Education

• Seattle University School of Law, J.D., summa cum laude
• University of Puget Sound, B.A. in Communications, magnum cum laude

Professional Affiliations

• Washington State Bar Association (member)
• Tacoma Pierce County Bar Association (Board of Directors for Young Lawyer’s Section, 2009-2012, President 2011)
• United States District Court for the Western District of Washington
• United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
• Washington State Association for Justice (Eagle Member 2007 to present)

Community and Civic Activities

• Tacoma Public Library (Board of Trustees, 2012-2016)
• Tacoma Human Rights Commission (Chair, 2011-2014)
• Metropolitan Development Council (Board of Directors, 2010-2013)

Professional Activities

• Associate Editor, Seattle University Law Review, 2004-2006
• Extern for the Honorable Mary E. Fairhurst, Washington Supreme Court, 2006

Publications

• Worker’s Compensation Handbook, Washington State Association for Justice (Chapter Author, 2009)
• The After Life of the Meretricious Relationship Doctrine: Applying the Doctrine Post Mortem, 29 Seattle Univ. L.R. 243 (2005).

Special Recognitions

• Named “Super Lawyer” by Super Lawyer Magazine for 2019, 2020, 2021, and 2022.
• Member of the Million Dollar Advocates Forum
• Named one of the top 100 plaintiff trial lawyers by the National Trial Lawyers Top 100 (2018)
• Named one of the top 10 attorneys in Washington State for personal injury by the National Academy of Personal Injury Attorneys (2017 and 2018)
• Named one of the top 10 best personal injury attorneys in Washington State for client satisfaction by the American Institute of Personal Injury Attorneys (2016)
• Named one of the top 10 attorneys in Washington State under the age of 40 for Personal Injury by the National Academy of Personal Injury Attorneys (2016)
• Named “Rising Star” by Super Lawyer Magazine (2014, 2015, and 2016)

Representative Appellate Decisions

• Harder Mechanical, Inc. v. Tierney, No. 74845-9-I (2016). This was a workers compensation case for a union member who worked out of a union hall. We litigated his wage order and won a ruling that his wages should be based on a full time, 40 hour a week, basis, even though he did not regularly work 40 hour weeks all year long. The employer wanted to average his work hours for the year prior to his injury, which would have resulted in his time loss rate being cut in half. This was a significant victory for union workers.
• Tilton v. The Kroger Co., No. 37917-1-II (2010). This was a personal injury claim involving a slip and fall in the floral department at a store owned by Kroger. The case was initially litigated at the trial court by another attorney, and the case was dismissed. I appealed the dismissal, and the Court of Appeals reversed the dismissal, finding that there was sufficient evidence of a dangerous condition on the defendant’s property for the case to proceed to trial.
• Tomlinson v. Puget Sound Freight Lines, Inc., No. 80811-2 (2009). This was a workers compensation case that presented the issue of whether a self-insured employer could reduce an injured worker’s award for permanent partial disability when x-rays showed that the claimant had preexisting arthritis. The court held that a preexisting condition must substantially and permanently limit an injured worker’s ability to function before an employer can use the preexisting condition to reduce the award for permanent partial disability.
• Little v. King, No. 61309-0-I (2008). This was a personal injury claim involving a motor vehicle collision and the plaintiff’s uninsured motorist insurance policy. We obtained a $2 million judgment and the issue was what rate of post judgment interest did the insurance company have to pay for holding on to the funds while the case was litigated up to the Supreme Court, which took several years. The trial court held that tort rate applied. I argued that the much higher contract rate applied. The Court of Appeals agreed and reversed the trial court, which resulted in over $700,000 in interest being owed to our client.
• Mendoza v. Neudorfer Engineers, Inc., No. 26592-8-II (2008). This case involved a construction site injury that occurred on Joint Base Lewis McChord. A different attorney litigated the case at the trial court. The trial court dismissed the case for lack of subject matter jurisdiction, finding that the state court did not have jurisdiction since the injury occurred on federal land. I handled the appeal, and argued that tort claims are transitory so both federal and state courts had jurisdiction. The Court of Appeals agreed, and reversed the dismissal, allowing the case to go forward to trial.

Education

• Seattle University School of Law, J.D., cum laude
• Western Washington University, B.A., Sociology, Minor in Political Science

Professional Affiliations

• Washington State Bar Association (member)
• United States District Court for the Western District of Washington
• Washington State Association for Justice (Eagle Member from 2024 to present)

Special Recognitions

• Named “Rising Star” in fhe field of Workers’ Compensation by Super Lawyer Magazine for 2021, 2022, 2023 and 2024

Representative Cases

• ABM Janitorial v. Hasna Radovovich: obtained a favorable jury verdict in an employer appeal to an order allowing the claim for the conditions diagnosed as right shoulder tear and right carpal tunnel syndrome. 
• In re Steve Patnode: overcame a timeliness issue and negotiated the acceptance of cervical stenosis and cervical radiculopathy that resulted in further treatment and time loss benefits.