April 2001

Changing Venues

Sharon Nelson has become chair of the board of the Consumers Union, the publisher of Consumer Reports. Ms. Nelson is the director of the University of Washington Center for Law, Commerce and Technology.

Michael G. Atkins has joined the Seattle firm Graham & Dunn as an associate on the commercial and financial litigation practice team. His experience is in commercial litigation, antitrust and trade regulations litigation, and intellectual property litigation. Maren K. Gaylor has been elected shareholder. She is a member of the real estate practice team, and the banking and financial institutions industry team, focusing on financial institutions, property owners and tenants. Arthur J. Lachman has been appointed director of professional development for the firm. He is responsible for all aspects of attorney training and development. Larry J. Smith and Michael Tobiason were elected to the firm's board of directors. Mr. Smith is a member of the real estate practice team and chairs the firm's condemnation practice team. Mr. Tobiason co-chairs the technology and e-commerce industry team, concentrating on corporate and commercial law, intellectual property licensing, and business transactions.

The Spokane firm Mary Schultz and Associates PS has added three new associates. Donna Beatty and Amy Robinson concentrate on corporate, commercial and general civil litigation. James Yockey focuses on dissolution.

Four lawyers in the Seattle office of Heller Ehrman White & McAuliffe LLP have been promoted to shareholder. Svend Brandt-Erichsen joined the firm in 1993 and practices environmental law with emphasis on regulatory and administrative affairs. Audrey Hwang joined the firm in 1995 and practices corporate law, focusing on mergers and acquisitions, and intellectual property. Angela M. Niemann is a member of the litigation department and has been with the firm since 1997. Jonathan M. Palmer is a litigator focusing on complex business litigation including securities, real estate, fiduciary, antitrust and environmental matters. He joined the firm in 1996.

Francesca D'Angelo has become a principal shareholder in the Spokane firm Huppin Ewing Anderson & Paul. She practices family law and civil litigation.

Sara L. Ainsworth has joined Foster Pepper & Shefelman PLLC as public service counsel. In addition to coordinating the firm's pro bono program, she dedicates her entire case load to pro bono matters. Her practice concentrates on poverty and family law with particular emphasis on domestic violence. Peter R. Jerdee (a member of the Minnesota and New York state bars) has joined the firm as an associate. His litigation and arbitration practice focuses on securities law, antitrust, intellectual property, professional liability defense, bankruptcy-related litigation, and breach of contract actions.

Retired King County Superior Court Judge Patricia Aitken has joined the Seattle office of JAMS as part of the family law panel.

Daniel Brown and Susan Stahlfeld have become partners in the Seattle office of Miller Nash LLP. Mr. Brown focuses on business, intellectual property, international law, litigation, products liability and securities litigation. Ms. Stahlfeld concentrates on labor and employment law.

Philip P. Mann, George E. Renzoni and Julie C. VanDerZanden have become members of the Seattle firm Christensen O'Connor Johnson Kindness PLLC. Mr. Mann practices in the areas of patent, trademark, copyright and unfair competition litigation. Mr. Renzoni concentrates his practice on chemical patent prosecution. Ms. VanDerZanden focuses on patent prosecution, patent licensing and opinion work.

Alisa E. George has joined the Seattle office of Dorsey & Whitney LLP as of counsel, concentrating on estate planning and trusts.

Thomas E. Jensen has been named general counsel and secretary of National Mortgage Lender Pinnfund USA.

David J. Peterson has joined the Seattle office of Ater Wynne LLP. He previously worked for the firm as a law clerk while attending Seattle University School of Law.

Preston Gates & Ellis LLP has added five new partners to the Seattle office. Christopher H. Cunningham concentrates on representation of high-tech startups, and general business, antitrust, corporate and securities law. Eric E. Freedman emphasizes energy and electric utility law issues in his practice. Jeffrey C. Johnson focuses on employment law. Jamie D. Pedersen has a domestic and international business practice focused on mergers and acquisitions, and venture capital financing. Karen H. Simmonds concentrates on labor and employment law and litigation.

