Law Day, held each year on May 1, and designated as such by President Dwight D. Eisenhower in the late 1950s, highlights the law’s role in our country and society. This is a great opportunity to help our communities understand how the law protects liberty and freedom, allows the legal profession to help dispel misinformation and polarization, and helps foster an environment where citizens take an active interest in the law.
New Additions to KCBA
KCBA is excited to announce the arrival of our new Bar Bulletin editor, Lee Nacozy!
Nacozy has a strong background in legal-industry editorial work and a deep appreciation for the legal profession and for KCBA. For nine years, Nacozy served as deputy editor to the Texas Criminal Defense Lawyers Association (which is the biggest voluntary-membership lawyers’ group in the country). Throughout her career, Nacozy has developed substantive and managerial expertise to cover complex topics with clarity, precision, and urgency. Her organization skills align with the Bar Bulletin’s structured production schedule and collaborative systems. Beyond the technicalities of editorial work, Nacozy strives to produce thematic and trailblazing content that resonates with diverse audiences. Alongside her 18 years in legal scholarship, Nacozy has studied creative writing because “thinking like a lawyer” is not always her preference. Her goal as the Bar Bulletin editor is to maintain the Bulletin’s tradition of excellence while discovering how to strengthen and expand its reach.
Article submissions should continue to be emailed to barbulletineditor@kcba.org. Please join us in welcoming Lee to KCBA as the new Bar Bulletin editor!
Partner and Member Pronouncements
George S. Treperinas joined Ryan, Swanson & Cleveland, PLLC as a partner. Treperinas brings decades of experience assisting clients with acquisitions, investments, and liquidity events related to their business enterprises and real estate holdings. He was previously at Karr Tuttle.
Ogden Murphy Wallace has added several new attorney team members to its Seattle office. Thomas “Tom” D. Adams has joined as a member of OMW’s Business and Litigation group. He represents businesses and their officers, directors, and owners in complex commercial disputes. Adams appears often in the state and federal courts of Washington and Oregon as well as in arbitration venues. He is a frequent writer and speaker on a variety of litigation and dispute resolution-related topics.
Kathy L. Feldman is a new member at Ogden Murphy Wallace and is coming aboard the firm’s Labor and Employment group. She counsels employers on matters such as sexual harassment, discrimination, wage and hour requirements, the Family Medical Leave Act, personnel policies and procedures, investigation of personnel complaints, the Americans with Disabilities Act, and hiring practices. Feldman has developed innovative strategies to help clients reduce the likelihood of litigation and has extensive experience drafting personnel handbooks, employment forms, employment agreements, and other personnel documents. Her litigation practice encompasses all types of employment-related claims in state and federal courts.
Ronald J. Friedman is a member at Ogden Murphy Wallace and joining the firm’s Litigation and Healthcare groups. Friedman provides a robust defense in federal and state proceedings. In addition, Friedman regularly serves as local counsel assisting national law firms with legal issues in the Pacific Northwest. He entered private practice after a distinguished career with the U.S. Department of Justice, serving 22 years as a federal prosecutor in Seattle where he gained exposure to a variety of legal issues. Friedman’s private practice is very diverse, and he enjoys helping people navigate difficult and challenging problems. He handles a variety of complex regulatory, civil, and criminal matters on behalf of individuals and businesses.
William “Bill” H.P. Fuld is now a member at Ogden Murphy Wallace and the firm’s Litigation group. Fuld’s work primarily focuses on personal injury matters, with an emphasis on catastrophic injuries. He represents clients injured while working on construction projects, clients harmed by defective products, or those injured in motor vehicle and trucking accidents. He generally represents individuals and their families injured through the negligence of an entity or individual. Fuld also has extensive lead counsel trial experience defending Fortune 500 companies. He also has experience in workers compensation/Title 51 matters. Fuld has been lead trial counsel in numerous jury trials involving successful outcomes in King, Pierce, Kitsap, and Skagit counties. He has also successfully argued multiple appellate cases.
Scott Gary is joining as a member at Ogden Murphy Wallace. Gary is a business and intellectual property attorney who advises clients on corporate transactions, trademarks, licensing, and strategic business formation, further enhancing OMW’s business services. His diverse business-related practice involves a variety of issues that combine business, corporate, and intellectual property law.
Joshua M. Howard is a new member at Ogden Murphy Wallace in the firm’s Employment and Labor group. Howard’s practice focuses on litigation with an emphasis in employment law. He has represented public and private employers in employment matters involving allegations of discrimination, wrongful termination, harassment, and retaliation. Howard has investigated and successfully defended employers against claims of harassment and discrimination in the workplace.
J. Derek Little is now as a member at Ogden Murphy Wallace as well. Little practices in multiple areas of civil litigation, most frequently in the areas of employment, health benefits, and local government entities, such as counties and public utility districts. He has worked on several types of class action defense, including health plan benefits (such as coverage of hearing aids and weight-loss drugs), wage and hour, data breach, ERISA, and property damage. Little has succeeded in moving lawsuits into arbitration multiple times, including on appeal in state and federal courts. He enjoys appellate work and has argued before the Ninth Circuit and Washington Court of Appeals.
