Wow, it’s December already. This tends to be one of the busiest months for my practice. My inexpert guess on the reason is that holidays are stressful for people and that stress spills over into negative interactions in the workplace, thereby causing one or both parties to contact an employment lawyer for assistance.
Holiday parties are another workplace problem, as tongues loosen and hands roam from too much imbibing. For some industries, it’s also the time of year for budget cuts, which means staff reductions. I suppose there are plenty of workplaces where people are happy over the holidays, but they tend not to call me for help.
On a happier note, the day starts getting longer after December 21 and spring training is just around the corner.
New Partners
If anybody made partner this month, they forgot to tell me.
Associate News
Brian DeSoto and Jamal Whitehead have become associates in the litigation group of Garvey Schubert Barer. DeSoto’s practice focuses on complex commercial litigation. He earned his J.D. from the University of Oregon School of Law in 2001. Whitehead earned his J.D. from Seattle University School of Law in 2007, with a focus on civil advocacy.
Patrick Pearce recently joined Davis Grimm Payne and Marra as an associate. His practice focuses on representing clients in non-compete disputes and assisting employers with workplace issues and litigation.
Pengyue (Peggy) Li, Anna Revelle and Azar Koulibaly have become associates with Cairncross & Hempelmann. They all recently graduated from law school and passed the bar exam this fall. Before attending law school at the University of Washington, Li was an associate at two law firms in China. Her practice will focus primarily on intellectual property and technology transactions. Revelle will be practicing primarily with the real estate group. Koulibaly currently plans to practice with the corporate finance and business transactions group.
Rafel Manville has changed its name to Rafel Law Group and added two new associates, David Martin and Cynthia Jones. Martin recently graduated from the University of Washington School of Law. Jones is a graduate of the Seattle University School of Law and recently completed a clerkship with Justice Charles W. Johnson of the Washington Supreme Court.
Other Attorney Additions
Zeeny Partee has joined Peterson Sullivan PLLC as a business valuation analyst. She previously worked for several years as a business valuation analyst at local firms and as a tax attorney at a national accounting firm.
Sherry Davies has joined Vandeberg Johnson & Gandara, LLP. Her areas of concentration include self-insured and state fund employer advice and representation concerning worker’s compensation and industrial insurance. Most recently, she was a partner at Reinisch, Weier & Mackenzie. She has been an attorney since 1999. Before that, she was a paralegal representing the Department of Labor and Industries before the Board of Industrial Insurance Appeals.
Outside of Private Practice
Commissioner Kimberley Prochnau was recently appointed by Governor Christine Gregoire to the King County Superior Court. Effective November 1, she is filling the position recently vacated by Judge Richard Jones, who has moved on to the U.S. District Court. Judge Prochnau has been a court commissioner and judge pro tem for the King County Superior Court since 1994. Your very own King County Bar Association presented then-Commissioner Prochnau with its Elder Law Section Award in 2007 and the KCBA President’s Award in 1995. Judge Prochnau received her J.D. degree from the Seattle University School of Law.
Vicki Orrico has accepted a position as the political director of the Connections Group, a political campaign consulting group focusing on women candidates.
David Sprinkle has joined Plum Creek Timber Company as director of real estate law. He was formerly general counsel for Barclays North, Inc. and before that he was a partner with Lasher Holzapfel Sperry & Ebberson, PLLC.
Honor and Awards
The Seattle Chapter of the American Jewish Committee has selected Stan Barer as the 2007 recipient of its prestigious Human Relations Award. Barer is of counsel to Garvey, Schubert & Barer and chairman emeritus of Saltchuk Resources, Inc., a privately held holding company for several U.S. flag maritime operating entities. Barer is a graduate of the University of Washington School of Law and was appointed by Governor Gary Locke to serve on the Board of Regents of the University of Washington in November 2004.
Lael Echo-Hawk, of the Pawnee Tribe, has been named president-elect of the Northwest Indian Bar Association. Echo-Hawk is also a co-founder of a mentoring program for urban Native American youth called “Mend the Circle.” Brooke Pinkham, of the Nez Perce Tribe, has been named treasurer of NIBA. Pinkham is a first-year attorney with the Northwest Justice Project in Seattle. For a list of governing council members outside King County or more info on NIBA, visit www.nwiba.org.
Soirées
Washington Law & Politics recently celebrated its 10th anniversary at The Ruins, which still has those weird murals and huge chandeliers that provide an entry point for conversation when one’s mind goes blank. I always enjoy talking with people who write for another paper and comparing notes, and it’s great to put a face to a name for some of the people on the masthead. Gee, maybe I can talk the Bar Bulletin into having a party like that one of these days … .
The Seattle Art Museum recently marked the Day of the Dead with opening remarks by trial attorney Jose Gaitan, who is also a Seattle Art Museum trustee. The event attracted a good-sized post-Halloween first Thursday crowd.
The Washington State Bar Association’s APR 6 Program held a reception for the second year in a row at the Mayflower Park Hotel last month, a venue I greatly enjoy since I don’t even need to go outside to get there from here. It was a great reminder of how strong our state program is for clerking to the bar. As a former APR 6 tutor, I highly recommend the program. The baked ham was excellent, too.
The Washington News Council Board of Directors, which is chaired by the Hon. Karen Seinfeld, held its annual Gridiron West Dinner last month, with Bill Gates, Sr. (a recent “toastee”) as one of the co-chairs of the Honorary “Toast” Committee. I am afraid this is one of the few times I have missed the dinner, due to my inability to be three places at once. If you have any interest in getting involved in the Washington News Council, which provides a forum for complaints about the media, go to www.wanewscouncil.org and tell John Hamer I sent you.
In case I don’t see you before then, have a wonderful New Year!
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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 Ave., Suite 2100, Seattle, WA 98101, by fax at 206-447-0215 or by email at ksuthlerand@omlaw.com.
