The Bar Bulletin theme for May is "creativity." My first thoughts on carrying the theme over into Bar Talk were to spell everybody's name backwards, or maybe even give everyone a nickname, like the President does. Then I decided I really don't need an inbox full of emails from unhappy PR people, so I will just go ahead and write the column in the usual way.
New Partners and Shareholders
Thomas Hall has become a shareholder in Graham & Dunn, working with the firm's financial services, and emerging companies and entrepreneurs teams. He represents financial institutions and serves as outside general counsel to startup and emerging companies.
Parag Gheewala has become a partner in Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati's technology transactions practice.
Associate Additions
Aneelah Afzali has joined Stokes Lawrence, P.S. as an associate attorney in the firm's commercial litigation practice. She was previously with Heller Ehrman, LLP.
April Upchurch Olsen has joined Graham & Dunn as an associate. She is on the firm's labor and employment team.
Whitney Furman has become an associate with Hendricks & Lewis. Her practice focuses on civil litigation and intellectual property.
Schwabe, Williamson & Wyatt recently added Jennifer Wyatt as an associate in the products liability and financial services groups. Wyatt previously practiced at Stanislaw Ashbaugh LLP.
Patrick Cook has joined The Walthew Law Firm as an associate. Cook, formerly a deputy prosecuting attorney with the King County Prosecuting Attorney's Office, will practice in the areas of workers' compensation and personal injury.
Of Counsel and Other Attorney Additions
Patricia Eakes has returned to Oles Morrison Rinker & Baker LLP after spending 17 years as a prosecutor with the King County Prosecuting Attorney's Office. Her practice will focus on employment law counseling and trial work.
Kyle Durand has joined Lasher Holzapfel Sperry & Ebberson, PLLC, where his practice will focus on litigation and family law.
Thomas Grimm has become of counsel to Ryan, Swanson & Cleveland, PLLC. Grimm's practice focuses on commercial and complex business transactions and litigation, among other things.
John Chun recently joined Summit Law Group's Labor and Employment Group. Chun will focus on employment and commercial litigation and will continue to represent clients in international legal matters. Chun was most recently a partner at Preston Gates & Ellis.
Chris Brown has recently joined the Summit Law Group's Corporate, Securities and Tax Group. Brown's practice focuses on federal and state taxation issues, corporate law and partnerships. Brown was previously a partner at Garvey Schubert Barer.
Summit Law Group also hosted a fabulous 10th anniversary party last month, with the best party food I have seen in a long time, including a huge seafood bar perched atop an ice sculpture. A good time was had by all, at least as far as I could tell.
New Digs
The Law Office of Brian Geoghegan dba GeoMark has relocated out of Seattle into Bellevue. The firm continues to practice exclusively in the areas of trademark and copyright law.
Reed Schifferman has moved his practice to "downtown Lake City," and is no longer with the Stritmatter Kessler firm. His practice will continue to focus on plaintiffs' personal injury, including medical negligence and products liability.
Outside of Private Practice
Paula Littlewood has been named the new executive director of the Washington State Bar Association. She will take over for Jan Michels, who retired at the end of April.
Gregory Hicks has been named interim dean of the University of Washington School of Law, effective June 16. Hicks is currently a professor and associate dean for faculty and academic administration for the school. The current dean, Joe Knight, has resigned effective June 15. Knight will remain a tenured member of the faculty.
Honors and Awards
This writer, aka Karen Sutherland, has been elected the assistant managing member of my absolute favorite law firm, Ogden Murphy Wallace, PLLC. Sutherland's practice focuses on employment and labor law and complex litigation, and she chairs the firm's employment and labor law practice group. Sutherland notes that she feels strange referring to herself in the third person.
Davis Wright Tremaine has named Joseph Weinstein to chair the firm's Business and Corporate Financial Law Practice Group. He is a partner in the firm's Seattle office.
Summit Law Group recently appointed Ralph Palumbo as chairman and Polly McNeill as CEO. They are both founding members of the firm.
Anneliese Johnson has been elected president of the East King County Bar Association. Johnson practices estate planning at Inslee Best Doezie & Ryder.
Joaquin Hernandez was recently named the regional president of the Hispanic National Bar Association. Hernandez is an associate in the Seattle office of Schwabe, Williamson & Wyatt. He will oversee the Northwest Region comprised of Oregon, Washington, Montana, Idaho and Alaska.
Jake Larson (Foster Pepper), Peter Buck (Buck & Gordon), and Michael Bolasina (Stafford Frey Cooper), have been awarded the KCBA YLD Outstanding Mentor of the Year award.
Obituaries
Mark Paben, a partner at K&L Gates, died of heart failure on March 3 at the age of 51. He co-chaired the firm's real estate practice group. Paben, an accomplished pianist, was very active in the Seattle arts community, serving on the Executive Committee of the Board of Trustees of ArtsFund and as co-chair of its Workplace Giving program. He served on the Seattle Arts Commission from 2004-06 and, shortly before his death, was appointed by Gov. Christine Gregoire to co-chair Washington FilmWorks, an organization established by the Legislature to promote the film industry within the state.
Russell Hokanson, a founding partner of Todd, Hokanson and White, which later became part of the firm now known as Helsell Fetterman, recently died at the age of 93. He was a former president of the Seattle-King County Bar Association. n
Karen Sutherland is the chair of the Employment and Labor Law Practice Group at Ogden Murphy Wallace, PLLC, and chair of the King County Bar Association Bar Bulletin Committee. Her practice focuses on employment and labor law and complex litigation. She can be reached at 1601 Fifth Avenue, Suite 2100, Seattle, WA 98101, by phone at 206-447-7000, by fax at 206-447-0215 or by email at ksutherland@omwlaw.com.
