About Me
lawyer, Storyteller, veteran
I love using technology and automation to innovate and increase efficiency, something I got to do a lot of in the Air Force. I improve what I can in my current role and frequently apply lessons learned from my MBA.
Between the military and law school, I was a multimedia photographer and writer. My work was featured in over a dozen publications across the US. I'm still involved in the journalism community; I produce multimedia stories when something catches my interest, and I serve on the editorial board of a top law magazine.
I stay as busy as possible outside of the office, usually playing with cameras or working with my hands. I love all things mechanical and electric- I ride and wrench on motorcycles, tinker with electronics, and build projects in a small shop studio. I'm an avid maker with a grand sense of adventure- I just completed the Winter 2020 Alcan 5000 rally in an old SUV that I rebuilt over rainy weekends and long evenings after work.
Experience
Lether Law Group, Seattle [Associate Attorney]
February 2023 - Present
I defend insurers across a diverse caseload of contractual and extra-contractual claims, operate as assigned defense counsel when an insured gets sued, and investigate issues rooted in contract.
I work within the Consumer Protection Act and Insurance Fair Conduct Act. My current range of legal issues includes bad faith claims, fraud, breach of contract, misrepresentation, and conversion.
I set and track billable hours according to client budgets and requests. I manage clients and staff, direct negotiations, identify and reserve rights, spot coverage issues, draft and respond to pleadings, attend mediation and arbitration, take part in site visits and investigations, and depose witnesses.
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King County Prosecutor’s Office, Seattle [Dpa III]
February 2022 - February 2023
As a DPA II for King County, WA, I review investigative materials and make filing decisions on felony matters. I create pleadings at every level of the criminal process from arraignment to post-sentencing issues and have argued them all.
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Brookline media, at large [contract writer for Task & Purpose]
2021 - 2022
I reviewed tactical and EDC gear for the web’s largest veteran and military culture digital magazine, Task & Purpose. I was responsible for pitching story ideas on a regular basis. I collaborated with editors and staff remotely, and used Stack Exchange and Slack to work remotely. My work can be seen here.
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Newton & hall, attorneys at law Pllc, Kent [associate attorney]
2019 - 2022
Criminal defense attorney at a high-volume firm with experience in courts all over Washington. I've successfully defended clients caught up in DUIs, assaults, drug possession, harassment, prostitution, etc. I also work both sides of civil protection orders and have used my experience in civil law and business negotiations to settle civil suits.
I draft motions, research issues, brief subjects, manage and counsel clients, conduct interviews and investigations, and negotiate with prosecutors, judges, and administrative hearing officers. I direct scheduling staff and legal assistants, with whose help I manage a considerable caseload.
I started a document bank for filings with standardized language where applicable, and use macros wherever possible to streamline my intake and preliminary pleadings. I break filings down by category and court, leveraging office features like autofill to make my process more efficient. I am extremely interested in automation for the law sector and finding or making software solutions for common pain points- like case scheduling, initial pleadings, and organizing discovery or exhibits.
I created metrics for tracking my caseload and results, and use spreadsheets I created with skills learned from my MBA to track my earnings and ROI for the firm. I track and graph cases by type, outcome, reason for outcome, total number of appearances, and revenue earned in a continuously improving process. I use the metrics I track to improve my processes and innovate- which leads to better results for my clients and less frustration for my staff and I.
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2018 Red-Winged Leadership Awards, Seattle [Director of Marketing]
January 2018 - April 2018
I was on the executive board as co-chair and double-hatted as marketing director for the non-profit organization that hosts the Red-Winged Leadership Awards. I was responsible for planning and executing the 2018 annual award ceremony and banquet. Some of the areas I worked in were team-building, project management, outreach, marketing, communication, and design. As marketing director, I managed a creative team, set marketing strategy, and coordinated marketing efforts between multiple agencies across multiple platforms.
I led a team of 5 creatives to produce all of the marketing and social media content for the event. I also led the entire non-profit team of 24 across several work groups, including my marketing team, fundraising, logistics, and search/selection. Our work drew a crowd of 150 to recognize exceptional leaders in King Co. non-profit organizations. Due to the sustained efforts by our organization, we were able to raise over $30k and award $10k in grant money to three non-profits in just four short months starting from absolute zero- no team, no budget, no plan.
I used this experience to stretch my legs behind the camera and in the editing booth. After our search and selection group came up with award finalists, I scheduled interviews with each of them. Working with one assistant, I produced, directed, edited, and screened three videos of the grantees explaining their organizational missions. I managed a media team for the event itself, and after the event, I consolidated the footage and wove together a story about the awards night for promotional purposes.
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C3 Law Group PLLC, Seattle [Senior legal intern]
2016 - 2017
I ran all marketing, designed and implemented a website, and created social media channels from the ground up using my design and photography skills. I also created a new billing schedule. My work helped nearly triple firm revenues in the first six months following the changes.
