March 2006
Around the State
. . . Three-Dot Monthly
News from the public prints and the press release pile
Helen Donigan, of the Gonzaga law faculty, will present a paper, "Gender and Justice in the Washington State Courts: A Decade of Leadership by a Supreme Court Commission," at the Oxford Round Table in England in August. Donigan is a former member of the Washington State Gender and Justice Commission … At Seattle U's School of Law, four first-years took top regional honors in the ABA Negotiation Competition. Hagen Gavem and Jimmy Anderson, the top dogs, went on to the national competition in Chicago last month; Prof. Melinda Branscombe is the coach … Chief Justice Gerry Alexander has announced he will seek another term on the Supreme Court. No word if any more Johnsons have filed … For their work as chair and co-chair of the Washington State Tax Structure Study Committee, Hugh Spitzer and Bill Gates (the dad) have won the League of Women Voters Good in Government Award … Colleen L. McMullen, Dustin R. Klinger, Jeffrey Lindberg, and Christopher M. Veley have all set up in Miller Nash's Vancouver office … Laura McClellan, Robert A. Perez, and Carllene M. Placide have been elected members of Foster Pepper PLLC … Helsell Fetterman hired Laura Hoexter for estate planning … Perkins Coie is happy 29 of its young lawyers made WL&P's annual Rising Stars List — too numerous to list, but congrats to all, and to the many other winners whose firms haven't sent in a release yet … Meanwhile, Perkins partner Bart Waldman has joined the Seattle Mariners as vice president, baseball counsel, and associate general counsel … Stritmatter Kessler Whelan Withey Coluccio of Hoquiam and Seattle has won WSTLA's Alvin Anderson Award in recognition of the firm's work against Initiative 330 last year … The Latina/o Bar Association of Washington welcomed Governor Christine Gregoire and New Mexico Attorney General Patricia Madrid as speakers for its annual dinner in January. Judge Mary Yu of King County Superior Court won LBAW's Modelo de Excelencia Award; M. Laura Contreras received the La Comunidad Award; and Kevin Diaz won the Miembro Excepcional Award … The Cairncross & Hempelman firm is pleased that three minority bar association presidents are among the lawyers there: Michele Alicia Wong (Vietnamese American Bar Association of Washington); Diankha Linear (Loren Miller Bar Association of Washington); and Michael Heath (QLaw: The GLBT Bar Association of Washington). Well done, one and all.
News Coups
Olympia Attorneys Receive WSBA Local Hero Awards
On January 13, two Olympia attorneys, the late Richard W. Hemstad, who died December 12 at the age of 72, and Nancy Koptur, were honored with the WSBA's Local Hero Award, presented to lawyers who have made noteworthy contributions to their communities. WSBA President S. Brooke Taylor presented the awards at a luncheon with members of the WSBA Board of Governors, Thurston County Bar Association, and Government Lawyers Bar Association at the Phoenix Inn Suites in Olympia. Mr. Hemstad's widow, Micki Hemstad, accepted the award on his behalf.
Mr. Hemstad, a former state senator and 12-year member of the Washington Utilities and Transportation Commission (UTC), was one of three commissioners regulating private investor-owned utilities in Washington. He was originally appointed by former Governor Mike Lowry to the three-member panel in 1993, and reappointed by former Gov. Gary Locke in 1998. "Dick was one of the most dedicated public servants this state has ever known," said former Governor Dan Evans. "He was a long-time valued colleague and friend. He exemplified the very best in his devotion to public service."
Ms. Koptur, as the president of Thurston County Volunteer Legal Services (TCVLS) and a member of its board of trustees for many years, has been an indefatigable volunteer and legal advocate on behalf of low-income people facing legal problems in the civil-court system. She has been a frequent volunteer at TCVLS since 1997, volunteering at more than 35 legal clinics in the last two years. "I can think of no other volunteer who is as constant and dedicated in her volunteer activities in support of legal services for the most vulnerable members of our community and who makes such a direct contribution in so many ways to the realization of equal justice," wrote TCVLS Director Scott Douglas in nominating Ms. Koptur for the award.
In Memoriam
Judge Jack E. Tanner
Judge Jack E. Tanner, who rose from a black working-class Tacoma family to a seat on the U.S. District Court bench, died January 10 at the age of 86 in Tacoma, where he lived his entire life.
A staunch and indefatigable champion of civil rights, Judge Tanner marched in Mississippi during the civil rights movement, helped Washington tribes fight for their fishing rights, accused the U.S. justice system of institutional racism, testified on behalf of U.S. Supreme Court nominee Clarence Thomas during his confirmation hearings, and served as a mentor to young black attorneys.
"He lived life to the fullest," said Pierce County Superior Court Judge Beverly Grant, who served as Tanner's law clerk shortly after he was appointed to the federal bench by President Carter. On June 2, 1978, Tanner took the oath of office and became Washington's first African-American member of the federal judiciary.
One of his most famous rulings came in 1983, when Tanner found that Washington state's policy of paying lower salaries for jobs held primarily by women was a form of wage discrimination and, therefore, illegal. The so-called "comparable worth" ruling was later overturned on appeal, but the state settled with thousands of workers for back wages.
Judge Tanner spent more than 20 years practicing law in the Puget Sound region before ascending to the federal bench. Lawyers who knew him say he did not preside quietly, but became known as a maverick with strong opinions who wasn't shy about expressing them, and even picked up the nickname "Maximum Jack" for imposing tough sentences on convicted criminals.
Judge Tanner died peacefully at his home with his two daughters at his side.
Roger Wesley Jones Jr.
As remembered by his friends Dan Caine and Rick Morry.
Roger Jones was born and raised in Seattle. His great grandfather was U.S. Senator Wesley L. Jones, who gave his name to the Jones Act that to this day regulates coastwise shipping. His grandfather, H.B. Jones, was a senior partner in the Seattle law firm of Jones, Grey and Bayley, which merged with Stoel Rives in 1987. His father, Roger W. Jones Sr., is also an attorney, but is not engaged in active practice.
Roger attended Lakeside School and Princeton University. After serving as a Navy lieutenant, he graduated from the University of Washington School of Law in 1972. His practice generally focused on real estate and estate planning. He was particularly renowned as an expert in foreclosure law.
His career began with Macbride, Sax and McIver. He founded a new law firm in 1986. In 1996, he became a solo practitioner sharing offices with Stan Cole, who had been with him at Macbride, Sax and McIver, and later with his childhood friend Rick Morry, in space subleased from Ryan Swanson & Cleveland in the Washington Mutual Tower.
A distinguished presence with a wonderfully cynical sense of humor, Roger was a true Renaissance man. A superior athlete, he was a member of the Princeton golf team and a scratch player in his prime, as well as a pool shark who won the Princeton championship and relished suckering friends and colleagues into a game. Roger also possessed an artistic bent. He wrote poetry with perfect iambic pentameter, loved contemporary art and music, and created many stained glass pieces over the years, most notably an eight-foot tall window in his Medina home of a peacock that he unveiled to friends and family in 2000. He recently constructed a koi pond in his backyard, all by himself, just beyond the deck and benches he had made, an accomplishment of which he was very proud.
He is survived by his father, Roger W. Jones Sr.; his wife, Linda Penitsch Jones; his three daughters, Jenni Jones, Teri Ashbaugh, and Julie Teske; his sisters, Stephanie Jones and Debbie Vitulli; and nephews Josh and Markus Vitulli and niece Christina Jones.
Roger W. Jones Jr. suffered a brain aneurysm just before Christmas and passed away at Harborview Medical Center on December 27, 2005, aged 61.
