Current News & Events          

 Leading Firm - Ranked in Chambers USA 2010

Announcing RW Leadership Elections and Appointments

Bryce Holland and Charlie Fitzpatrick have each been elected to a two-year term on the Executive Committee.

The following individuals have been named Practice Group Chair of their respective practice area:

  • Kyle Branum, Chair – Real Estate and Land Use
  • Wesley Ward Morrison, Jr., Chair – Product Liability
  • Laurence Shapero, Chair – Labor and Employment

    • The Women Attorneys Group Kicks off Their Summer Service Initiative

    On May 20, the Women Attorneys will kick off their Summer Service Initiative (accepting monetary and canned food donations for the benefit of Northwest Harvest) at a hosted event being held at Blue Ribbon Cooking. Shelley Rotondo, Executive Director of Northwest Harvest, will give a brief presentation about the many services Northwest Harvest provides in our community and across the state.

    Community service is a core value at Riddell Williams. Last year, the Women Attorneys’ Group adopted a Summer Service Initiative to give back to our community. Some of the planned activities for this year include providing community meals to homeless women and teens, a clothing drive to benefit Dress for Success, and a book drive to support literacy. The culmination of the Summer Service Initiative will be the second annual “Mini Sips and Shoes” reception in September to benefit Ryther Child Center League.

    News Alert for Nonprofits

    In these tough economic times, nonprofits need to make every dollar count. Here is a News Alert from our Nonprofit Group on some important changes in the law governing reallocation of restricted funds.

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    RW Team Obtains $30 Million Jury Verdict for Clients

    The RW litigation team of Karl Quackenbush, Ken Lederman, Charlie Fitzpatrick, Merkys Gómez and Chris Schenck recently obtained a $30,000,000 jury verdict for our clients after a three-week jury trial in King County Superior Court.

    Riddell Williams represented three Washington LLCs in a case against Diamond Resorts Pacific, Inc., a multi-national timeshare company. The case involved claims by the LLCs that Diamond Resorts had failed to convey certain real estate interests, had interfered with business expectations, had breached contracts and committed unfair business practices under Washington law. After two days of deliberations, the jury returned a verdict in favor of our clients on all claims, and awarded the maximum amount of monetary damages suggested during closing argument. In addition to the monetary damages, the Court also entered an order of specific performance requiring the defendant to convey the disputed real estate interests to our clients and to assume nearly all of the costs associated with the conveyances. The real interests included valuable vacation properties located in Palm Springs, California and Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. Our clients were also awarded their full attorneys fees and costs.

    Successful Defense of Microsoft Against Consolidated Class Action Cases

    The firm represented Microsoft Corp. in its successful defense of consolidated class action cases brought in U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington. In Johnson et al v. Microsoft Corp. plaintiffs asserted claims on behalf of an alleged nationwide class for breach of contract, unjust enrichment and violation of the Washington Consumer Protection Act relating to Microsoft’s Windows Genuine Advantage program. After several f rulings in Microsoft’s favor the Plaintiffs dropped their class allegations and ultimately dismissed all remaining claims with prejudice. The firm’s team on the case included Karl Quackenbush, Gavin Skok and Merkys Gómez.

    RW Proudly Announces the Election of Three Women Attorneys to Principal

    Wendy Lyon, Courtney Seim and Skylar Sherwood were elected to principal on January 14, 2010.

    Wendy E. Lyon is a civil trial attorney and is a member of the Litigation and Real Estate and Land Use practice groups. She received her B.A. in History from the University of California at Los Angeles in 2000, and her J.D. from Boalt Hall School of Law at the University of California at Berkeley, Order of the Coif, in 2003.

    Courtney L. Seim is a member of the Litigation and Environmental and Natural Resources practice groups. She received her B.A. in Political Science, with a Minor in Japanese, in 1999 from the University of Washington, and her J.D. from University of California, Davis, School of Law in 2004.

    Skylar A. Sherwood is a member of the Litigation and Labor and Employment practice groups. She earned her B.S. in Cell and Molecular Biology from the University of Washington and her J.D. from Case Western Reserve University School of Law in Cleveland, Ohio.

    Wendy, Courtney and Skylar have each been designated a Rising Star® by Washington Law & Politics magazine.

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    Continuing to Increase Strength Through Strategic Growth, Riddell Williams is Pleased to Announce the Hiring of Three New Associates:

    Bryan Case, Keith Seo and Shata Stucky.

    Bryan Case received his J.D. from Seattle University School of Law, summa cum laude. Bryan joins the Bankruptcy and Creditors’ Rights and Litigation practice groups.

    Keith Seo joins the Health Care and Corporate Transactions and Finance practice groups. Keith received his J.D. from Seattle University School of Law, magna cum laude, and was the recipient of Riddell Williams’ Diversity Fellowship in 2007.

