By Karen Sutherland
It’s spring Craft Show time, and our multitalented law firm is jumping in with both feet. We (namely, my absolute favorite law firm, Ogden Murphy Wallace, P.L.L.C.) are hosting a bazaar right here in our office on May 6 from 11:30-2:00 (the address is in the fine print at the end of this column). We will have blown glass, jewelry, fabric creations, and other artistic endeavors, along with fresh cookies. We will also be accepting “Bar Talk” submissions and applications for the editor position in case you want to do some one-stop shopping.
New Partners
Jeffrey Fisher has become a partner at Davis Wright Tremaine. Fisher practices criminal defense and constitutional law.
DWT has also named Robert Maguire, Rick Leitner and Traci Shallbetter as partners in its Seattle office. Maguire’s practice focuses on litigation; Leitner focuses on acquisition and development of computer related technologies; and Shallbetter practices land use litigation and real estate development law. DWT has also added Robert Porcarelli as a partner in the Bellevue office, where he focuses on labor and employment law.
Alsdorf, former King County Superior Court judge who is probably familiar to many of you for his work on asbestos cases and other complex litigation, has also become a partner at Davis Wright Tremaine’s Seattle office. His practice will focus on complex litigation, special corporate investigations and governmental relations.
Michael Cohen has become a partner at Dorsey & Whitney. His practice focuses on tax, trusts and estates.
Carney Badley Spellman has selected Neal Philip as a shareholder.
Associate Additions
Timothy Danforth has joined Wolfstone Panchot & Bloch, P.S., Inc., as an associate. His practice focuses primarily on commercial litigation. He received his B.A., cum laude, from the U-Dub in 1991 and his law degree from Columbia University School of Law in 1996.
Sean Howe has become an associate at Cairncross & Hempelman. Howe’s practice covers all phases of environmental and land use advice and litigation. He was previously a deputy prosecuting attorney for Snohomish County.
Peter Johnson and Jennifer Lenga Long have become associates at Davis Wright Tremaine’s Seattle office. Johnson’s practice focuses on estate planning and trust and estate administration. He was previously an associate at a Philadelphia firm. Johnson received his J.D. from Willamette Univer-sity College of Law in 1999. He is licensed to practice in Washington State and Pennsylvania.
Long is returning to DWT after completing a judicial clerkship with Judge Robert Beezer of the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. Her practice focuses on litigation. Long received her J.D. from the University of California at Berk-eley, Boalt Hall School of Law in 2002.
Mark Beatty has joined Stoel Rives LLP’s Seat-tle office as an associate in the firm’s employee benefits practice group. Not surprisingly, Beat-ty’s practice focuses on employee benefits. Beatty received his L.L.M. from the University of Florida in 2000, his J.D. from Mercer University in 1998, and his B.S. with honors from Georgia Institute of Technology. Beatty was previously an associate at a firm in Florida. He is currently admitted to the bars of Florida and Georgia and his admission to the Washington Bar is pending.
David Cottnair and Susan McIntosh have become associates at Forsberg & Umlauf.
Other Attorney Additions
Paul Balkan recently joined Lee & Hayes PLLC’s technology transactions and IP licensing practice. He previously served as senior corporate counsel to IDX Systems, Inc., and was previously a member of the technology and intellectual property practice group at Preston Gates & Ellis. Balkan received his J.D. from Cornell University Law School in 1996 and his B.A. in political science from the U-Dub.
Allan Bakalian recently joined Hanson Baker Ludlow Drumheller PS in Bellevue, where he will continue to practice environmental law. Bakalian received his J.D. from Lewis and Clark Law School. He has previously served as an Environmental Protection Agency assistant regional counsel, as senior environmental counsel for Univar USA, Inc. He has been in private practice since 2001.
Nadler Law Group recently added Connie Sue Manos Martin, where her practice focuses on environmental, land use and natural resources law and Indian law.
Joanne Thomas Blackburn has become of counsel at Forsberg & Umlauf.
JAMS has added Terry Lukens, whose practice will focus on serving as a mediator and arbitrator.
Flying Solo
Jonathan Elgart recently opened a contract attorney practice. He is available for writing, research and document review projects. He has bankruptcy experience, but does not limit his practice to that area. He is ensconced in Fremont, the alleged center of the universe.
Outside of Private Practice.
Federal bankruptcy Judge Philip Brandt has been reappointed to the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Western District of Washington. He is currently the district’s chief bankruptcy judge. The appointment is for a second 14-year term and becomes effective this fall. Judge Brandt received his B.A. in economics from Harvard in 1966 and, after completing active military duty as a Naval officer, received his J.D. from the U-Dub School of Law in 1972. Before his appointment to the bankruptcy bench, Judge Brandt was a deputy prosecutor for Pierce County and engaged in private practice with two firms, where he focused on business and commercial law.