Todd Reuter has been named partner in the Spokane office of Preston Gates & Ellis LLP. He concentrates on environmental counseling, administrative appeals, alternative dispute resolution, and federal and state litigation.

Robert Anderson has become director of the University of Washington Native American Law Center. A special counsel to former Interior Secretary Bruce Babbitt, Mr. Anderson leads the center's study of natural resources rights, tribal sovereignty and other Indian law issues.

Scott A. Milburn has joined Convergent Technology Capital LLC as managing director. He focuses on providing strategic advice and investment banking services to technology companies.

Leland B. Kerr has merged his Tri-Cities practice with the Spokane firm Paine, Hamblen, Coffin, Brooke & Miller LLP. Mr. Kerr concentrates on municipal representations, family law, business entities, agri-business and litigation.

Steven W. Block and Bradley J. Rorem have been named directors of Betts, Patterson & Mines PS in Seattle. Mr. Block concentrates on transportation and logistics law, as well as customs, domestic and international business, and civil litigation. Mr. Rorem focuses on commercial litigation, with an emphasis on construction and real estate litigation.

Robert Bergquist has joined Deal-Planner, a Seattle financial services software company, as president and CEO. Prior to joining the company, he was a shareholder at the Seattle firm Graham & Dunn.

Gregory A. Clark has joined the Seattle office of Bullivant Houser Bailey PC as an associate in the construction litigation practice group. He primarily defends construction defect claims.

Daniel Ferm, Diana Moller, Matt Wojcik and Jeff Wolf have joined the Seattle office of Williams, Kastner & Gibbs PLLC. As of counsel, Mr. Ferm concentrates on state and federal appeals, briefing in complex commercial and products liability litigation, and employment litigation. Ms. Moller is an associate focusing on labor and employment law, and immigration law. Mr. Wojcik is also an associate, and he concentrates on the creation, protection and enforcement of clients' intellectual property interests, as well as products liability and commercial litigation. Mr. Wolf is of counsel to the firm, and emphasizes products liability and commercial litigation.

Longtime Seattle lawyer and civic activist Robert Follette Buck died February 19 at age 83. Mr. Buck helped promote almost every significant economic or arts development project in Seattle in the last 40 years. In 1981, he won the Municipal League's outstanding citizen award for his efforts on behalf of the city. He was active in the restoration of the 5th Avenue Theatre, and helped create a foreign-trade zone to attract business in tax- and duty-free areas. He served on the boards of Virginia Mason Medical Center, the American Bankers Association, National Municipal League, and the Pacific Northwest Trade Association.

Kent lawyer James Patrick Curran passed away January 30 at age 82, as a result of Alzheimer's disease. In 1967, Mr. Curran was one of the elected Freeholders who drafted the current King County Charter. He served seven years on the Kent City Council in the 1950s, and served as president of the South King County Bar Association in the early 1960s. He helped found the Kent Valley Market as a Saturday sales event (now held daily) for farmers and artisans. Mr. Curran was a member of the WSBA Board of Governors in the 1970s.

Bellevue lawyer Joseph Sylvester Kane, a lifelong advocate for the disenfranchised, died January 20 at age 93. Early in his career, Mr. Kane worked for the American Civil Liberties Union where he represented an officer of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People who was denied a hotel room. He later formed a law firm with John Spellman, who went on to become the governor of Washington. Mr. Kane enjoyed representing labor unions, minorities and vulnerable members of society. He was active in the Democratic party, and devoted substantial time and legal services to candidates.

Ronald Kappelman, of Spokane, passed away on February 5 at age 44 following a heart attack. Mr. Kappelman was a solo practitioner focusing on personal injury and criminal defense. He devoted much of his time to helping people addicted to drugs, and worked with self-help drug programs in the Spokane area.Please send items for Changing Venues to Allison Parker at allisonp@wsba.org; fax 206-727-8319. Mail to Allison Parker, WSBA, 2101 Fourth Ave., Fourth Fl., Seattle, WA 98121-2330.

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