February 2001

Changing Venues

The Board of Trustees of the Legal Foundation of Washington has elected the following officers: president, Honorable Cynthia Imbrogno; vice-president, Katrin E. Frank; treasurer, Jeanne J. Dawes; and secretary, John R. Kephart. Victor H. Lara and David A. Leen were appointed to the board.

The following officers and trustees were elected to serve the Federal Bar Association for the coming year: president, Michele A. Gammer; vice-president, James A. Smith, Jr.; treasurer, Scott E. Collins; secretary, Steve Y. Koh; and trustees, Laura J. Buckland, John S. Congalton, Sheryl Gordon McCloud, James M. Shaker and Kevin D. Swan.

Among lawyers selected by their peers for inclusion in the 2001-2002 edition of The Best Lawyers in America are the following who are with the firm of Miller Nash LLP: Joyce M. Bernheim, Dean D. DeChaine, Jeffrey C. Thede and Robert J. Walerius.

The following lawyers with Lane Powell Spears Lubersky LLP were selected for inclusion in The Best Lawyers in America: Charles R. Ekberg, D. Wayne Gittinger, Robert E. Maloney, Jr., Michael E. Morgan, James L. Robart and Reed P. Schifferman.

The following lawyers with the Seattle firm of Foster Pepper & Shefelman PLLC were selected for inclusion in The Best Lawyers in America: Bradley J. Berg, Jack J. Cullen, Robert J. Diercks, Dwight J. Drake, Gary E. Fluhrer, Camden M. Hall, Willard Hatch, Dillon E. Jackson, Richard E. Keefe, Patrick F. Kennedy, Judith M. Runstad and Lee R. Voorhees.

The Northwest Justice Project has received an award of $292,000 pursuant to the Violence Against Women Act to implement a new project that will increase free legal services for immigrant women in King County. The project will have two lawyers representing low-income and limited English-speaking, domestic-violence victims.

The Honorable Richard P. Guy has joined the Seattle office of JAMS, following his retirement from the Washington Supreme Court. He will be one of 200 neutrals participating in arbitration and mediation.

The Washington State Attorney General's Office has appointed the following assistant attorneys general: Mark Anderson, Sarah Bendersky, Jim Brusselback, Ted Callow, Allison Croft, Rachael DelVillar, Amy Estes, Rusty Fallis, AnnaLisa Gellerman, Donna Hamilton, Bourtai Hargrove, Beth Holmes, Lisa Hornfeck, Nels Johnson, Sam Jordan, Damian King, John Level, Andrea LeWinter, Robert Lundgaard, Barbara Markham, Margaret McLean, Mona McPhee, Jean Meyn, Shelley Mortinson, John Nicholson, Kenneth Orcutt, Joe Panesko, Lisa Petersen, Carole Ressler, ElShon Richmond, Happy Rons, Alexandra Smith, Christopher Swanson, Michael Tribble, Bruce Turcott, Steve Vinyard, Judith Warner, Josh Whited, Sonia Wolfman, Melissa Wood and Mark Yamashita.

Richard A. Staeheli has become of counsel with the law firm of Paine, Hamblen, Coffin, Brooke & Miller LLP in Spokane. His practice emphasizes estate planning and IRS, death and gift tax administration. Christina B. Edmundson has joined the firm as an associate focusing on estate planning and trust and probate administration. J. Michael Keyes has joined the firm as an associate with an emphasis on intellectual property. Sok-Khieng Lim joins the firm as an associate. Her practice emphasizes commercial and complex litigation. Andrew J. Mitchell joins the firm as an associate with an emphasis in commercial litigation, as well as environmental, natural resources, Indian and water law. Darrin L. Murphey (member of the Idaho State Bar) has also joined the firm as an associate. His practice emphasis is in commercial transactions, real estate and business law.

Minaksi Bhatt and Paul V. McCarthy have been elected partners in the Seattle office of Lane Powell Spears Lubersky LLP. Ms. Bhatt focuses on intellectual property and antitrust litigation. Mr. McCarthy concentrates on real estate, commercial transactions and banking law. Erik D. Price has joined the firm's Olympia office as an associate. He focuses on civil litigation, administrative and environmental law.

