By Lee Nacozy
Lori Worthington Hurl’s big break came at the tender age of six, when she was cast to play the role of a newly kidnapped young girl on the popular television show “America’s Most Wanted.” The instructions were simple; her task was to “scream really loud.” Simple or not, Lori took her task seriously. When her moment arrived, she was ready. The director called “Action,” and Lori delivered an exceptional and harrowingly memorable screech.
The director was thrilled, Lori recalls: “I felt like I’d nailed it.”
The next week, her face was on the cover of The Sacramento Bee for her spot-on portrayal. That wail was also played repeatedly on the radio (for dramatic effect and to highlight the cause). And then, a few days later, the victim was found. And six-year-old Lori found her calling.
“For a while, if you asked me what I was going to do, I was going to sell my scream to Hollywood,” Lori recalls, believing she could gain fame and help other lost kids with her voice. Unfortunately, Hollywood failed to call. And over time, her dream waned. But her personal charisma, dedication to excellence, and reliance on her voice did not. Where she once helped save the life of a young victim, today she uses those tools in service of her practice: defending lawyers (and other professionals) accused of malpractice.
“Wait, me?”
Lori was surprised that we at KCBA wanted to feature her in the Bulletin. “I don’t have some amazing story,” she told me. What she does have, she said, is a life that she hopes will signal to other women that juggling a demanding legal career and an active family is possible. “I think the important focus about me is being a dedicated lawyer juggling two very busy boys. Because hopefully that’s more of an inspiration to the women, especially the younger women, who will read this.”
When she was a child, her family modeled that balance. Lori’s father was a defense lawyer in Sacramento whose influence led her to law school and litigation. Meanwhile her mother not only attained success as a real estate agent, she did so while suffering from the onset of Parkinson’s disease, a diagnosis she received when Lori was around 12 years old. From these examples, Lori learned that professional ambition and success could coexist with swim meets, PTA, and the rituals of family life. “There was never a question whether I would continue to work after having kids,” Lori recalls.
Sadly, in August, her mother passed away. Even after a long illness, her passing in August felt both inevitable and jolting — especially because she had always been the one who showed up for others.
Like her mom, Lori gravitates toward supporting people. She is sure to credit others when asked for details about her accomplishments: her parents, husband, sister, kids, colleagues, and friends for their wisdom, example, and support.
Instinctual Practice
Lori’s legal career started at Betts Patterson & Mines in Seattle, where she worked as a summer intern after her second year at Gonzaga University School of Law. When invited to return as an associate after graduation, she immediately accepted. Lori credits the firm with supporting her desire to start both a career and a family. “It was a great firm for me. I was there 10 years and loved it.” One year after her first child was born, she was made a partner.
Initially she specialized in litigation defense. “I was raised as a defense kid, so that’s the side I knew.” Within a few years, she had the opportunity to take on a few legal-malpractice cases. She realized she had found her calling: “I absolutely loved it.”
Eventually she became acquainted with Roy Umlauf, a longstanding malpractice defense lawyer with vast experience in the field. Roy recognized her passion for the field and repeatedly asked her to join his firm. Lori resisted, out of loyalty to the first and only firm she had ever known. But Roy persisted, detailing how Forsberg & Umlauf could provide her with a specialized support network that would enhance her capacity to grow as a professional liability attorney. In 2018, she accepted Roy’s offer.
Today, Lori is recognized as one of our state’s premier professional malpractice defenders. Lori believes the practice is a perfect fit for her skills. “Every case is different,” she told me. “You’re representing family law lawyers, personal injury lawyers, trust and estate lawyers. So, you learn many areas of law.” Lori added, “You have a collaborative relationship with your clients. They’re learning a lot, and you’re learning from them.” Indeed, “sometimes the best ideas come from them.”
That collaboration paid off in a case Lori describes as “a very fun one.” Her client, a personal injury lawyer, was targeted by an opponent intent not merely on earning money for his client but on destroying the lawyer’s capacity to represent clients again. To do so, the attorney added a Consumer Protection Act claim that demanded sweeping discovery of his business records.
