The practice of law is not about “law processing” – there is rarely a one-size-fits-all solution because every client is special and every problem is unique. The essence of the practice of law is a combination of insight, analysis and judgment all filtered through years of experience in the context of the client’s needs.
I am basically a ‘problem solver’. Sometimes that involves negotiating on a client’s behalf and sometimes that entails suing someone or defending someone in court. Sometimes, I will simply send a client to another law firm because the issues are outside my area of knowledge. I have experience handling commercial and contract disputes, commercial lease negotiations, real estate litigation, some land use issues and certain types of serious personal injury cases. I have experience with certain types of residential construction disputes, probate litigation, medical, lawyer and judicial ethics. I have handled TEDRA estate-related issues pertaining to non-probate transfers of property in contested joint bank accounts with right of survivorship. I have served as a neutral mediator and as commercial arbitrator in small and large matters.
My clients have included personal injury plaintiffs, some insurance companies in select cases, real estate brokers and agents, homeowners, community organizations seeking to protect their neighborhood residential covenants, home buyers and home sellers, small business owners and big business owners, businesses in dissolution, real estate developers, a midwife, a hospital, doctors, dentists and surgeons, restaurant owners, a dance instructor, a government agency responsible for enforcing judicial ethics, massage therapists, a rugby player, software programmers, an escrow company, a sportswear manufacturer, a construction company, a soda pop retailer, other lawyers, persons whose civil rights have been infringed, a rental car company, commercial landlords, commercial tenants, an outdoor adventure school, medical product manufacturers, trucking companies, employment agencies, and the proprietor of a landmark Seattle coffee house.
The practice of law combines the liberal art of persuasion with, when necessary, the martial art of legal coercion. It involves common sense, insight and intuition, clear communication, some finesse, a good sense of humor, a little magic, an appreciation of the brutal economics of the legal system, a clear sense of proportion, an ability to balance aspiration and reality, and more than a little bit of luck.