October is recognized as a month for raising awareness of and celebrating people with special needs and disabilities. Those special needs or disabilities might be visible or invisible. Having family members with disabilities has made me aware of how living with one or more disabilities affects not only that person but profoundly impacts others within that family. It also provides a great reminder that being able-bodied is only temporary and that special needs and disability-focused communities provide a lot of support to individuals and their families.
Partner Pronouncements
Will Dreher is joining Keller Rohrback as a partner in the firm’s Complex Litigation Group. Dreher’s practice focuses on environmental, public nuisance, and consumer complex litigation. Prior to joining the firm, Dreher spent over five years prosecuting criminal cases on behalf of the United States as an Assistant U.S. Attorney in the Western District of Washington. Dreher earned his B.S.F.S. from Georgetown School of Foreign Service in 2009 and his J.D. from Harvard Law School in 2013.
Associate Additions
First year Associates Schuyler M. Peters and Sophie A. Lantz are joining Ryan, Swanson & Cleveland, PLLC on September 9, 2024. Peters recently graduated from Seattle University School of Law, and received her B.A. from Gonzaga University. Lantz recently graduated from the University of Washington School of Law, and received her B.A. from San Diego State University. Both Peters and Lantz were summer associates with Ryan Swanson in 2023.
Other Attorney Additions
Emily Husa joins Lasher Holzapfel Sperry & Ebberson as an attorney in the firm’s Litigation practice after two years of summer internships through the LEAD-WA program. Husa recently graduated from Seattle University School of Law, during which time she also was a Judicial Extern for the Hon. Janet Chung, Court of Appeals of Washington Division One, and a Research Assistant to Professors Robert Boruchowitz and Gillian Dutton. She also was the Seattle University School of Law American Bar Association Law Student Division Representative during the 2023–2024 academic year.
Faye Washburn joins Lasher Holzapfel Sperry & Ebberson as an attorney. Washburn also spent a year as a summer intern with Lasher, and recently graduated from Seattle University School of Law. She joins the Family Law Practice Group and will continue to work on complex financial dissolutions, post-dissolution matters, prenuptial agreements, and parenting plan litigation.
Of Counsel
Aaron Schwartz joins Lasher Holzapfel Sperry & Ebberson as Counsel, with nearly 20 years of litigation practice spanning a wide range of matters from simple wage disputes to complex class actions involving hundreds of millions of dollars. He represents individuals and companies on matters including employment litigation and discrimination, commercial disputes, insurance coverage, sexual abuse, and complex mass torts. Schwartz regularly practices in state and United States District Courts trial courts across the country. A recent transplant from Missouri, he now makes his home in the Pacific Northwest.
Retirements
Of Counsel David L. Tift retired on August 5, 2024. Tift had been with Ryan, Swanson & Cleveland, PLLC since 1988 and was Managing Director from 2015 to 2021. A dedicated Coug, he practiced in commercial, healthcare, and aviation litigation.
Obituaries
Edmund Burke Raftis passed away on April 14, 2024, at the age of 88 years old. Born in Colville, WA, he earned his undergraduate degree from Seattle University in 1958 and earned his J.D. from Georgetown Law School. Raftis then joined Bogle and Gates as an associate attorney. He then joined the legal department Pacific Northwest Bell, which was led by John Rupp. After working as corporate counsel for AT&T in New Jersey, Raftis moved back to Seattle, where he worked as a legal writing instructor at UPS law school and was also involved in bar association reform. He was very active in the Washington State Bar Association serving as a Trustee and as Editor of its monthly journal for several years. Upon retiring from legal practice, Raftis became active in Seattle Rotary and ran a wine shop and wine newsletter.
Ruth Apahidean 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.