Lori’s team moved for summary judgment on that claim and successfully limited the discovery sought. The court granted the motion; the opposing side obtained no business records.
“I’ve never enjoyed winning a summary judgment motion as much as I did in that case,” she said. The matter ended up in arbitration, where Lori’s initial settlement offer was essentially matched by the arbitrator’s award — and the opposing side paid her client’s costs.
That victory illustrates Lori’s approach: methodical, grounded in preparation, and deeply protective against injustice. She feels emboldened to fight when her client’s reputation and livelihood are on the line. “In most legal-malpractice cases, the other side doesn’t have it out for your clients,” she said. “It’s just about money. But this case was different; they wanted to destroy my client professionally. Their stated goal was to shutter his law firm. I knew I needed to do everything I could to make sure that did not happen.”
Showing Up
Mentorship and collegiality have been central to Lori’s professional life. When she decided to focus on professional liability cases, she chose Forsberg & Umlauf because the firm offered a ready community of practice.
She speaks of the firm’s founding partners in reverential terms. “Carl and Roy are two of the best lawyers I’ve ever met,” she said. “Roy is understated in how smart he is. He’s so collaborative and will think about a case in a way you never would have. You walk away and you’re like, ‘How did he even think of that?’
“Then Carl, his mind is a steel trap. He remembers everything and is so detail-oriented — it’s amazing. You can come to him with any fact pattern or problem, and he will always point you in the right direction.
“They’re the perfect counterbalance; both incredible attorneys and incredible people. I can’t thank them enough for everything they’ve taught me.”
If mentors taught her expertise, a group of friends taught her endurance. Of the many important people to Lori, her group of law school friends is up there. The six women have stayed close. They text daily. They trade questions and reassurance. “They have been incredibly important to my success,” she said of this group. “We really are each other’s cheerleaders.” All six friends have children, and all six are still practicing law 17 years later. “We understand each other’s struggles. We provide support without judgment.”
I contacted one of these friends to commend Lori on her behalf, and I was not disappointed. “Lori is a true superwoman. She manages to do every activity, join every committee, be the most present mom, and kill it at her job while cracking a joke and making it all look effortless. And she’s a friend who is always in your corner.
“She’s so thoughtful and caring. When you tell a story, she’s the one who cares enough to ask about the details and makes you feel heard. She’s also one of the funniest people I know and livens up every room she’s in.”
Lori blushes at the praise. “I don’t want to make it seem like I’m doing anything extraordinary,” she told me. “I’m not.” The normalcy she champions is intentional. Lori has been active in organizations that aim to keep people connected and supported. She’s been president of MAMAs (Mother Attorneys Mentoring Association of Seattle), a past president of KCBA’s New Lawyers Division, and a longtime trustee of her public school’s foundation.
Lori’s humility and sense of humor are characteristic aspects that her friends find endearing and her clients find steadying. “No matter how busy she is, she always takes the time to notice your accomplishments and cheer you on,” one of her friends told me. “She always goes out of her way to lift people up when they need it.”
That impulse — to protect, to notice, to get things done — is what turns a career into a calling. It’s the scream on “America’s Most Wanted” transformed into a lawyer’s voice: bold when it matters, restrained when it doesn’t, and always attuned to what the moment requires.
In our interview, when I mentioned that people describe Lori as someone who “does it all and makes it look easy,” she waved away the compliment and returned to the useful truth: “It’s not easy. You figure it out. You get up and you do it.”
When this profile appears, Lori said she hopes it will be less about what she has done and more about what motivates her. “I want this to be a tribute to my mom, who taught me how to balance being a mother with having a full-time career, while making time for yourself, your family, your friends, and your community.”
And, if any Hollywood producer happens to be reading this, and is looking for the perfect scream for a 40-something woman, Lori will make time for that too.
