in the Stoel Rives corporate practice group. His experience in mergers and acquisitions includes negotiating and drafting documentation for stock and asset purchase transactions. Bryant is a 1999 graduate of the University of Oregon School of Law and received his undergraduate degree from the U-Dub in 1996. He, too, was an associate at Dorsey & Whitney LLP before joining Stoel Rives.
Miller Nash recently added Monica Langfeldt and Ian Messerle to the firm. Langfeldt is an associate in the business department and focuses her practice on corporate and business matters. She previously practiced in New York City and received her bachelor’s degree from the University of Idaho in finance and economics, her law degree from Seton Hall University School of Law, and her LL.M. in taxation from the U-Dub School of Law. Langfeldt is fluent in Norwegian and German and is admitted to practice in New York and Connecticut.
Messerle is an associate in Miller Nash’s labor and employment department. He served as a trial attorney for the United States Navy, Judge Advocate General’s Corps before joining Miller Nash. Messerle received his bachelor’s degree, summa cum laude, in political science from the University of Pittsburgh and his law degree, magna cum laude, from the University of Pittsburgh School of Law.
Williams Kastner & Gibbs recently welcomed five new associates They are Lisa Williams and Michael White, who are commercial litigators; Todd Sorenson, who is a real estate litigator and labor and employment associate; Jennifer Gannon, who practices commercial litigation, healthcare and real estate law; Robby Tonkin, who is a land use litigator and civil services attorney; and Christopher Dahl, a commercial litigator who also focuses on business transactions.
Forsberg & Umlauf recently added Viivi Vanderslice and Alfred Donohue as associates. Vanderslice’s practice focuses on litigating complex civil matters, mainly relating to construction defect and personal injury defense. She graduated from the U-Dub with a B.A. degree in 1995 and was awarded her law degree by California Western School of Law, J.D., cum laude in 1999. She is admitted to practice in Washington, California, and Nevada.
Donohue focuses on construction defect litigation, personal injury litigation and insurance policy interpretation. He previously was a law clerk to the Hon. William W. Baker on the Washington State Court of Appeals. A U-Dub two-timer, he received his B.A. in 1999 and his J.D. in 2002.
Ryan Grace and Richard Fontana have become associates at Merchant & Gould. University of Nebraska at Lincoln. Grace is a registered patent attorney and is licensed to practice in Nebraska. Grace received his B.S. in Civil Engineering from the University of Nebraska at Lincoln in 2000 and his J.D. from Creighton University School of Law, magna cum laude, in 2003. Grace devotes his practice to the procurement and protection of patent rights with a focus in the areas of software, e-commerce, telecommunications and the mechanical arts, among other things.
Fontana’s practice focuses on intellectual property law, with a particular emphasis on patent preparation, prosecution, litigation, counseling, and legal opinions in the computer arts. He also has experience in software, biotechnology, and pharmaceutical patent litigation as well as antitrust, securities, media, and general commercial litigation. Fontana graduated from the University of Michigan Law School. He also has a M.S. in computer science from Yale University and a B.A. from Wesleyan University.
Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe has added Makambo Tshionyi, Michael Moyer, Vincent Ricci and Dennis Michaels as associates.
Of Counsel and Other Attorney Additions
Eric Keppler has joined Lee & Hayes, PLLC. He focuses on its technology transactions and IP licensing practice. Keppler was formerly with Preston Gates & Ellis. Keppler is a 1998 graduate of the University of Chicago Law School and earned an A.B. with the distinction in American Studies from Stanford University.
Crocker Kuno Ostrovsky LLC recently sent out a very imaginative announcement for its addition of J. Todd Tracy. Tracy, a U-Dub School of Law alumnus, represents corporate and individual debtors, creditors, creditor committees and asset purchasers before the bankruptcy court. The announcement describes Tracy as the firm’s “newest big fish” and shows three people with a fishing pole holding him up to measure him.