In addition to my marketing projects, I drafted simple and complex legal documents including complaints, answers, interrogatories, motions, contracts, and research memos. Because of my deep education and experience as a writer, I was frequently called on to edit and revise the work of attorneys and other interns.
C3's practice area is in I-502 and 5052 compliance and vetting. C3 also handled routine business matters made complicated by I-502: entity formation, dissolution, and ownership transfer. I was responsible for issue spotting, research, analysis, and recommendations in this practice area. I developed a working knowledge of RCW 69.50 and WAC 314.55 on my own and put them to use every day.
When I wasn't drafting or editing documents, I was assembling and maintaining case files, conducting investigations for clients and attorneys, and formulating/red-teaming litigation strategies.
I also performed client intake and initial interviews, and fielded business, marketing, and non-legal advice questions from clients. I often accompanied C3's managing partner to the courtroom, in-chambers, negotiations, client meetings, and meetings with opposing counsel.
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Vertical Floor Magazine, Syracuse [Staff Photographer]
May 2013 - July 2013
During my time with Vertical Floor, I was responsible for the creation, acquisition, shooting, editing, and presentation of all photographs and videos for the world's first all-digital Parkour magazine. I was accountable for the quality and quantity of the photography for the magazine and social media and worked under deadline.
I was heavily involved in the creative process and vision for the magazine and worked closely with the Art Director and Editor-in-Chief. I collaborated daily with writers, editors, and art direction staff to coordinate and conceptualize the photography needed for each story.
My duties included assigning, reviewing, and editing photography work from my team of five photographers, who were sent on-location nationwide and internationally. I travelled internationally to shoot cover assignments (primary and alternate) and feature stories.
I designed and implemented, from scratch, IT solutions for organizing, managing, and maintaining the file structure for all of the magazine's graphic, photo, and video media. I updated and rated photos in the archive for editors and art direction staff to use in stories. Once photos were selected, I assigned them to my post production team.
My work led directly to winning the 2014 Society for News and Design iPad publication award- the judges even mentioned my 3D tables in the announcement. There were a few blurry days involved with those 3D tables- I remember getting to the office from an out-of-state shoot around midnight. My poor assistant and I then had to set up a roundtable and lights. We did 36 individual product shots of 7 different shoes. It didn't end there.
After a much-needed nap and about a gallon of coffee, I got to work in photoshop isolating the shoes from the background, replacing the background, and converting each set of 36 photos into 3D layouts. I managed to get 3/4 of the post production done in the two days before heading out of town to shoot a cover story and my team handled the rest.
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US Air Force, Global [instructor loadmaster]
2003 - 2011
I finished my career as a C-17A Instructor Loadmaster when I left the USAF in 2011 to pursue my education. I served extensively in combat positions for both Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom. I earned an Air Medal and an Aerial Achievement Award for my service as an enlisted aviator.
I was a technical expert in combat airlift and earned an AAS degree in aviation operations and airway management. I had 1800+ mishap-free flight hours and had safely and successfully managed two in-flight emergencies when I left the service. I completed nearly 300 combat sorties.
In training, I graduated from numerous leadership and skill schools including an AF expeditionary combat school, airman leadership school, the notorious SERE school, and instructor school.
I had on-the-job training and operated in secondary roles as an armorer, safety officer, program manager, and force protection team leader. I was proficient on multiple weapons systems and unarmed combat and earned an expert marksman ribbon. I was my squadron's NATO liaison at Incirlik AB in Turkey. As part of my duties, I maintained a Secret security clearance. My clearance lapsed recently but may be renewed.
As part of my non flying duties, I was the 8th AS safety NCO until I was promoted to group safety NCO. I filled an E-6/E-7 billet as an E-5. Eventually, I co-managed the 62nd operations group inspection program, and was the compliance program manager for five squadrons. I was a training manager at the group level for emergency management, and gave frequent instruction on CBRNE threat mitigation and decontamination. As subject matter expert, I wrote regulations and tested operations group aircrew and support staff (500+ personnel) on basic skills and knowledge. The largest impact projects of my career included managing two mission-critical inventory system upgrades and standing up a new armory, which together reduced aircrew pre-flight duty demands by 30 minutes.
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Education
Seattle University SCHOOL OF LAW, Seattle WA
JURIS DOCTOR
Graduated December 2018
Seattle University, Seattle WA
MASTER OF BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION GRADUATE LEADERSHIP FORMATION CERTIFICATE
Graduated December 2018
syracuse university, syrAcuse nY
B.A. PHOTOJOURNALISM, MIDDLE EASTERN STUDIES
Graduated May 2014
Community College of the Air Force, maxwell AFB
A.A.S. AVIATION OPERATIONS AND AIRWAY MANAGEMENT
Graduated May 2008