Earth Day arriving at the end of this month provides a reminder that law firms and employees are players in environmental conservation and sustainable practices. Skip printing and keep electronic copies instead, maintain a hybrid workforce, switch to LED lightbulbs, and improve air quality with indoor plants. We can all do our part to limit our environmental footprint.
Partner and Member Pronouncements
Matthew J. Segal has rejoined Pacifica Law Group as a partner in the firm’s Public Law and Finance practice group. One of Pacifica’s founding partners, Segal returns after serving as a King County Superior Court judge since 2021. As a judge, Segal presided over a wide range of jury and bench trials including criminal, civil, and family law. Segal was also responsible for an extensive ongoing civil docket, and assignments including criminal motions and post-conviction proceedings, ex parte, plea court, anti-harassment calendars, and appeals from administrative bodies or courts of limited jurisdiction. Before taking the bench, Segal spent more than 20 years representing public and private clients in a range of municipal law matters, as well as handling complex appeals and litigation in areas including taxing authority, initiatives and referenda, public transit, health care, insurance, contracts, and commercial disputes. Segal has also represented parties in international disputes including in the UK, Canada, and the South Pacific. Segal obtained his J.D. from Seattle University School of Law, where he has also served as an adjunct professor. Segal has also served on multiple non-profit boards including the Seattle Opera and ACLU of Washington, and remains a member of the Opera’s advisory board.
Jessica Jensen, a Member and immediate past Chair of Ogden Murphy Wallace PLLC’s Litigation Department and an experienced litigator with a local and national practice, has been elected as the firm’s Managing Member, beginning January 2024. Jensen’s practice focuses on complex commercial litigation and products liability. Jensen’s practice includes serving as national counsel for various clients, allowing her the opportunity to practice in state and federal courts in a number of jurisdictions. Jensen received her B.A. in Philosophy from the University of Washington and her J.D. from the University of Washington School of Law, where she was a Comments Editor of the Pacific Rim Law and Policy Journal.
Daniel Kenny, a Member of the Ogden Murphy Wallace PLLC’s Municipal Department and the City Attorney for multiple Puget Sound municipalities has been elected Assistant Managing Member, beginning January 2024. Kenny’s broad practice encompasses all facets of municipal representation, ranging from land use to public works construction. He has specific experience with the constitutional issues implicated by local sign regulations and has been a featured presenter on sign code topics. Kenny also advises municipalities on telecommunications-related matters, working with them to negotiate telecommunications and cable franchises, lease agreements, pole attachment agreements, and drafting right-of-way use ordinances and zoning codes. Kenny received his B.A. in Environmental Studies with an emphasis in business from the University of Southern California and his J.D. from Seattle University School of Law.
Associate Additions
Christina Shin has joined Fisher Phillips as an associate. Shin will represent business leaders, management, and HR professionals in high-stakes litigation involving wage and hour, discrimination, defamation, misclassification, breach of contract, and wrongful termination claims, among other things. Previously, Shin was an attorney at Carney Badley Spellman, P.S., and at MDK Law. Shin earned her B.A. from the University of Washington and her J.D. from the University of Washington School of Law.
Honors, Appointments, and Awards
Judge Rebecca C. Robertson has been elected as the King County District Court’s Chief Presiding Judge. Judge Robertson succeeds the previous Presiding Judge, Judge Matthew York. Judge Robertson previously served as a municipal court judge in Federal Way for over a decade. She has worked as a prosecuting attorney and Judge Pro Tem. She is a past president of the District and Municipal Court Judges’ Association and is currently Chair of the Board of Judicial Administration’s Policy and Planning Committee and Co-Chair of the Trial Court Security Task Force. She is also the Co-Chair of the Council on Independent Courts and currently sits on the Board for Judicial Administration. Judge Robertson earned a B.A. from the University of Washington and a J.D. from Seattle University School of Law.
Monica Kaup Cary has been appointed to the King County Superior Court by Gov. Jay Inslee. Cary will replace Judge Matthew Segal, who retired from the bench effective Jan. 17, 2024. Cary has served as a family court commissioner at the King County Superior Court since 2022. From 2013 to 2018, she also served as a King County family law commissioner pro tem. Previously, Cary worked for over 18 years at the DuBois Cary Law Group, becoming an owner and partner in 2010. Cary also worked as a Pierce County prosecuting attorney and as a clerk to the presiding family court judge in the Oregon Circuit Court, 4th Judicial District. She currently volunteers on the King County Unified Family Court Committee, Courts and Communities Committee, and the DEI Committee. Cary earned her B.A. from Franklin and Marshall College and her J.D. from the Northwestern School of Law of Lewis and Clark College.
Obituaries
Kim Christensen Clark has passed away at the age of 52 years old. Clark earned a B.A. from the University of Arizona and a JD from Harvard Law School. She also studied at the Cambridge Institute for Sustainable Leadership at the University of Cambridge. Clark worked as a Senior Attorney and then Legal Director at Legal Voice, a nonprofit organization advocating for marginalized communities. She also was a member of the Board of Directors of the Mona Foundation and previously served on the Dallas Steering Committee for Annie’s List and the Board of Directors of Planned Parenthood of Arizona.
Ruth Apahidean Harper is a Trusts and Estates attorney at the Law Office of Neil R. Sarles. She is easily reached via email at ruth@sarles.com or by phone at 253.234.4676.