Medora Marisseau is a new member at Ogden Murphy Wallace and joining the firm’s Labor and Employment group. Marisseau provides employment, ERISA, and employee benefits advice and litigation services to large and small companies throughout the Pacific Northwest and Alaska. Marisseau has over 20 years of experience assisting clients with investigating and defending claims for discrimination, civil rights, wage and hour violations, disability accommodation, retaliation, and wrongful discharge, and assisting clients with non-compete agreements and trade secret violation litigation.
Richard J. Omata is also a new member at Ogden Murphy Wallace joining the firm’s Labor and Employment group. He represents public and private employers in all areas of employment and labor relations, including wrongful termination, workplace safety, ERISA benefits, employment discrimination, union contract negotiations and organizing campaigns, minimum wage, overtime, and exempt status disputes under the Fair Labor Standards Act and the State Minimum Wage Act.
Associate Additions
Grace Gilman and Justin Yoon were hired as associates at Ryan, Swanson & Cleveland, PLLC. Gilman is part of the firm’s Real Estate, Development & Finance, and Community Associations groups. She was previously at Community Association Law Group PLLC. Yoon joined the firm’s Business Group. He was previously a corporate attorney at Huck Bouma and Fuchs & Roselli in Chicago.
Other Attorney Additions
Teresa Koza is now an attorney at the Law Office of Neil R. Sarles. Koza previously managed her own law firm, Koza Law, PLLC, starting in mid-2020. Prior to starting her firm, she worked as a Rule 9 legal intern for four years at a small Seattle law firm focusing on guardianship and probate cases. She previously supervised the Family Law Facilitator Program in King County and had worked for the Union County Circuit Court in Oregon where she developed and implemented the county’s first family law facilitator and drug court programs. She also served in the capacity of substance abuse and mental health counselor in several agencies throughout Oregon, Washington, and New York. Koza graduated with a B.A. in psychology and sociology from the University of Oregon in 1996, an M.A. in social work from New York University in 2004, and a J.D. from Seattle University in 2016.
Ché C. Dawson is now a senior attorney at Ogden Murphy Wallace. Dawson practices part-time with an exclusive focus on immigration law including business and family-based immigration. His practice focuses on H-1Bs, TNs, PERM, F-1, Family-based, Naturalization, and I-9 Compliance issues. In addition to his legal practice, Dawson teaches paralegals at Highline College. His course load includes an Immigration Law class.
New Law Firm Partnerships
James S. Rogers and Heather Cover have established a law firm partnership: Rogers & Cover, PLLC. Rogers’ practice is limited to serious personal injury and product liability litigation. He is the president of DART (Damage Attorneys Round Table), and a Fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers, a Fellow of the International Academy of Trial Lawyers, a Fellow of the International Society of Barristers, and a member of the American Board of Trial Advocates (President, 2007, Washington State Chapter). Rogers was President of WSTLA in 1991–1992. Cover is a litigation attorney with nearly 20 years of experience. She joined the Law Offices of James S. Rogers in 2017. Her practice focuses primarily on serious personal injury, product liability, child sexual abuse, government liability, and transportation litigation. Cover has been recognized in 2024 Best Lawyers in Seattle for both Personal Injury Litigation – Plaintiff and Product Liability Litigation – Plaintiffs. She actively serves on the Legal Affairs Committee of the American Association for Justice and is a member of the Washington Association for Justice and the Attorney’s Information Exchange Group. She received her undergraduate degree in philosophy at Western Michigan University before pursuing her law degree at West Virginia University. She is licensed to practice law in Washington, California, West Virginia, and Pennsylvania.
Honors, Appointments, and Awards
Gov. Bob Ferguson has announced the appointment of Benjamin Santos to the King County Superior Court. Santos is a senior deputy prosecutor with over two decades of legal experience in King County and currently serves as Assistant Chief Deputy in the Juvenile Division. He also served as a law clerk for current Washington Supreme Court Justice Mary Yu when she was on the King County Superior Court bench. Santos holds a law degree from American University in Washington, D.C., and a B.A. from Washington State University, where he co-founded the Filipino American Student Association and one of the first Filipino American fraternities in the country.
Obituaries
KCBA member Janet M. Watson (WSBA #15442) passed away on February 23, 2025. She was a KCBA member for over 20 years. Watson focused on family law, running a boutique family law practice that centered around the needs of children.
KCBA member Mark B. Tuvim passed away on March 18, 2025. Tuvim was a KCBA member from 2002–2009 and from 2022–2024. Tuvim graduated from the University of California, Los Angeles – School of Law in 1992. In 1995, he became a partner at Preston Gates & Ellis, and in 2004 was partner at Corr Cronin LLP. In 2009, Tuvim was named partner at Gordon Rees Scully Mansukhani, LLP, where he focused on Environmental & Toxic Tort, Product Liability, Employment, and Professional Liability Defense. He became managing partner at the firm in 2019.
Ruth Apahidean is a Trusts and Estates attorney at the Law Office of Neil R. Sarles, where she focuses on estate planning, probates, and related matters. She is easily reached via email at ruth@sarles.com or by phone at 253.234.4676.
