Independence Day commemorates the adoption of the Declaration of Independence, with its focus on rights and the rule of law. These concepts continue to guide attorneys and judges today. The Fourth of July serves as a reminder that the legal profession’s role includes safeguarding constitutional principles, ensuring access to justice, and upholding the integrity of legal institutions. I hope that this holiday reminds us to balance advocacy, civic duty, and the preservation of the freedoms and structures that make a collaborative and orderly society possible.
Partner Pronouncements
David P. Papiez has been elevated to partner at Fox Rothschild. Papiez, a member of the firm’s Financial Restructuring & Bankruptcy Department, focuses his practice on bankruptcy and creditors’ rights. He has broad experience in bankruptcy cases representing software and technology companies. Papiez previously served as a summer associate at the firm. He also served as a judicial extern for Judge Brian D. Lynch of the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Western District of Washington. While in law school, Papiez served as the executive business and marketing editor of the Seattle University Law Review. Prior to law school, Papiez worked as a project manager, controller, and asset manager at Tamarack Resort in Idaho, helping to guide the resort and its creditors through a protracted foreclosure and bankruptcy proceeding.
Isaac Prevost has been elected shareholder at Carney Badley Spellman, PS, effective July 1, 2026. Prevost is an appellate advocate and commercial litigator whose practice spans complex business and regulatory disputes. He handles appellate briefing and oral argument, serves as embedded appellate counsel at the trial level, and represents clients before Washington State administrative bodies, including the Washington State Office of Administrative Hearings and the Washington State Office of the Insurance Commissioner. His recent accomplishments include securing a unanimous Washington Supreme Court decision on behalf of a county official facing election recall proceedings, obtaining discretionary appellate review protecting attorney-client privileged documents, and serving as special deputy prosecutor for a municipal entity on appeal.
Associate Additions
Carmen C. Mand has joined Ryan, Swanson & Cleveland, PLLC as an associate. Mand will practice in the firm’s Estate Planning & Probate and Trust & Estate Litigation practice groups. Prior to attending law school, Mand worked as a clerk in the business department of a firm in Vancouver, Washington. While attending the University of Washington, she worked with the Low-Income Tax Clinic and the Washington State Department of Revenue.
Alex F. Lopez also joined Ryan Swanson as an associate in the firm’s Litigation and Employment Law practice groups. Lopez’s practice focuses on employment and business disputes, supporting clients through litigation, investigations, and ongoing compliance matters. He has experience representing clients in discrimination, retaliation, harassment, and wage-and-hour issues in state and federal courts and before administrative agencies. He also advises on workplace policies, internal investigations, supervisory practices, and day-to-day employment questions. During law school, Lopez interned for the Pittsburgh Office of the City Solicitor, the Washington State Office of the Attorney General’s Torts Division, and the Pennsylvania Conviction Integrity Unit, where he reviewed questionable criminal convictions for evidence of police, prosecutorial, or judicial misconduct.
Other Attorney Additions
Fox Rothschild welcomes John B. McDonald to the Seattle office as counsel in the Litigation Department. McDonald represents businesses and insurers in the Pacific Northwest and beyond in complex commercial litigation, including bad faith and Insurance Fair Conduct Act matters. His experience includes counseling primary and excess insurers on complex, high-value coverage disputes involving environmental claims, opioids, PFAS, sexual abuse, and other risks. McDonald has also advised London Market Underwriters regarding large-category losses.
McDonald has represented international investors in fraud-related collection actions and served as lead coverage counsel for international and cannabis industry clients. He represents clients from the inception of a matter through trial and/or arbitration. He earned his J.D. from the University of Miami School of Law and his B.A. from Vanderbilt University. McDonald is a mentor for University of Miami School of Law students. Prior to joining Fox, McDonald was counsel at Selman Leichenger Edson Hsu Newman & Moore.
Honors, Appointments, and Awards
Governor Bob Ferguson appointed Jessica Murphy Manca to the position of King County Superior Court Judge on June 8, 2026. Manca’s appointment, effective July 1, fills the position that Judge Karen Donohue’s resignation will vacate. Manca is a prosecutor with more than fifteen years of experience in criminal law. She currently practices as an assistant U.S. attorney in the Western District of Washington, and her practice has also focused on cybercrime, cyberstalking, and financial crimes. She previously served as the Western District of Washington’s Project Safe Neighborhoods Program Coordinator. Manca earned her B.A. from Harvard University and her J.D. from the University of Washington School of Law.
Ruth Apahidean is an estate planning and probate 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.
