March 2001

Changing Venues

Dwight Wheaton has been elected treasurer of the board of the King County Sexual Assault Resource Center. Mr. Wheaton is a lawyer with the Seattle firm Caincross & Hempelmann.

The newly formed Washington Appellate Lawyers Association has elected the following officers: Catherine Smith, president; Michael King, first vice president; Phil Buri, second vice president; Jim Lobsenz, secretary; Bill Collins, treasurer.

Federal Way lawyer Preston L. Johnson has joined the Tacoma-Pierce County Red Cross Community Service Advisory Council. The council advises and assists in matters relating to service delivery of the chapter’s community service programs.

Thomas M. Culbertson, a principal in the Spokane firm of Lukins & Annis PS, has been elected a fellow of the American College of Trust and Estate Counsel. The College is a national association of lawyers who have made outstanding contributions to the field of trust and estate law in their communities.

Bellevue lawyer Troy Romero has been elected mayor of the city of Sammamish.

Miller Nash has added Liam A. McCann to the litigation department at the firm’s Seattle office. Mr. McCann is an associate focusing on general litigation and intellectual property.

Michael B. Love and Michael J. Paukert have become partners in the Spokane firm Paine, Hamblen, Coffin, Brooke & Miller LLP. Mr. Love concentrates on labor and employment law, and general civil litigation. Mr. Paukert’s practice emphasizes commercial and bankruptcy law.

Daniel E. Stowe has joined the Law Office of Bohrnsen & Stowe in Spokane. Mr. Stowe is a principal shareholder focusing on insurance law and civil litigation.

Robert S. Magnuson and William M. Symmes have become principals in the Spokane firm Witherspoon, Kelley, Davenport & Toole. Mr. Magnuson practices business litigation and medical malpractice defense. Mr. Symmes concentrates on commercial litigation, insurance defense and labor employment law.

Jeffrey M. Sakoi has been elected to his second term as chairman of the management committee at Christiansen O’Connor Johnson Kindness in Seattle. His practice encompasses all aspects of intellectual property law, with particular emphasis in patent and trademark matters.

Claudia Crawford Kilbreath and John D. Sullivan have been elected members of Short Cressman & Burgess PLLC. Ms. Kilbreath joined the Seattle firm in 1993 and provides legal advice to both employers and employees in employment-related matters. Mr. Sullivan is co-chair of the firm’s real estate section. His practice emphasizes real estate transactions and land use.

Jessica Stone Levy has been appointed of counsel to the technology and intellectual property department at the Seattle firm Preston Gates & Ellis LLP. She focuses on trademark prosecution and intellectual property business transactions. The firm has also added 14 new associates to the Seattle office. Theodore J. Angelis, Mathew Segal and Lior Jacob Strahilevitz concentrate on litigation. Peter Berger, Alan W. Bruggeman and Rick L. Leitner are part of the firm’s technology and intellectual property department. Won-Han Cheng focuses on tax law; Catherine Drews concentrates on natural resources law; and Claire M. Jackson focuses on environmental and land use law and litigation. Ryan R. Montecucco and Kristopher R. Pattison (first-year associate) focus on corporate law. Michael P. Moyer practices business law. He is a member of the New York State Bar. Tracey M. Trepess is applying her experience in political science teaching and research to her law practice. Tamara Watts focuses on municipal and health law.

Sarah K. Johnson has joined the Seattle office of Foster Pepper & Shefelmann PLLC as of counsel. She concentrates on litigation and intellectual property. Ivy D. Arai, Joseph A. Brogan, Andrew M. Carter, Sharon E. Cates, W. Alexa Chiang (a member of the Colorado State Bar),

Susan Elizabeth Drummond, W. Gregory Guedel and Thomas J. Parkes have joined the firm as associates. Ms. Arai focuses on employment and health care law. Mr. Brogan’s practice emphasizes land use, environmental and natural resources law. Ms. Cates and Mr. Carter concentrate on litigation and alternative dispute resolution. Ms. Chiang practices in corporate finance, private securities offerings, and general corporate matters. Ms. Drummond focuses on land use. Mr. Guedel’s civil litigation practice emphasizes complex construction, government contracting, and business law. Mr. Parkes concentrates on commercial and residential real estate transactions and development, including acquisitions and sales, leasing, financing, and general real estate matters.

