By Karen Sutherland
It feels odd to be writing about January when the Thanksgiving turkey (or in my family’s case, the Thanksgiving chicken) is still cooling, but that’s the effect of an early holiday deadline. Right now, I am actually more focused on figuring out how to find time to address my Christmas cards. Alternatively, I could leave them on the kitchen counter for another year. One year when December got a little too packed, I skipped Christmas cards entirely and sent out “Happy Groundhog’s Day” cards instead, which had to be custom-printed. I don’t know how the recipients felt about them, but they satisfied my weird sense of humor.
New Partners
Lane Powell Spears Lubersky, LLP has elected three attorneys to partnership, Ada Ko, Kathleen Nelson, and Brian Zeringer. Zeringer’s practice focuses on commercial litigation, product liability and real estate, with an emphasis on asbestos litigation. He received his J.D. from Tulane University School of Law in 1978 and his B.A. from the University of Mississippi in 1975.
Nelson’s practice focuses on commercial litigation, environmental insurance litigation, maritime, and class actions. She received her J.D. from Santa Clara University in 1991 and her B.A. from Western Washington University in 1985. She is licensed to practice in three states, Washington, Idaho, and California (almost a full Pacific Northwest sweep, with the exception of Oregon).
Ko advises domestic and international clients on international business transactions. Her practice emphasizes the tax aspects of cross-border business operations and investment transactions. She received her LL.M. in taxation from the U-Dub in 1999, her J.D. from Seattle University in 1983 and her B.A., cum laude, from the U-Dub in 1975.
Associate Arrivals
Three newly-fledged attorneys have joined Short Cressman & Burgess, PLLC. They are Michelle Rosenthal, Shane Moloney and Brett Hill. Rosen-thal is in the firm’s environmental land use and natural resources practice section and earned her J.D. from Washington and Lee University School of Law in Virginia. She holds an M.P.P. in environmental policy from the University of Chicago and a B.A. from UCLA.
Moloney received his J.D. from the U-Dub School of Law. Moloney is with the firm’s employment practice section. He earned his B.A., summa cum laude, from my father’s and Ron Sims’ alma mater Central Washington University, f/k/a Central Washington College of Education (a familiar name because it was on our bathroom towels when I was growing up).
Hill received his J.D. from Seattle University School of Law. He holds a B.S., with distinction, in economics from the U-Dub. He will be working primarily in the firm’s construction practice section.
Reed, Longyear, Malnati & Ahrens, PLLC has added Jenifer Mer-kel as an associate to practice estate planning and probate. Merkel earned her B.A. degree in journalism from Wazzu in 2000 and her J.D. from the U-Dub School of Law in 2003.
The folks over at Keesal, Young & Logan, P.C. have added associates John Kimmerlein and Jason Crowell. Kimmerlein is a former Navy officer and master mariner, having gone to sea before he went to law school. Most recently, he was with a Portland, Oregon firm. Crowell was a law clerk to Judge C. Ken-neth Grosse at the Washington State Court of Appeals before he joined the firm. Prior to embarking on a law career, Crowell served in the United States Marine Corps where he was a competitive marksman and guarded American embassies overseas, among other things.
Mentor Law Group, PLLC has added John Ruple to its natural resources, environmental and land use oriented practice. Before law school, Ruple spent four years working with clients and managing NEPA permitting for resort operation and development on National Forest lands.
Ryan, Swanson & Cleveland, PLLC has added Rachel Han and Gulli-ver Swenson as associates. Han, who will be working with the firm’s litigation group, will focus on immigration and employment issues. She graduated from the U-Dub School of Law. Swenson will be working with the firm’s litigation group, with an emphasis in real estate and business. He received his J.D. from the University of California, Hastings College of the Law.
Like the prodigal son, David Bowman has returned to the Seattle office of Davis Wright Tremaine after spending nearly two years with the Snohomish County Public Defender Association. Bowman, an associate in the employment law group, will focus his practice on employment litigation. He received his J.D. from the U-Dub School of Law in 1998.
Preston Gates & Ellis has added recent law school graduates Teresa Sumearll, Martha Rodriguez-Lopez, Brahmy Poologasingham, Rebecca Morrow, Kyle Loring, Stephen Leptich, Beverly Jones and Carley Andrews.
Schwabe, Williamson & Wyatt has added Russel Robertson and Mark McClure as associates.
Oles Morrison Rinker & Baker LLP has added Robert Werbikcy and Allen Estes III as associates.
Randy McCaskill and Dylan Jackson have become associates at Wilson Smith Cochran Dickerson P.S.
Carl Turk has become an associate at Merchant & Gould PC.
Of Counsel and Other Attorney Additions
Michael Witek has been named of counsel to Helsell Fetterman LLP, where he will lead the firm’s land use regulation and litigation practice group. Witek’s practice will focus on land use and environmental issues. He was formerly with Perkins Coie. Witek received his J.D. from Seattle University and his undergraduate degree from Wazzu.
