Recently the chief executive and controlling shareholder of Amazon, Jeff Bezos, and his wife, the novelist MacKenzie Bezos, announced that they will divorce.  Thus far at least the news has not had a lasting effect on Amazon’s stock price, even though investors do not know how the couple’s 16% controlling stake in the company will be affected by the divorce.

In this day and age, news travels fast, and news of crises travels even faster.  Take, as an example, the forcible removal of Dr. David Dao from a United Airlines flight by officers last year.  The action, in which Dr. Dao was violently dragged off a plane after being seated in order to make room for a United employee, was videoed on a passenger’s cell phone and widely distributed—resulting in a public-relations mess for United.

Mr. David Bruce will present “Making Your Case” as part of a one-day seminar on Landslides sponsored by the Seminar Group, October 25th 2018, at the Washington Athletic Club. This seminar is an opportunity for attorneys, claims professionals, and others to learn the nuts and bolts of landslides in Washington. Slope movement events in western Washington have become more frequent and more ...

Michele Stephen and Miles Yanick will be attending the IRGlobal Annual Event in London on October 13 – 16, 2018.  The focus of this event is “Communication Matters”.  Simply  put,  effective  business  communication  is  the  lifeblood  of  any  organization.  It  helps  you  convey  your  ideas;  lead,  guide,  and motivate  your  employees;  and  resolve  conflicts  and  issues.  To  tackle  this  subject,  we  will  share  experiences  and  hear  from  a  variety  of  experts  including  world  renowned top  10  TED  speaker  of  all  time  Julian  Treasure.

Disputes often arise in the middle of a deposition—such as how to allocate the time available for deposing a third-party witness, the scope of a 30(b)(6) deposition, or simply the permissibility of a line of questioning or an objection.  Although these are opportune times to call the judge for an immediate and timely ruling, parties often are reluctant to do this.

Mr. David Bruce presented on the topic of Class Certification at the Seminar Group’s 21st Annual Labor & Employment Law Conference on August 24th, 2018.

In his presentation titled “Class Certification: The End or Just The Beginning”, Mr. Bruce discussed how wage and hour class actions present issues of CR 23 commonality and predominance, highlighted in U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Wal-Mart Stores v. Dukes.

Savitt Bruce & Willey LLP is pleased to announce that five lawyers have been included in the 2019 Edition of The Best Lawyers in America.

Washington’s Public Records Act (“PRA”) mandates the broad disclosure of public records in furtherance of the public policy of government transparency.[1]  Under the PRA, the media and ordinary citizens can request and obtain government records to stay informed about how their government is serving the public’s interest.  Government agencies must respond to these requests by conducting reasonable searches for responsive records, communicating with requestors, and providing the records for inspection and copying unless they are exempt from disclosure by statute.

John and Jane never married, had no children, but lived together for eight years before separating.  John spent his days golfing and painting; Jane, a surgeon, was the sole provider.  Can John now claim 50% of the couple’s assets acquired during the relationship?

Sam and Sue never married but lived together for eight years.  Sam, an attorney, was the sole provider; Sue was a homemaker who raised the couple’s two children.  Sam died suddenly without a will.  Is Sue entitled to 50% of the couple’s assets acquired during the relationship?

We are pleased to announce that Ms. Rena Chng has joined Savitt Bruce & Willey LLP. Prior to joining the firm, Ms. Chng was a partner at Mayer Brown LLP, and an associate at Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati PC, in Palo Alto, CA.  Ms. Chng has represented clients in the technology, telecommunications, financial, insurance, and agriculture industries.  She is ...