By Karen Sutherland
Realizing that this is our April Fools issue, I just wanted to let you know that this column is 100% natural, and does not contain any artificial people doing fake things.
New Firm Owners
Heller Ehrman recently named Felix Luna, John Morrow, and Kenneth Payson as shareholders. Luna joined the firm’s Seattle office in 1997 and is a member of the consumer litigation practice group. He is also active in civil rights litigation. Luna is a U-Dub two-timer, having received his B.A. and J.D., with honors, from that estimable institution.
Morrow joined Heller Ehrman’s Seattle office in 2003 and is a member of the Heller Ehrman Venture Law Group. His practice focuses on general corporate and securities matters, among other things. Morrow received B.A. from DePauw University and his J.D., magna cum laude, from Notre Dame Law School.
Payson joined Heller Ehrman’s Seattle office in 1998 and is a member of the consumer litigation practice group, with an emphasis on complex civil litigation. He received his B.A., magna cum laude, from California State University at Hayward and his J.D. from the University of California, Berkeley, Boalt Hall School of Law.
Jackson Lewis recently elected Katheryn Bradley to the partnership. Bradley’s practice focuses on employment law. She earned her J.D. from the Northwestern School of Law at Lewis and Clark College in 1986 and her B.A. in philosophy and literature from Scripps College in 1983. Bradley previously practiced in Alaska for 14 years.
Davis Wright Tremaine LLP recently added former Governor Gary Locke, former King County Superior Court Judge Robert Alsdorf, Jeffrey Fisher, Rick Leitner, Robert Maguire, and Traci Shallbetter as partners in its Seattle office and Robert Porcarelli as a partner in its Bellevue office.
Governor Locke will practice in the firm’s China and governmental relations practice groups. In addition to serving two terms as governor, Locke was a King County Deputy Prosecuting Attorney and member of the State House of Representatives, and subsequently served as the King County Executive.
Judge Alsdorf was a King County Superior Court judge from 1990 until January 2005. He has received numerous honors and awards, including the KCBA’s own Outstanding Judge Award in 2002. Before becoming a judge, Alsdorf was a founding partner of Armstrong, Alsdorf, Bradbury & Maier, P.C. Alsdorf graduated from Carleton College in Minnesota in 1967 and received his J.D. in 1973 from Yale Law School. He also received an M.A. in American History from Yale University in 1973.
Fisher, the co-chair of DWT’s appellate practice group, also represents clients in First Amendment, criminal defense and other constitutional matters.
Leitner is a member of DWT’s intellectual property and commercial transactions practice groups.
Maguire is a litigator who has tried a wide variety of cases, including cases involving the America’s Cup rules (it’s a sailboat race, for you non-sports fans), election disputes, and videogame development disputes.
Shallbetter is a member of DWT’s real property practice and focuses her practice on land use litigation and real estate development.
Porcarelli practices labor and employment law, including employment litigation and labor relations and government enforcement investigations and cases.
Hillis Clark Martin & Peterson recently named Gabriel Rosenthal as a principal. Rosenthal received his J.D. from the U-Dub School of Law.
Associate Arrivals
Jackson Lewis recently added Laurene Somerville and Jennifer Mora as associates. Somerville’s practice focuses on labor and employment law. She earned her J.D. from Hastings College of the Law in California and her B.S. degree in business administration and marketing from the University of San Diego. She also has an M.P.A. in public policy from California State University at Hayward.
Mora’s practice focuses on employment law. She earned her J.D. from Seattle University School of Law and her bachelor’s degree in criminal justice from California State University at Stanislaus.
Jenifer Merkel and Sally Jeffers have joined the firm formerly known as Reed, Longyear, Malnati & Ahrens, PLLC as associates, which has changed its name, as discussed below.
Other Attorney Additions
Eric Simonson has joined Preston Gates & Ellis’s corporate securities/ mergers and acquisitions practice. Simonson was formerly a partner in a New York law firm.
A Rose by Any Other Name
Reed, Longyear, Malnati & Ahrens, PLLC has changed its name to Reed, Longyear, Malnati, Ahrens & West, PLLC. The firm’s location remains the same, and its webpage remains www.rlmalaw.com.