    Shata Stucky received her J.D. from University of Minnesota Law School, cum laude. Shata joins the Environmental and Natural Resources and Litigation practice groups.

    10 RW Attorneys Listed as Washington Rising Stars®

    We would like to congratulate the Riddell Williams attorneys who were designated Washington Rising Stars®, as announced in the Winter 2010 edition of Washington Law & Politics magazine:

  • Rebecca L. Andrews
  • William P. Brewer
  • Charlie S. Fitzpatrick
  • Erin Joyce Letey
  • Wendy E. Lyon
  • Joshua M. Piper
  • Christopher Schenck
  • Courtney L. Seim
  • Skylar A. Sherwood
  • David C. Weber

    • Congratulations!

    McVey and Tsai: Recipients of the 2009 J. Vernon Williams Award

    On October 16, 2008, the Firm announced the establishment of the J. Vernon Williams Award. The award is presented annually to one lawyer and one staff member who best emulate the firm's core values: Integrity, Professionalism, Respect, Excellence, Teamwork, Fairness, Diversity, Generosity, Community Service, and Stewardship.

    At the firm’s holiday party, held December 11, the recipients of the 2009 J. Vernon Williams Award were announced. Congratulations to Pat McVey and Kenny Tsai.

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    Congratulations to Josh Piper

    On Thursday, October 29, the King County Bar Association will present Josh with a Volunteer of the Year award for the Legal Services for the Homeless Program, at the KCBA/KCBF Gratitude Celebration. Josh exemplifies the core values of Riddell Williams through his generosity and community service. For several years, Josh has provided advice on legal issues to the residents of the William Booth Center.

    RW Hosts Presentation and Reception on Global Health

    Riddell Williams was very pleased to host a presentation and reception for the Washington Global Health Alliance and member organizations PATH and Seattle Biomedical Research Institute in our offices on Thursday, September 17. Alliance Director Lisa Cohen, SBRI founder and president Dr. Ken Stuart, and PATH Vice President Scott Jackson, described the extraordinary work of the Alliance and its members and the economic opportunities posed by these organizations for our region. Riddell Williams is a sponsoring member of the Alliance and hosted this event to introduce clients and friends of the firm to this work and these opportunities. Attorneys in the firm's employment, intellectual property, and nonprofit practice groups do work for a number of the members of the Alliance. For further information on the Alliance and opportunities for your organization to become involved in making Seattle the "Third City" in the world for global health, please contact the head of our nonprofit group, David M. Brenner, or see the Alliance' website.

    Congratulations to PetroCard—Minority Supplier Distributor of the Year

    Riddell Williams congratulates PetroCard Systems Inc., recipient of the Minority Business Development Agency's Minority Supplier Distributor of the Year award. PetroCard is one of only 10 national award winners and Riddell Williams has been privileged to work with PetroCard for more than ten years. PetroCard will be honored at the Annual Gala of the Minority Business Development Agency to be held on August 28 in Washington, D.C.

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    Heidi Drivdahl Joins Riddell Williams

    Heidi focuses her practice on emerging companies, venture capital, mergers and acquisitions, public and private financings, and general corporate and securities representations. She has extensive transactional experience in public and private securities offerings, and mergers and acquisitions. Heidi also provides broad general corporate and securities advice to public and private companies, particularly those within the medical device, biotechnology, software, e-commerce, security and other high-technology industries. Heidi represents numerous start-ups and venture and angel-backed companies, and regularly represents venture capital and private equity investors.

    Heidi comes to Riddell Williams from DLA Piper and joins the firm’s Corporate Transactions and Finance Group. In 2008, the group closed transactions in excess of half a billion dollars.

    21 RW Attorneys Listed as Washington Super Lawyers®

    We would like to congratulate the Riddell Williams attorneys who were designated Washington Super Lawyers® for 2010. Fewer than five percent of the more than 27,000 lawyers who practice in Washington state are chosen for this award.

    The following Riddell Williams attorneys were selected:

    Karen Jones and Barbara Shickich received Top 50 highest point totals for women in Washington. Karen Jones and Karl Quackenbush received the Top 100 highest point totals for Washington. Congratulations!

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    Upcoming Presentations

    Our Breakfast Briefing Series will resume in the fall. Stay close to this site for announcements on upcoming dates and topics.

    SAVE THESE DATES:

    Labor and Employment Group:

    September 29 - Topic TBA

    November 17 - Topic TBA

    Seating is limited so please reserve your space by calling 206.389.1710 or sending an email to ktran@riddellwilliams.com.

    August 13, 2010, 8:30 am - 4:30 pm, Tacoma, Washington

    Blake Marks-Dias will present at the upcoming CLE "Document Retention and Destruction." Blake will speak on the "Need for Instituting Litigation Holds and How to Go About Doing Them."

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