Most Recent Articles

Visioning

By Stephen M. Klein
January 10, 2012

A New Year – A New Order
As we embark on a New Year, take a journey with me and “envision” what can and may well be. Let your mind ex... More »

Próspero Año Nuevo

by Stephen M. Klein
December 9, 2011

2011 in Review
As we approach a New Year and close 2011, it seems like a good time to reflect on this past year. In short, it was a mixed bag. We took ... More »

Gobble, Gobble

By Stephen M. Klein
November 21, 2011

Pac Man is Dormant
“Where have all the deals gone?” a colleague of mine asked. Well, so far in 2011 there have been just 140 whole bank de... More »

Sick Leave in Seattle

by Adam S. Belzberg
November 2, 2011

The Seattle City Council recently passed an ordinance (More »

Possibilities

By Stephen M. Klein
October 19, 2011

Anything is Possible
With the recent passing of Apple icon Steve Jobs and all the articles and insights on this visionary, it made me think of what is ... More »

Supreme Court Clarifies Public Agency's Duties to Search under the Public Records Act (PRA) and Discovery Obligations in PRA Litigation

By Judith A. Endejan
September 30, 2011

On September 29, 2011, the Washington Supreme Court issued an important Public Records Act case, Neighborhood Alliance of Spokane County v. County of Sp... More »

The Future is Now

By Stephen M. Klein
September 30, 2011

Rocky Mountain High
As I return from a visit with a bank in Denver, just on the eve of our annual CFO Conference, I realized that the future is ... More »

Aloha and Mahalo

By Stephen M. Klein
September 8, 2011

Flying High
As I return from a brief vacation from guess where, I am reflecting back on the past year, the present and the future. While things are fa... More »

Viking Bank Announces Merger Agreement with AmericanWest Bank

By Stephen M. Klein, Kumi Yamamoto Baruffi and Casey M. Nault
September 9, 2011

Yesterday, ou... More »

Time to Rise and Shine! The Sunrise Period Starts September 7, 2011 to Protect Owners' Trademarks From Acquisition During the Adult Entertainment Industry .XXX Domain Name Launch

By Kathleen T. Petrich and Robert C. Cumbow*
August 19, 2011

On July 5, 2011, we let you know about a... More »

An Insider's Guide to Mediation under Washington's New Foreclosure Fairness Act

The Washington State Foreclosure Fairness Act took effect on July 22, 2011.  The following week the state Department of Commerce approved about 200 mediators to conduct mediations under the Act.  Who are they?  How were they selected?&nb... More »

R*E*S*P*E*C*T

By Stephen M. Klein
July 15, 2011

Hindsight Is 20/20

As I reflect back over the last 3+  years, it is clear that most of us missed the boat on (i) the recession; (ii) the length of t... More »

Brand Owners Beware of New Perils and Prepare for New Opportunities

By Kathleen T. Petrich and Robert C. Cumbow*
July 5, 2011

The Landscape

Get ready for another domain name gold rush!  New generic a... More »

Washington Limits the Immunity of Architect and Engineers against Construction Safety Claims

By K. Michael Fandel, Stephen H. Goodman and Zachery R. Hiatt
June 6, 2011

In 1987, Washi... More »

The Role of The Board of Directors in Changing Times

By Stephen M. Klein
April 8, 2011

Evolution

Over the past three years during the financial crisis, the role of the Board of Directors has evolved to address changing times.  In our f... More »

Fragile: Handle with Care

By Stephen M. Klein
June 6, 2011

Deals Are Fragile

As we slowly attempt to recover from the throes of the economic debacle in the West, it has become increasingly apparent that deals &nda... More »

Applying Penn Central - The Search for Equity in an Unfair World

by Elaine L. Spencer 
June 9, 2011

The American economy and indeed American notions of what freedom means are heavily built upon the concept of private property.  Private property as... More »

Should You Buy and Use Internet Keywords that Contain Your Competitor's Brands?

By Kathleen T. Petrich
May 13, 2011

Businesses are buying up competitors’ brands as internet search terms or keywords (think Google “Ad Words” program) to get prominent sea... More »

Dodd-Frank Rulemaking Part II: New Compensation Rule Proposals and More to Come

By Casey M. Nault
May 2, 2011

Overview

New rules required by the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act continue to be proposed on a rolling basis, including two rec... More »

Washington Residents May Owe (Even More) Unanticipated Estate Tax

By Marcia K. Fujimoto
March 31, 2011

The good news on the federal estate tax front is that a person who dies in 2011 or 2012 can have a $5,000,000 estate and pay no federal estate tax.
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