Over 150 Certified Public Accountants attended the Pacific Tax Institute on Risk Management, held by the Washington Society of Certified Public Accountants. Mary C. Eklund of Preg O’Donnell & Gillett was a featured speaker on the morning of November 9 “Accountants Liability: How to Protect Your Firm & Yourself from Legal Liability.” Her speech covered topics on best practices for risk management, including document retention and destruction policies.

Last week was a remarkable week for the Preg O'Donnell & Gillett firm.  Two defense verdicts were returned, one in a King County liquor liability case and the second in a Pierce County asbestos wrongful death case.

Mark O'Donnell is panel speaker on ethical considerations for defense counsel in reservation of rights cases at the Insurance in the Construction Industry seminar on October 5th in Seattle.

POG is proud to announce that Shannon McMinimee, an associate in our School Law Practice Group, has been appointed as General Counsel for the Tacoma School District. Preg O'Donnell & Gillett congratulates Shannon on her achievement and wishes her success in this endeavor.

POG is honored to announce that Curtis Leonard has joined Preg O'Donnell & Gillett's School Law Practice Group. Curtis has spent the last five years as In-house Counsel, Director of Legal Affairs, and, Director of Human Resources for the Auburn School District. Prior to that time, he worked in Washington, D.C. handling employment and labor law. Curtis has particular experience in school district employment law, labor law negotiations, collective bargaining agreements, and, special education proceedings.

POG Founding Member Mark O'Donnell and Member Emma Gillespie returned the firm's fourth defense victory in an employment case in King County, WA in July. The Plaintiff, a school district employee, claimed defamation against a co-worker and retaliation against the employer. The Plaintiff claimed that disciplinary action by the District retaliated against him by demoting him in the form of a demotion was retaliation for making complaints made by the Plaintiff about the entitlement to prevailing wages on several school district projects. The Plaintiff also claimed that the comments made about him by his co-worker were defamatory in nature. Prior to litigation, the Plaintiff appealed the proposed disciplinary action through the contractual agreements grievance process. He prevailed at arbitration, and was reinstated to his position. Following arbitration, the Plaintiff filed separate lawsuits against the co-worker and the District, which were then consolidated.

Greg Fry of POG's Portland office returned the firm's fifth successful defense result in a premises liability slip and fall case in Clark County, WA. Greg represented a hotel operator who was being sued by a guest who fell on the hotel's premises.

Accepting a promotion from Law Clerk following graduation from Seattle University School of Law, Megan M. Coluccio joined Preg O'Donnell & Gillett on August 29, 2011 as an associate. Megan graduated cum laude and served as a Research and Technical Editor for the Seattle University Law Review. Her attorney profile can be found here: http://www.pregodonnell.com/attorneys/seattle/megan-m-coluccio/

Preg O'Donnell & Gillett is pleased to announce that Gregory S. Latendresse has joined the firm as a new associate. Please see his attached biography at http://www.pregodonnell.com/attorneys/seattle/gregory-s-latendresse/