2008 Speakers: |
 Betsy Avila
Betsy is a Real Estate Paralegal at Starbucks Coffee Company. In her role, Betsy supports the New and Existing Store real estate partners for the upper Mid-Atlantic and Mid-Atlantic regions. Prior to her employment with Starbucks, Betsy worked for CB Richard Ellis in lease administration, performing the day- tot day management of a portfolio consisting of more than 300 properties including abstracting, review and interpretation of complex lease language, dispute resolution, negotiation with landlords, and the preparation of estoppels. Betsy has over eight years experience as a paralegal in the area of litigation, and worked both in-house at Gateway Computers and in a small law firm setting before transitioning into the real estate specialty. Betsy holds a bachelor’s degree in Liberal Studies from San Diego State University and a Paralegal Certification from the University of San Diego. |
 David Chen, Esq.
David Chen is a Managing Shareholder of DWC Law Firm, P.S. David focuses on intellectual property matters and business disputes. He has a B.S. in Chemical Engineering from the University of Washington and a J.D., cum laude, from Seattle University School of Law, where he was an academic scholarship recipient. His prior engineering experience includes designing manufacturing systems and representing a chemical company in field applications where he received recognition for his work in developing statistical models of customer equipment. David is a 2006 and 2007 "Rising Star" in Washington Law & Politics Magazine.
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Jeff Cobb
Jeff Cobb is with Yamaguchi Obien Mangio, LLC, a court reporting firm that offers cutting edge technical capabilities and access for their clients. Their firm provides Electronic Transcript delivery using E-Transcript or PDF format; Realtime using LiveNote, CaseView, and Summation; Condensed transcripts with word index; Media provided in all formats; Exhibits electronically linked to transcript and video, and a Trial Director Certified Trainer for courtroom presentations.
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.jpg) Lauren Cole, R.P.
Lauren M. Cole is an Automated Legal Support Manager at Foster Pepper, PLLC. Prior to her employment with Foster Pepper, Lauren worked for eight years as a senior paralegal in a national law firm specializing in complex litigation and claims management. Lauren has over 16 years of experience as a paralegal in the areas of insurance defense and insurance coverage litigation. She has given several presentations on trial preparation, document drafting, and the use of legal technology in the law office. Lauren is a part-time instructor in legal technology at the Highline Community College Paralegal Program. She has also been a guest speaker on both technology and the paralegal profession at the Edmonds Community College Paralegal Program. Lauren received her paralegal certificate in 1991. She earned her Registered Paralegal (RP) credential in June 2006 by successfully passing the PACE exam. She is currently completing her Bachelors of Arts degree through Washington State University.
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Janis A. Creim, Esq.
Janis A. Creim is a Digital Sales Analyst with IKON Office Solutions. She attended Indiana University where she graduated Summa Cum Laude and Phi Beta Kappa with a degree in Forensic Studies. She obtained her J.D. from Washington University (St. Louis, MO) School of Law. She moved to Seattle and completed an internship at the King County Prosecuting Attorney Office, and also a one year clerkship at the Washington State Supreme Court. She opened her own business Professional Library Services, which provided support and professional services to the legal community in Seattle for over 15 years. Recognizing the need for law firms go digital, she restructured her business toward that end, and began offering imaging services. Most recently, she worked three years as a Practice Group Analyst at a local law firm and then moved to the position of Digital Sales Analyst for the West Region at IKON in their Legal Document Services division. She holds the following certifications: Summation Certified Trainer, Concordance Certified System Administrator, and discover-e software certified.
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 Kerry Follis
Kerry Follis is the Paralegal/Case Assistant Coordinator and Senior Paralegal in Dorsey & Whitney, LLP’s Trial Group. She has 26 years experience as a paralegal case manager, including complex litigation, personal injury and securities (Blue Sky) matters. In her early years, Kerry attended systems analysis training at Hewlett Packard and was a member of the task force that successfully computerized her securities firm. Her graduate education has focused on law, information systems management and business. She has a UW Extension certificate in computer management and is experienced in database design and project management. Her volunteer work includes being the database administrator for the Roosevelt Golden Graduates Alumni Association. Recently, she completed a course in Training and Staff Development from the UW Extension’s Human Resources Management Certificate Program. In her free time, Kerry enjoys studying cultural anthropology and surfing the Net. Her research on Native Americans has been published in “Kenmore By The Lake, A Community History.
