The U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington has revised its Local Civil Rules effective January 1, 2020.  The changes to the rules themselves are modest; perhaps more important to the Western District bar are the changes to the District’s Model Agreement Regarding Discovery of Electronically Stored Information and Proposed Order (the “Model Order”).  In many federal cases involving discovery of electronically stored information (“ESI”), the Model Order is the starting point for the parties’ negotiation of the ...

Savitt Bruce & Willey would like to congratulate five of our lawyers for their continued recognition as “Best Lawyers” for the 26th edition of Best Lawyers in America.  David Bruce, Duncan Manville, James Savitt, Stephen Willey, and Miles Yanick have again been recognized for their excellent work in Commercial Litigation, Bet-the-Company Litigation, Litigation – Intellectual Property, Litigation – Real Estate, and Litigation - Trusts and Estates.  Recognition in Best Lawyers is based entirely on peer ...

Chambers and Partners USA have issued their 2019 Guide to the Top Lawyers and Law Firms in the USA, and we are pleased to report that Savitt Bruce & Willey again has been highly rated, and that our partners David Bruce, James Savitt and Steve Willey have each been recognized by Chambers as leading practitioners. About SBW, Chambers reports that the firm has “in-depth knowledge of the technology, software, education and financial services sectors”, is “[e]specially renowned for its adept representation ...

SBW is pleased to report that our partner Steve Willey has been named a "BTI Client Service All-Star" for 2019. Unique among those who review or rate legal services, BTI's appellation relies only on the input of clients, predominantly major companies.  No attorney or firm can self-nominate, self-refer, nor pay to be included in this report, and peers at the bar also have no say.  Clients have the final--and only--say in the identification of those named.  To be included in ...

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. Managing publicity around a crisis requires ...

Michele Stephen and Miles Yanick will be attending the IR Global 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  ...

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. These issues are often prominent in litigating certification, and many class actions settle if and after a ...

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 ...

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 a 2000 graduate of Vanderbilt University Law School. Welcome, Rena!

All documents filed in a court proceeding in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington (and most places) are available to the public—unless filed under seal. In the Western District, a party can file a document under seal only: (a) where a statute, rule, or prior court order expressly authorizes it or (b) if the party filing the document under seal files a motion to seal (which the court may or may not grant) either before or ...