Vandeberg Johnson & Gandara recently announced that Daren Nitz has joined the firm of counsel. Nitz received his J.D. from the University of Southern California in 1990, after earning an MS in economics and an MBA in finance from Arizona State University. Nitz was formerly a shareholder at Graham Dunn PC. He focuses on representing emerging growth and public companies in corporate transactions, among other things.
Gregory Fox is now practicing with Lane Powell Spears Lubersky, where he focuses on commercial finance, creditor’s rights, bankruptcy and business law.
George Bonini has become of counsel to Monahan & Biagi PLLC. His practice focuses on organizing business ventures and complex partnership transactions, advising companies regarding mergers and acquisitions, tax matters and private equity transactions, and providing general business counsel. Bonini earned a B.A. degree from the University of Montana, a J.D., cum laude, from Seattle University School of Law and an LL.M. in taxation from the U-Dub.
Davis Wright Tremaine has added Andrea McNamara to its Seattle office, where she will practice energy law. She previously worked as senior counsel for the Senate Committee Services in Olympia.
Craig Blackstone and James Hoff have become practicing attorneys with Oseran Hahn Spring & Watts, P.S. in Bellevue. Blackstone’s practice emphasizes commercial litigation and commercial transactions. Hoff’s practice emphasizes real estate and tax matters.
New Firm Forms
Andrew Bergh has opened the Law Office of Andrew Bergh in downtown Seattle. His practice presently emphasizes plaintiff’s personal injury matters, including medical malpractice and insurance bad faith law. He was formerly with Pence & Dawson, which recently dissolved. He has been representing personal injury claimants since 1993, after a stint as a prosecutor and then as an insurance defense attorney.
Public Sector Announcements
Duncan Wilson has become in-house counsel for the City of Covington.
Edsonya Charles has been appointed by Mayor Greg Nickels to the Seattle Municipal Court. She fills the seat vacated by Judge Theresa Doyle, who was elected to superior court. Charles was previously senior
policy advisor to Mayor Nickels. She graduated from the U-Dub Law School in 1995. Her appointment is subject to approval by the City Council.
As of the beginning of the New Year, King County Superior Court Judge Steven Scott will have joined Judicial Dispute Resolution, where he is available for arbitrations and mediations. He is replaced by my absolute favorite law firm Ogden Murphy Wallace’s own Chris Washington, who was elected to Judge Scott’s former seat on the bench in November.
Also joining the King County Superior Court bench as a result of the November elections is Andrea Darvas, who will occupy Position No. 23. She, too, will assume her new position in January.
Shelley Kostrinski has left the Law Offices of Judith A. Lonnquist to become an Assistant Attorney General at the University of Washington, where her practice will focus on providing counsel on employment and labor law issues.
Bar Examination Topics Expand
The Washington State Board of Governors recently approved including federal Indian jurisdiction on the Wash-ington State bar exam. The inclusion makes Washington State the second state in the country to test for knowledge of Indian law. Tribal sovereignty, tribal civil and criminal jurisdiction, tribal sovereign immunity, and the Indian Child Welfare Act will be first tested on the September 2007 bar exam.
Appointments, Honors and Awards
Wayne Tanaka has been reelected Managing Member of Ogden Murphy Wallace, PLLC, my absolute favorite law firm. Tanaka’s practice focuses on municipal law.
Robert G. AndrŽ and Don Black have been elected to the Board of Directors the aforementioned Ogden Murphy Wallace, PLLC. Each will
serve a two-year term. Black’s practice focuses on healthcare law; AndrŽ’s practice focuses on products liability and environmental law.
Kristen Olson has been elected the 2004 Honorary Order of the Coif initiate for the U-Dub chapter. She was chosen for her “high attainments in the profession of law.” Olson is a shareholder in O’Shea Bernard Martin, P.S., which is located in Bellevue.
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 and labor law and complex litigation. She can be reached at 1601 Ð 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.