Honors, Awards and Celebrations
Stoel Rives recently named Christopher Weiss as chair of its litigation practice group. Weiss is a principal in the firm’s Seattle office and focuses his practice in the areas of products liability, toxic tort, business and employment litigation. Weiss is a graduate of Vanderbilt University School of Law, where he received his J.D. in 1984, and Hamilton College, where he received his B.A., magna cum laude, in 1981.
Stoel Rives also appointed Gordon Tanner of the Seattle office to its firm-wide executive committee. Tanner is a member of the firm’s real estate practice section. He received his J.D., cum laude, from Michigan Law School in 1981 and his B.A., summa cum laude, from Brigham Young University in 1978.
The King County Bar Associa-tion’s Breakfast with Champions event was recently held at the Sheraton Hotel & Towers. The Champion of Diversity award was presented to Karen Murray, who has been a public defender with the Associated Counsel for the Accused since 1992. Murray received her B.A. in sociology, her masters in public administration from the U-Dub, and her law degree from the University of Puget Sound.
The Honorable Joan DuBuque received the KCBA’s Champion of Justice award. Dubuque has been the chief of the Unified Family Court since 2002. The Unified Family Court brings together before a single judicial officer multiple legal cases that effect a family, thereby minimizing inconsistent or conflicting court orders, among other things. Judge DuBuque also manages a personal case load of over 600 cases a year in addition to her administrative duties. Both Murray and Judge DuBuque have received numerous honors for their fine work.
A celebration was recently held at the King County Courthouse in downtown Seattle marking the completion of the Courthouse Seismic Project, the refurbished grand lobby and art, the new jury room, and the new office for the prosecuting attorney. For those of you who haven’t been to the King County Courthouse lately, I recommend checking out the new dŽcor.
The Seattle law firm Bendich Stobaugh and Strong, P.C., was recently chosen to received the WSBA’s Local Hero award for its outstanding pro bono work relating to tax deductions for attorney’s fees and costs for clients who win employment discrimination and similar cases.
The third annual Seattle law firm battle of the bands known as Lawyerpaloozaª is May 5, 2005, from 6 p.m. to midnight at the Premier Club. Six bands are scheduled to appear with legal professionals from Lane Powell PC, Perkins Coie, Preston Gates & Ellis, Karr Tuttle Campbell, McNaul Ebel Groff & Murphy and the Law Offices of David Huber. Elementary school band students and a middle school jazz combo will also perform. Addition-ally, there will be a silent auction. All proceeds are donated to benefit selected Seattle elementary schools for their fourth and fifth grade music programs. Tickets will be available at the door, if the event isn’t sold out.
The U-Dub Law School Alumni Association recently hosted a young alumni networking and happy hour at the Metropolitan Grill. Other than King County councilmember Dow Constan-tine and me, everyone else appeared to have graduated in the last year or two. A good time was had by all.
Members and friends of the Association of Washington Tribes, Northwest Indian Bar Association and the Washington State Bar Association Indian law section recently partied to commemorate the decision to include federal Indian jurisdiction on the bar exam. These topics will first be tested on the Summer of 2007 bar exam.
The U-Dub Law School recently received a two million dollar grant to educate Afghan law faculty. The grant is from the U.S. Department of State and establishes a graduate program for Afghan law professors that will fund a three year project to help rebuild Afghanistan’s legal profession and allow Afghan lawyers to spend time in Seattle as visiting scholars or masters of law candidates to learn about the U.S. legal system. This group of students is expected to arrive in January of 2006.
Nelson Dong of Dorsey & Whitney’s Seattle office has been named vice president of the Washington State China Relations Council. Dong’s practice focuses on Asian law and technology.
Preston Gates & Ellis recently named Ramona Emerson as managing partner of its Seattle office.
Obituaries
Bernice Jonson recently died at the age of 90. Jonson received her J.D. from the U-Dub Law School in 1936 and joined her father’s law practice. She subsequently opened her own office, which later included some of her six sons. Jonson’s practice focused on domestic relations law. She had a reputation for being tough, but I can tell you from personal experience that she was very kind and understanding towards her clients. Remembrances can be sent to the U-Dub School of Law and the Washington State Bar Foundation.
Alfred Bianchi recently died of complications from congenital heart disease at the age of 83. Bianchi joined the Coast Guard during World War II and subsequently received a J.D. from Gonzaga University Law School. Bianchi served as a King County deputy prosecuting attorney and assistant attorney general in the 1950s before going into private practice. He focused on criminal defense law until 1980, at which point he changed his focus to personal injury law. Bianchi had retired in December. n
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 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.
