Division I of the Washington Court of Appeals recently addressed whether a successor personal representative had standing to bring a legal malpractice claim against a law firm that had worked solely with an earlier personal representative. The answer: “No.” In reaching its conclusion, the Court of Appeals in Benjamin v. Singleton, ___ Wn. App. 2d […]
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In 2016, there were nearly as many people in Washington county jails awaiting trial as the population of Lincoln County. The vast majority of people in jails throughout the state have not been convicted of a crime: 77 percent of them, according to findings outlined in the recently released Pretrial Reform Task Force Final Recommendations […]
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Division III of the Washington State Court of Appeals recently, in a split decision, drew from a 1988 death penalty case to refine the determination for when a prosecutor’s client conflict might extend to the office as a whole. State v. Nickels, ___ Wn. App. 2d___, 434 P.3d 535, 2019 WL 479494 (Feb. 7, 2019) […]
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The following was excerpted from an article that will appear in a future issue of NWLawyer. The author was also recently interviewed for the “What’s Next” newsletter on LAW.COM, which you can read here. The client shows his lawyer a video he says he took on his cell phone. It shows the defendant saying things […]
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The Washington Supreme Court recently announced a zero-tolerance approach to sexual harassment in places of public accommodation. In Floeting v. Group Health, Inc., No. 95205-1., issued Jan. 31, the Court responded to the case of a patient who alleged he was sexually harassed repeatedly by a hospital employee and sued the hospital under Washington Law […]
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In a C-SPAN interview last September, Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg addressed a topic that most might not expect: implicit bias in a symphony orchestra. Justice Ginsburg related the story of a famous male music critic who bragged that he could tell the difference between male and female musicians—but when the musicians played behind a curtain, […]
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The WSBA Committee on Professional Ethics recently released advisory opinion No. 201802 addressing “quadripartite” relationships. “Tripartite” relationships among an insurer, the insured, and defense counsel have been delineated extensively in both court decisions and advisory opinions. “Quadripartite” relationships, by contrast, are a fairly new development and remain comparatively unplumbed. The term generally describes situations where […]
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A recent decision from the U.S. District Court in Seattle highlights the importance of “non-engagement” letters: a letter or other communication to a non-client involved in the background context of a representation telling the non-client that the lawyer is not representing the non-client. Smartek21, LLC v. VisiKard, Inc., 2018 WL 5024031 (W.D. Wash. Oct. 17, […]
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In a case of first impression in Washington, the Supreme Court recently held that the double jeopardy provisions of the United States and Washington Constitutions do not apply to lawyer discipline proceedings. In re Waechter, ___ Wn.2d ___, 419 P.3d 827, 2018 WL 2977072 (June 14, 2018), involved a lawyer who had allegedly converted client […]
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A recent decision by the U.S. Supreme Court over a land dispute between two Skagit County land owners and the Upper Skagit Indian Tribe provided some clarification on an earlier Washington Supreme Court precedent, but left open a much larger question concerning tribal sovereign immunity.
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Help has arrived for health care providers who are fed up with the burdens and delays of credentialing with multiple health carriers in the state of Washington. Beginning this year, a new law should address two significant problems that have long plagued the credentialing process, which is the method insurance carriers use to ensure that […]
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A recent decision by Division III of the Washington Court of Appeals illustrates the importance of confirming whether or not you have taken on a client at an initial meeting. Fechner v. Volyn, ___ Wn. App. ___, 418 P.3d 120, 2018 WL 2307703 (May 22, 2018), was painted against the backdrop of a medical malpractice […]
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Ethics guru Mark Fucile analyzes a Court of Appeals decision to overturn a lower court’s ruling for contempt against a defendant’s former counsel. Division I of the Washington Court of Appeals recently addressed a subpoena duces tecum to former counsel in State v. Rogers, ___ Wn. App. ___, 414 P.3d 1143, 2018 WL 1602957 (2018). […]
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Attorney-client privilege is waived when claiming attorney fees for the work involved as damages, a Court of Appeals rules. Division I of the Washington Court of Appeals held recently that the attorney-client privilege is waived when claiming attorney fees for the work involved as damages in a subsequent legal malpractice case. Leen v. Defoe, 2018 […]
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Previously overlooked legal rules could raise costs for physicians seeking to establish or expand small outpatient surgery centers. New enforcement of previously overlooked legal requirements could significantly raise costs for physicians seeking to establish or expand small outpatient surgery centers. The Washington State Department of Health recently limited exemptions in its Certificate of Need Program, […]
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Division I of the Washington Court of Appeals recently interpreted the term “proceeds” to which an attorney lien attached in a dissolution case. Matter of Marriage of Shulikov, 2017 WL 3476783 (Wn. App. Aug. 14, 2017) (unpublished), involved a dissolution case that had settled in trial court. The resolution involved payments of maintenance and child […]
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