Class Notes
Here are just a few of recent examples of the work our alumni are doing. For a complete look at the professional and personal accomplishments, read the Class Notes portion of The Lawyer.
1979
Linda Strout, former Law Alumni Board president, recently took over as president of the Columbia Legal Services Board, on which she has served as a director since 2002. Columbia Legal Services is part of Washington's Alliance for Equal Justice. It is a state-wide, nonprofit organization with a mission to represent low-income people and organizations that have no other legal assistance available to them.
1982
The Honorable Gary Johnson was appointed a Pierce County Superior Court judge Gov. Christine Gregoire. Judge Johnson was president and senior partner at the law offices of Kram, Johnson, Wooster & McLaughlin in Tacoma.
1985
John Burns was appointed Alaska's new attorney general by Gov. Sean Parnell, Class of 1987.
Giuliana Vural opened her own practice, Vural Law Firm, PLLC in Fort Worth, Texas, focused on oil and gas law. She was previously an adjunct professor at Texas Wesleyan University and a founding partner at Judd & Vural, PLLC (now Judd & Jacks, PLLC).
1987
Brett Purtzer was sworn in as president of the Tacoma-Pierce County Bar Association. He is also a principal at the Hester Law Group.
1989
Craig Beetham, a member of the Law Alumni Board, was elected Vice-President and President Elect for 2012 of the Tacoma-Pierce County Bar Association Family Law Section. Craig was also elected a member of the Executive Committee at the law firm of Eisenhower & Carlson.
1990
Jon Tunheim was elected Thurston County Prosecuting Attorney and received the Washington State Bar Association's Local Hero Award in recognition of his efforts to reduce crimes of domestic violence, sex abuse, and child abuse.
1994
Mark McLaughlin, president and CEO of Palo Alto Networks in Santa Clara, CA, was appointed by President Barack Obama to serve on the President's National Security Telecommunications Advisory Committee. In April, Dean Niles presented him with the Dean's Medal at the 2011 Alumni Association Awards Luncheon. He is the former president and CEO of VeriSign, Inc.
1996
Judge Patrick Oishi was appointed to the King County Superior Court by Governor Gregoire in May. Prior to this appointment, he served on the Pierce County Superior Court bench and was the first Superior Court Criminal Commissioner in the State of Washington whose duties were focused on adult felony criminal cases. Judge Oishi currently serves as a board member with the Asian Bar Association of Washington and is a member of the Task Force on Race & the Criminal Justice System.
1998
Casey Jorgensen was USA Hockey's first-ever staff general counsel. He will serve as the first point of contact for USA Hockey on all legal matters, while supporting the efforts of the organization's staff and volunteer leadership. A member of USA Hockey's Board of Directors, Jorgensen has served on the organization's Legal Council for the last 10 years. He practiced at Williams, Kastner & Gibbs, PLLC.
1999
Matthew Segal, formerly a partner at K&L Gates, co-founded the new Seattle law firm, Pacifica Law Group LLP. His practice focuses on litigation at the trial and appellate level, including complex appellate matters, constitutional law, municipal law, media law, insurance coverage, commercial and corporate disputes, and environmental and land use actions.
2002
Wendy Walter was named managing attorney of Routh Crabtree Olsen, P.S., a law firm focused on mortgage banking and servicing. Her practice areas include foreclosure, title issues, regulatory compliance, and anything involving mortgage servicing.
2005
Angela Rye was selected to be the executive director and general counsel of the Congressional Black Caucus during the 112th Congress. In February, at the 2011 Black Law Student Association Alumni Awards, she was presented with the Vanguard Leader of the Year Award.
2006
Mark Saku was appointed co-chair for the Northwest Chapter of The Copyright Society of the USA. CSUSA is a 501(c)3 not-for-profit corporation, founded in 1953, that is dedicated to advancing the study of copyright law and related rights in literature, music, art, theater, motion pictures, television, computer software, architecture, and other works of authorship, distributed via both traditional and new media.
2007
Brendan Donckers was sworn in to the bar of the Supreme Court of the United States by Chief Justice John Roberts in conjunction with the oral arguments in Milner v. U.S. Navy. The case was heard in December and at issue was the applicability of a statutory exemption under the Freedom of Information Act. He was second chair for the oral argument, and the win overturns 36 years of case law interpreting the exemption.
2009
Sandy Cairns opened her own law practice, Law Office of Sandy Cairns, PLLC, in Kirkland, WA. Her practice focuses on estate planning.
Brian Rowe is teaching Information Privacy Law at Seattle University and has accepted a full-time position with the Northwest Justice Project as the National Technology Assistance Project Coordinator.
Submit your Class Note by e-mailing lawalumni@seattleu.edu.