John S. Cullen, Aaron Dean and Petrea Knudsen Reilly have joined the Seattle office of Bullivant Houser Bailey PC. As a member of the business practice group, Mr. Cullen focuses on business transactions, taxation issues and intellectual property issues. An associate, Mr. Dean is a member of the insurance practice group. Ms. Reilly is also a member of the firm's insurance practice group and concentrates on litigation.

Michael J. Crisera, Daniel F. Johnson, Robin G. McPherson, Maureen Mitchell and Jamie Walker have joined Short Cressman & Burgess as associates. Mr. Crisera concentrates on employment law and general litigation. Mr. Johnson focuses on employment, civil rights and consumer protection law, providing employment law, litigation and counseling services. Ms. McPherson practices general litigation and environmental law. Ms. Mitchell focuses on employment, environmental and insurance law, as well as general litigation. Ms. Walker's practice emphasizes litigation, construction law and real estate. She is a member of the California Bar.

J. Bradley Buckhalter, Stone Grissom, Jason Schauer and Timothy Scott have joined the Tacoma firm of Gordon Thomas Honeywell as associates.

Tad H. Shimazu has joined Williams, Kastner & Gibbs PLLC as of counsel. His practice emphasizes environmental law and litigation. Holly Benton, Gabe Galanda, Ryan Moore and Khanh Tran have joined the firm as associates. Ms. Benton focuses on employment law, family law and general litigation. Mr. Galanda concentrates on general civil litigation; labor, employment, and Indian law. Mr. Moore's practice includes appeals, municipal law, commercial litigation, and real estate and land use. Mr. Tran focuses on commercial and civil litigation.

Charmaine Clark has joined the litigation group at the Seattle firm of Skellenger Bender. Peter Offenbecher has also joined the firm, focusing on commercial litigation, criminal defense and disciplinary cases.

Michael J. Thorner has joined the Yakima firm of Thorner, Kennedy & Gano PS as an associate.

Jill C. Yen has joined the Seattle office of Karr Tuttle Campbell as an associate in the business and finance department's corporate finance practice group.

Foster Pepper & Shefelman PLLC has added Diana L. Dietrich, Laurie D. Heinz, Hunington Sachs, Nancy V. Stephens and Michelle M. Carmody to the firm's Seattle office. Ms. Dietrich, a member, concentrates on antitrust and trade regulations. Ms. Heinz joined the firm as of counsel, and focuses on the commercialization of developing technologies and the licensing of patent rights, trade secrets, copyrights and trade regulations. Mr. Sachs joined the firm as of counsel, focusing on emerging growth companies, and corporate, securities, intellectual property and entertainment law. Ms. Stephens, who is of counsel, concentrates on trademark matters. Ms. Carmody focuses on creditors' rights and bankruptcy. She joined the firm as an associate.

A special counsel and three new associates have joined the Seattle office of Heller Ehrman White & McAuliffe LLP. Anne R. Voegtlen joined the firm as special counsel in the business practice group. Gillian R. Apfel, Matthew A. Carvalho and Michael Dion are associates in the litigation department.

John Hume Chapman, a member of the WSBA for 40 years, died October 24, 2000 at the age of 67. A graduate of Harvard Law School, Mr. Chapman practiced business and commercial law. For over 20 years, he was a board member and supporter of the Northwest Center for the Retarded.

Retired Walla Walla County Superior Court Judge James B. Mitchell died October 27, 2000 at the age of 71. Former co-workers remember him fondly as a man who loved a good joke. Judge Mitchell was in private practice from 1960 to 1976. During that time, he also served as the Walla Walla city attorney and a U.S. court commissioner. He was elected to the Walla Walla County Superior Court in 1976, and retired from the bench in 1989.

Theodore Francis (Ted) Zelasko, 75, died of a heart attack on November 2, 2000. A graduate of the University of Washington School of Law, Mr. Zelasko, the son of an Aberdeen lawyer, practiced law in Aberdeen for 42 years. He was an active member of the Grays Harbor County Bar Association, Elks Club, VFW, Knights of Columbus and Lions Club. For 18 years he served on the board of directors of the Grays Harbor Housing Authority. He also served on the board of trustees for the Aberdeen-based Anchor Savings Bank.

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