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 Mike Fuller
Mike Fuller is a senior paralegal in the Global Business group at Starbucks Coffee Company. He has been with Starbucks for three years and spent five years as a paralegal at Perkins Coie LLP. He also has 14 years experience in radio broadcasting and he wrote for several national television shows and wrote sports for ESPN’s on-line division. Mike received his degree in paralegal studies from Edmond Community College.
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Brandi Gaines
Brandi Gaines is a Paralegal supporting the North America Sales and Marketing teams, and managing the Copyright Registration Program at Corbis Corporation, the world’s leading visual solutions and right services provider.
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David Green
David Green is Associate General Counsel to Corbis Corporation, the world's leading visual solutions and rights services provider. He advises Corbis in all aspects of business and legal matters, with a special focus on intellectual property transactions and strategy. Mr. Green speaks frequently to the legal and business community around the country on matters related to intellectual property, entertainment and licensing, and related business issues, and is active in legislative efforts benefitting copyright owners and personality estates. Mr. Green is member of the Copyright Society's Executive Committee, and chairs the Northwest chapter of the Copyright Society. Mr. Green serves as Advisory Board Member and teacher for the University of Washington's Program in IP Management.
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 Thomas S. James, Jr.
Thomas S. James, Jr. is the Managing Member of Opus Law Group PLLC. Tom founded the firm’s Retail Practice Group over 25 years ago. That practice now extends to representation of retailers throughout the United States, particularly in connection with retail leasing. Tom’s clients include many national and regional retailers, including Starbucks, Eddie Bauer, adidas, Oakley, Little Caesars, Omaha Steaks, Panda, OfficeMax, Restaurants Unlimited, Anchor Blue, Discovery Channel Stores, Maurices, and many other clients in garment, food and other specialty retailers. Tom has served for several years as a member of the board of the Washington Retail Association. He has also served on the board of the Seattle Symphony, PONCHO, and FilmAid. Most of the lawyers in the Retail Practice Group at Opus Law Group have been practicing together for many years. Under Tom’s leadership, they formed their own firm, Opus Law Group PLLC, in 2006. It focuses nearly exclusively on representation of retailers.
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 Beth King, R. P.
Beth L. King, RP, is a litigation paralegal at Vestas-American Wind Technology, Inc. in Portland, Oregon, a subsidiary of the Vestas Group, the world leader in delivering modern energy. F or much of her career, Ms. King’s focus has been in construction litigation, insurance defense, environmental clean-ups, class actions and business disputes. She has extensive experience preparing for and attending trials, arbitrations and hearings. Ms. King has been instructor for legal professionals across the country in case management and organization, client communications and litigation. She has written articles for the Legal Assistant Today Magazine, the Oregon State Bar Bulletin and the Oregon Paralegal Association Paragram. She also is a frequent contributor to the National Federation of Paralegal Associations Reporter. Ms. King has a degree in management and organizational leadership from George Fox University and is a PACE Registered Paralegal.
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 Dale C. Mann, CFEI,
F-ABC
Dale C. Mann is Vice President and Principal of MDE, Inc. MDE Inc. is a multi-discipline forensic engineering firm specializing in failure analysis, accident reconstruction and investigation, fire origin and cause determination, and expert witness testimony. Dale is a Certified Forensic Scientist with over 28 years of experience in analytical chemistry, general forensic evaluations, and forensic
chemistry. Has performed chemical and physical analyses in thousands of investigations involving criminalistics, subrogation,
industrial trouble shooting and liability claims in criminal and civil investigations. Is a certified fire and explosions origin and
cause investigator. Areas of expertise include scene documentation, laboratory analyses and scenario testing. Principal
researcher, author, and lecturer in several topic areas involving forensic chemistry. He has been involved with over 360 trial testimonies, depositions,
mediations and arbitrations.
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 Mark Maroon
Mark Maroon joined Starbucks as corporate real estate counsel in June 2006, and is responsible for a variety of real estate matters for the Pacific NW and Mountain regions. Previously, he was Associate General Counsel for Circuit City Stores, Inc., in Richmond, VA, where he managed legal real estate affairs including leasing, financing, landlord-tenant disputes, construction disputes, ADA matters and related litigation. Prior to that, he was Senior Corporate Counsel with Sunglass Hut International in Miami, FL. Mr. Maroon is a member of the International Counsel of Shopping Centers and has presented CLE seminars at their annual conventions. He graduated in 1988 from the University of Miami School of Law and in 1985 from the University of Miami.