Todd R. Startzel has become a principal in the Spokane firm Leveque & Kirkpatrick PS. His primary focus is civil litigation, with an emphasis on insurance defense and appellate practice.

Mary K. Fleck has become a partner in the Law Offices of James S. Rogers, which is now known as Rogers & Fleck PLLC.

D. William Toone has joined Dorsey & Whitney LLP as a partner in the Seattle technology group, practicing in the area of intellectual property litigation. Mark S. Carlson has joined the Seattle technology group as of counsel. He also focuses on intellectual property litigation.

Riddell Williams PS, in Seattle, has named Diana Dearmin, Robert Howie and Michael Robinson principals. Ms. Dearmin’s practice focuses on technology performance and commercial litigation. Mr. Howie is a member of the labor and employment law, and litigation practice groups. Mr. Robinson is a member of the litigation, and environment and land use practice groups.

Russell D. Garrett and José Dino Vasquez have become shareholders of Bullivant Houser Bailey PC. Mr. Garrett, who works in the Vancouver office, focuses on bankruptcy and creditors’ rights, business transactions, commercial litigation, and real estate and land use. Mr. Vasquez is based in Seattle and concentrates on commercial litigation and insurance. Kimberly S. Burroughs, Vivien K. Chang and Randall J. Cornwall have joined the firm’s Seattle office as associates. Ms. Burroughs advises clients on a choice of entity, corporate and partnership formation, transferring of wealth, and protection of minor children. Ms. Chang concentrates on estate planning and business. Mr. Cornwall is a member of the firm’s insurance practice group.

Alaska Airlines has appointed Cathryn Vergobbi Dammel to staff vice president of labor and employment law, and Thomas R. O’Grady to the new post of staff vice president of general litigation and regulatory law. Ms. Dammel is responsible for the airline’s labor contract negotiations, administration of grievances, supervision of arbitration proceedings, and all legal issues related to the company’s employment policies and practices. Mr. O’Grady oversees all commercial litigation and regulatory proceedings.

Monica Reisner has joined KCTS Television as general counsel and director of human resources. She prepares and negotiates all contracts with outside producers and distributors, advises station staff on various legal issues related to television production, and is responsible for human resources functions at KCTS and its subsidiaries.

Ronald Beard has been elected partner in the Seattle office of Lane Powell Spears Lubersky LLP. He is a trial lawyer concentrating on commercial litigation.

Bellevue lawyer John M. Baker II died January 15 at age 55, after fighting non-Hodgkins lymphoma for six years. A retired real estate lawyer, Mr. Baker was passionate about hiking and world traveling. He went on six African safaris, where he enjoyed watching the gorillas of Rwanda. Mr. Baker earned his law degree from the University of Iowa College of Law in 1970, and served as a judge advocate general in the Navy. He then joined the Bellevue firm that eventually bore his name, Hanson Baker Ludlow & Drumheller.

Kermit P. Owens, of Spokane, died December 25. A 1946 graduate of Gonzaga University School of Law, Mr. Owens served the Spokane area as a lawyer and an active member of Rotary for more than 50 years.

Former King County Superior Court Judge Raymond Royal died January 11, at age 84, after a lengthy battle with Alzheimer’s disease. Judge Royal, a lifelong Seattle resident, received his undergraduate and law degrees from the University of Washington. Active in civic groups, Judge Royal was president of the Northend Clubs of Seattle, served on the first board of trustees of Northwest Hospital, and enjoyed a lifelong affiliation with the Boy Scouts.

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