Outside of Private Practice
Reagan Dunn recently filled Rob McKenna’s empty seat on the Metropolitan King County Council. McKenna, you may recall, was elected State Attorney General last fall. Dunn, who is indeed named after the former President (who at that time was governor of California, I think) is a Republican representing District Six and the son of former U.S. Representative Jennifer Dunn. Dunn was previously an assistant U.S. attorney for the Western District of Washington. Dunn received his J.D. degree from the U-Dub Law School.
Mark Sidran, former Seattle City attorney, has been named to head the Washington Utilities and Transpor-tation Commission. Sidran most recently was a partner with Foster, Pepper & Shefelman.
Honors, Accolades, Awards and Other Random Things
Stacey Romberg has been elected president of the Greenwood-Phinney Chamber of Commerce. Romberg is a solo practitioner in Greenwood whose practice concentrates on small business law, estate planning and probate.
Leadership Tomorrow recently named David Burman as its outstanding alumnus award recipient for his extraordinary commitment to the fundamental precepts of our democracy through pro bono representation, his persistent efforts to create a legacy of legal cases protecting individual and human rights, and a cadre of lawyers dedicated to volunteer representation of the needy and disadvantaged. The honor was bestowed at the organization’s eighth annual community leadership celebration.
Former Governor Gary Locke has joined Safeco’s board of directors. As noted elsewhere in this article, Locke served two terms as the Washington State Governor and is a partner at Davis Wright Tremaine.
The Korean American Bar Association of Washington held its fifth annual dinner at the Washington Athletic Club, where it elected the following officers: President - Peter Kim; President Elect - Diana Young; Treasurer - Claire Hur; and Secretary - Rachel Han.
Preston Gates & Ellis has named Ramona Emerson as its Seattle office’s managing partner. Emerson joined the firm in 1991. Her practice concentrates on business litigation, with a focus on antitrust, intellectual property and business tort law. Emerson is a U-Dub two-timer, with a J.D. degree and bachelor’s degree from that august institution.
Ryan Swanson Cleveland recently arranged for a law firm bowling tournament at The Garage to collect donations for Mercy Corps for the survivors of the tsunami. As far as I know, nobody won any awards or anything, but it seemed a nice thing to recognize here.
The UW Alumni Association hosted a nice hors d’oeuvres and Happy Hour function at the Metropolitan Grill last month for young alumni and also invited me, though counting me as “young” is a bit of a stretch. Those of us who work downtown certainly appreciate an after-hours get-together in our neighborhood so that we can avoid the rush hour drive to the U-District.
Speaking of after-hours events, our very own KCBA recently hosted an “I Love Coffee, Cabernet & Cheese” celebration with participants from many sections. The nametags indicated which section we were from, which encouraged people to mix and talk to each other about their practices. The new Starbucks liqueur was there for sampling, to the approval of many. I also noticed much quaffing of Cabernet, and the chocolates appeared to be a hit as well, with the cheese coming in a distant fourth. Unfortunately, due to dietary restrictions, I was limited to drinking tap water and eating the garnish.
Obituaries
Robert Rabine recently died at the age of 55 while skiing at Steven’s Pass. Rabine was a 1971 graduate of the U-Dub. Following undergraduate school, Rabine served in the United States Naval Reserve and then attended law school at the then-University of Puget Sound Law School. Rabine worked for several firms in the Seattle area before starting his own practice in 1984, where he focused on domestic relations and plaintiff’s personal injury cases.
Digression of the Month
In case you are wondering, I can’t resist mentioning baseball in this column because opening day is in April. As of this writing, the Mariners haven’t lost any games, which undoubtedly won’t last long. I am more optimistic this year with Mike Hargrove as manager and the addition of some players who, I hope, turn out to be unexpected gems like Mike Cameron was instead of unexpected duds like Jeff Cirillo. If you are wondering what baseball has to do with the law, as an employment lawyer I find it fascinating to watch management, supervisory and legal issues play themselves out on a large public stage, as they hold many analogies to my clients’ employment-related issues. Besides, the game itself is pretty interesting too.
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.