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.jpg) Jessica McColl Neilson
Jessica McColl Neilson is an instructor currently teaching at Highline Community College, after teaching three years at the University of Washington School of Law. She graduated Order of the Coif from the University of Oregon School of Law and received her L.L.M. from Harvard Law School. She practiced commercial litigation, contracts, product liability, intellectual property, and employment law.
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 Theresa A. Prater, RP,
Theresa A. Prater, RP has more than 26 years of experience in the legal field, having practiced in Florida, Georgia and Arizona. Her current practice is in subrogation for major insurance companies, handling some matters from intake to settlement, as well as assisting with mediations and trials. Theresa’s prior experience includes over five years as the Senior Paralegal for Rural/Metro Corporation, the second largest provider of private ambulance services in the U.S., including portions of Washington and Oregon. As such, Theresa was responsible to handling subpoenas for medical records for patients across the country, and complying with various portions of the 2002 revisions to HIPAA.
Currently serving as Region I Director for The National Federation of Paralegal Associations, Inc., Theresa spends a portion of each day assisting paralegal associations and their members from Alaska, Hawaii, Washington, Oregon and California. Dedicated to the paralegal profession, she teaches seminars on discovery, ethics and HIPAA compliance, as well as trial preparation.
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 Marcia Remington
Marcia Remington, PHR, is the current Manager of Staffing, Training and Development at Foster Pepper PLLC. Her background includes a combination of Human Resources Management experience and business expertise. Ms. Remington has spent nearly twenty-five years of her career in Human Resource Management positions in mid-size law firms of 200+ staff and attorneys, specializing in training and development, coaching, employee relations, conflict resolution, and recruiting. Ms. Remington was educated at Washington State University and holds her PHR (Professional in Human Resources Certification from SHRM). She is an active member of SHRM and the local chapter, LWHRA. She is also a member of the American Society of Training and Development.
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.jpg) Andrew SanAgustine
Andrew J. SanAgustin has been in the Records and Information Management field for 20 years. Currently, he is the Records and Conflicts Manager (also supervising the Docketing Department) with the firm Foster Pepper, PLLC, headquartered in Seattle, WA. He began his career in Washington DC (where he attended the University of MD). His ability led him to opportunities in Pittsburgh, New York, and Seattle. Throughout his career, Andrew nurtured his talents and focused his skill and professional development in the Records and Information Management industry. His experience spans across many different corporate environments and business fields, including working with banks, real estate firms, accounting firms, city governments, and particularly, law firms. With such a diverse background as a Records Manager, Andrew is able to identify the Records needs of a business, and implement effective solutions for enterprise content management.
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.jpg) Cindy Tung
Cindy W. Tung is a Senior Account Manager for Northwest region at Thomson CompuMark. Thomson CompuMark is the global leader in trademark research, and maintains the world's largest collection of international trademark information. Thomson CompuMark provides intellectual property professionals with the information they need to protect the value of IP assets, through a wide range of trademark, copyright and title products and services.
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Michelle Webb
Michelle Webb is a patent paralegal with the firm of Davis Wright Tremaine. She has been working in the legal field for over 20 years, the last five years specifically with IP. She currently specializes in foreign patents and handles the maintenance fees/annuities for all clients. She also assists as the paralegal in all facets of TTAB cases |
 Allison Williams, Esq.
Ms. Allison Williams is a Recruiting Manager at Robert Half Legal. Ms. Williams graduated from Seattle University School of Law in 2002. She was an Associate for 3 years with the firm of Firestone, Landsman, Fleming, Dixon & Matson before joining Robert Half Legal 2 years ago. Robert Half Legal is the premier provider of experienced project and full-time professionals for law firms and corporate legal departments.
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 Michael J. Yoder, Esq.
Michael Yoder is an attorney and former Federal Criminal Prosecutor who has spent five years working in the United States Air Force JAG and two years as a Special Assistant Prosecutor in the US Attorney’s Office. Michael gained experience with electronic evidence while acting as the lead prosecutor for a number of child pornography cases and also as an International Prosecutor working for Task Force 134 in Baghdad, Iraq. Michael has received training at the Department of Defense Computer Forensics Laboratory (2004) and at the Department of Defense Computer Crimes Investigation and Collection Conference (2005). Currently, Michael is working as a Litigation Support Consultant for discover-e, where he is a member of a team that assists counsel in the creation of preservation plans and discovery strategy in complex litigation.
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Special Information for Speakers:
Please send your session's written materials that you wish to be reproduced as handouts at our Spring CLE to our CLE Chair, by April 14th.
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