Relevant Experience -- What Can I Do for You?
Below are a few examples of my legal experience. (For a glimpse into what a lawyer can do to pursue other interests, read about the nationally-acclaimed Community Solar program I managed at Seattle City Light in a great article in Grist.)
Real estate purchase and development transactions or major leasing projects that allowed REI to help its customers get outdoors at over 20 new REI locations, including Seattle, Denver and Bloomington MN Flagship stores.
Lease negotiation; sale of business assets and leases for a Bon Appétit pick as one of “America’s Best New Restaurants 2016.” Finding the perfect spot for your business might take more than one try over a period of years. If you need to move, it goes without saying that you want to minimize your liability for ongoing rental payments or for the obligations of any successor tenant. But you can also use help maximizing the profits from selling equipment and the rights to your space, which may be perfect for someone else.
Negotiation of leases for national retail chains and financial institutions. From candy stores in shopping malls in suburban Maryland to long-term ground leases for national banks in Whatcom County, Washington – businesses want the best deals they can get as tenants to keep costs low and operations flexible.
Counseling of business leadership on contracting strategy and risk; training business development and project management personnel on legal matters; managing intellectual property rights; forming partnerships with software providers and other third parties. Providing a service to a client or customer is often a business focus, but protecting assets, including intellectual property and inventions, and providing clear rules around working with those customers, from project development to payment, is something no business should neglect. I have written and negotiated services contracts for everything from multi-million dollar projects to modernize state licensing systems to IT system overhauls for Fortune 100 companies to local pest-control and general contractor businesses looking to make contracting easy for themselves and their customers.
Oversight and compliance related to environmental cleanups at multiple REI stores, including the Seattle Flagship store. Did you know that that lush urban “forest” outside the Seattle store is the site of a previous commercial laundry with numerous underground storage tanks for toxic cleaning chemicals?
Providing legal advice on residential property transactions, including many for vacant land. Working with property owners to understand and successfully navigate the development process, including due diligence, subdivision and permitting. Just because today’s market is hot doesn’t mean buyers and sellers shouldn’t take care to avoid surprises down the road. A few dollars spent up front is worth losing much more when the unexpected suddenly arises.
Representation of refugees in applications to reunite with family members. There is nothing like the satisfaction of bringing a family together when a difficult immigration process seems to have been working against the desired outcome. During a two-year stay in New Zealand from 2010-2012, I volunteered for the Wellington Community Law Centre and worked in an entirely different legal area than I had ever practiced in previously. This experience brought me back to the rewards of research and writing, as I prepared (and won) appeals in complicated cases.