Seattle Lawyer Posts

Attorney Burnett Prevails in Court Of Appeals

Reed, Longyear, Malnati & Ahrens, PLLC partner Jason W. Burnett prevailed in the Court of Appeals for his client Gloria Petelle. On May 6, 2019, the Washington Court of Appeals Division published its opinion In the Matter of the Estate of Michael A. Petelle, Gloria Petelle v. Michelle Ersfeld Petelle, reversed the trial court and […]

Real Estate Syndication Explained

In its most basic form, the real estate syndication is the solicitation and pooling of multiple investor’s money to acquire an existing asset or develop a new project and distribute the profits (or losses) to the investors and the syndicators. The person organizing and syndicating the Project is commonly referred to as the sponsor.  The […]

What to Know When Hiring a Nanny

As childcare for newborns and young children becomes more expensive families may find they can hire a nanny (or nanny share) for a comparable cost as daycare. Parts of a nanny or nanny share are very convenient – location, child to caretaker ratio, no stressful waiting list etc. However, the paperwork involved in hiring a […]

How can you reduce estate taxes?

Estate taxes, inheritance taxes, death taxes. There are many names for the estate taxes and many myths and misconceptions to go with those names. Regardless of what you call them, estate taxes are a tax imposed on the value of everything you own at the moment of your death. The portion of your estate lost […]

Buyer Beware: Seller Misrepresentation Claims in Washington State

Buying a home is one of the largest financial transactions most people engage in during their lifetime. Despite its significance, many people make the decision to purchase prior to hiring a professional home inspector to examine the current condition of the structure and property. This has been particularly true in the Puget Sound Region’s hot […]

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. Abercrombie & Fitch Stores, Inc.

Back in 2008, Samantha Elauf, a young Muslim woman, applied for a sales floor position at clothing store Abercrombie & Fitch. As part of her religious practice, she wore her headscarf to the interview. Throughout the interview process she performed well and received high remarks. However, her headscarf violated the clothing retailer’s “preppy” Look Policy, […]

Prenup Season

Summertime is wedding season, which can make the early part of the year, for a family lawyer, “prenup season.” We encourage proactive planning for major life events, and a wedding is definitely a major life event.  Part of planning for a wedding should ideally include learning about the financial rules that change when two lives […]

Young vs. United Parcel Service, Inc.

For those following employment discrimination news – no this is not about Ellen Pao – on March 25, 2015 SCOTUS decided Young vs. United Parcel Service (UPS). I would describe this result as “expected”, but the clarification from the Court makes an employment attorneys’ advice that much more precise; which is welcome. A little background: […]