Gordon Thomas Honeywell Malanca Peterson & Daheim LLP has added three associates to the Seattle office, Peter Eglick, Jane Kiker and Josh Whited. Eglick represents property owners, homeowners associations, citizen groups and municipalities in environmental, land use and administrative law matters. He received his J.D. from Georgetown University.
Kiker focuses on land use and environmental law. She received her J.D. from the University of California, Hastings College of the Law. Whited also focuses his practice on environmental and land use matters. He was formerly an assistant attorney general and received his J.D. from the U-Dub School of Law.
Harris & Moure has added my
U-Dub classmate Steven Dickinson to its international practice. He will split his time between the United States and China. Dickinson, a U-Dub two-timer, has a B.A. in Chinese language, summa cum laude, and a J.D., vintage 1984 (if I remember correctly). Before joining H&M, Dickinson was with a Tokyo law firm. He was also the chairperson of the International Law Group at Garvey Schubert & Barer, director of the Chinese Contract Litigation Project and a professor of international contract negotiation at the U-Dub. Dickinson is fluent in Mandarin Chinese and also speaks Japanese.
Theodore Sheffield has joined Lane Powell Spears Lubersky LLP’s class action, securities litigation, and appellate practice group. Sheffield received his J.D. from Duke University and his B.A. from Pomona College in California.
John B. Schochet and Jennifer McMillan Beyerlein have joined Lane Powell Spears Lubersky LLP. Scho-chet’s practice areas include appellate, commercial, and general litigation. Schochet received his J.D. from the University of Virginia School of Law and his B.A. in history, with distinction, from Yale University.
Beyerlein, who joins the firm’s commercial disputes/complex litigation group, received her J.D. from the University of Michigan Law School, cum laude, and a B.A. in Psychology from Stanford University.
Outside of Private Practice
Aaron Kornblum has joined Microsoft Corporation. Kornblum passed the Washington bar in 2001. Kornblum was previously with Graham & Dunn. Before joining G&D, he was Area Defense Counsel with the United States Air Force Judge Advocate. He received his J.D. from the University of Wisconsin in 1996.
Accolades And Elections
The Northwest Indian Bar Association has elected King County attorneys to several of its offices, including Lisa Atkinson as vice president, Gabe Galanda as treasurer, and Leona Colegrove as at-large member. Atkin-son is a solo practitioner in Seattle who represents tribes and tribal members on litigation and business matters. Galanda is an associate with Williams, Kastner & Gibbs, PLLC, where he litigates complex commercial and Indian law matters. Colegrove is also an associate at Williams Kastner & Gibbs, PLLC and formerly served as tribal attorney for the Quinault Nation.
Thomas Lemly was recently elected chairman of the board of the Association of Washington Business. AWB was founded in 1904 and serves as Washington’s statewide Chamber of Commerce. Lemly is a partner in the Seattle office of Davis Wright Tremaine LLP. He has been practicing employment and labor law with Davis Wright Tremaine since 1973.
John Sledd, senior attorney in Seattle’s Native American Unit of the Northwest Justice Project, has received the National Legal Aid and Defender Association’s Native American sections Pierce Hickerson award, which recognizes outstanding contributions to the advancement and/or preservation of Native American rights. Sledd graduated from the University of California at Berkley in 1982. He moved to his current position in 2004 after a stint representing low-income tribal members as director of the Native American project at Columbia Legal Services.
Jennifer Shaw has become the legislative director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Washington. Shaw will be responsible for advancing the ACLU’s agenda in the state legislature and at the City and County level statewide. Shaw has been a trial attorney with Aoki and Sakamoto for the past eight years. She succeeds Jerry Sheehan, who served the ACLU for 22 years.
Gabe Galanda, the previously mentioned associate practicing Indian law at Williams Kastner & Gibbs and newly-elected NIBA treasurer, was recently honored by NIBA with the Native Justice award. The award recognizes and honors his commitment to Indians and the legal progression through education, advocacy and employment.
Lane Powell Spears Lubersky LLP partner Charles Riley, Jr. has been elected as a Fellow by the Board of Regents of the American College of Trust and Estate Counsel (ACTEC).
The College is an organization of more than 2,600 trust and estate lawyers and law professors from the United States and Canada who have been affirmed by their peers as having made outstanding contributions to the practice of trust and estate law.
Obituaries
Jack Raymond recently died at the age of 81. Raymond received his J.D. from the U-Dub in 1952 and served in the Army during World War II. Raymond was in private practice for 40 years and also served as a municipal judge in Island County as a district court commissioner. He was active in the Seattle community for many years, participating in many service organizations and the U-Dub Alumni Association.
Karen Sutherland is the 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.
