2026 Fall Conference
2026 Fall Conference
CONFERENCE AGENDA
Conference Venue Wifi
Skamania Lodge
No Password needed
Conference Materials below can also be found in the File Archive Here.
Remaining materials will be available online after the conference concludes.
MATERIALS & sPEAKER bIOS
WCIA SESSION - WEDNESDAY SEPTEMBER 30TH
WCIA Session (materials not yet available)
Jeffrey Meyers, Law, Lyman, Daniel, Kamerrer & Bogdanovich
JOINT SESSION - THURSDAY OCTOBER 1ST
Flock Cameras (materials not yet available)
James McMahan, WASPC
Ethics: Litigating Against Jerks - Additional Materials
Alexandra Nica, City of Seattle - Alexandra Nica became an attorney with the Constitutional and Complex Litigation Section at the Seattle City Attorney’s Office in 2022 after over a decade in the Navy JAGC working in the military criminal justice system. She is also an adjunct professor of trial advocacy at Seattle University. In her personal time, Alexandra steeps herself in the arts: writing fiction, playing music, dancing, and painting—anything to help her forget that she’s a lawyer.
Ghazal Sharifi, City of Seattle - Ghazal Sharifi is the Director of the Constitutional and Complex Litigation Section at the Seattle City Attorney’s Office. Ghazal has been dedicated to representing the interests of the City of Seattle since 2014 in different capacities as litigation and advice counsel. Ghazal joined the Seattle City Attorney’s Office from the City of Evanston Law Department in Evanston, Illinois. She started practicing law at a mid-size law firm in Chicago focusing much of her effort on insurance and municipal law. Ghazal’s practice focuses on managing high profile and complex matters for the City of Seattle ranging from defense of litigation arising out of Executive and Legislative action, public records litigation, and police action litigation. Ghazal spends her personal time as an unappreciated chauffeur driving her kids to endless soccer commitments. She is supported by her loving attorney husband who is always game to engage in obscure legal discussions.
AI: From Prompts to Production (materials will be available after conference concludes)
Kyla S. Bond, Sound Solutions Law, PLLC. - Kyla S. Bond is the founder of Sound Solutions Law, PLLC, a Washington municipal law practice serving cities and public agencies. She has spent more than a decade advising local governments from the inside - most recently as a Senior Deputy Prosecuting Attorney for Kitsap County, where she counseled elected officials and department leaders on public records compliance, interlocal agreements, elections, governance, and open government law. Before joining Kitsap County, Kyla served as an Assistant Director at the Washington Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction, directing statewide regulatory compliance and enforcement programs.
Criminal Law Update (materials not yet available)
Bradley Lane, City of Seattle - Bradley is a Special Prosecutor and state subject matter expert with experience in all stages of litigation. He currently prosecutes felony and misdemeanor traffic crime as a State Traffic Safety Resource Prosecutor for the State of Washington. To date he has tried about 100 cases ranging from simple misdemeanors to complex Class-A felonies such as Assault-1, Arson-1, Sexual Assault, and Homicide, additionally, various traffic crimes such as Careless Driving Causing Death, Vehicular Homicide, Vehicular Assault, and Felony DUI. He has supervised elite felony trial teams, he's trained cadets at the police academy, taught advanced trial techniques to prosecutors, he has argued cases before courts of appeal, and served on legislative workgroups.
He was educated at the University of California, Davis, in the field of Psychology with an emphasis in Cognitive Neuroscience. He holds a Juris Doctorate from The American University Washington College of Law with an emphasis in Criminal Litigation. He is a graduate of the Indiana University Borkenstein course on Alcohol Pharmacology and Impaired Driving as well as the US Secret Service course on Digital Evidence litigation. He is admitted to practice in the Colorado Supreme Court, the DC Court of Appeals, and the Washington State Supreme Court.
CIVIL SESSION – THURSDAY OCTOBER 1
Hot Topics in Environmental Law (materials not yet available)
Emma Lautanen, Marten Law Group - Emma is an associate in the Seattle office. Her practice focuses on advising businesses and local governments on water quality, chemical contamination, and regulatory compliance. Emma works to help clients navigate the complex field of state and federal regulations pertaining to water quality permitting, emerging contaminants, and site remediation. She also has experience representing clients in litigation on the same topics. Emma has familiarity with a variety of environmental issues arising under state and federal law, including the Clean Water Act (CWA), Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA), Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA), National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), and Washington’s Model Toxics Control Act (MTCA).
Jeff Kray, Marten Law Group - Accomplished, first-chair environment litigator with over 26 years of experience in water quality, water resources, and complex environmental litigation, with particular expertise in Clean Water Act permitting and regulatory compliance, CERCLA (Superfund) site remediation, and emerging contaminants.
Jeff regularly advises businesses and local government in water quality permit compliance and defense matters, responding to emerging contaminants (including PFAS) in water supplies, stormwater pollution prevention, hazardous waste spill prevention and cleanup, and cost recovery litigation. He also frequently consults with water rights owners and purchasers on preserving, acquiring, and transferring water rights. He has assisted a broad range of clients, including water suppliers, irrigation districts, municipalities, developers, manufacturers, commercial and timber landowners, interstate transporters, lumber mills, and ports.
Legal Evaluation of Technology Tools
Andrea Bradford, Foster Garvey - Andrea’s litigation practice focuses on helping government entities resolve complex disputes. She has represented government entities in a variety of matters involving the Public Records Act, condemnation, contracts and issues of municipal authority. Andrea also advises agencies on issues arising outside litigation, including counseling and advising on open government matters.
Jessica Leiser, City of Seattle - Jessica Leiser is an Assistant City Attorney in the Complex and Constitutional Litigation Section of the Seattle City Attorney's Office. By some mistake or miracle, the WSBA gave her a license to practice law; so she is minimally qualified for you to get CLE credit for listening to her rant about the PRA. Jessica has many opinions about the PRA because it is one of her main practice areas. Jessica has two miniature Australian shepherds named Pickles and Popcorn, does not like talking about herself (including bios), and enjoys spending her time volunteering as a sawyer for Washington Trails Association.
Eminent Domain & Utilities
Paul Moomaw, Sound Transit
Public Works: Piggybacking, Apprenticeship, and More
(materials not yet available)
Tom Brubaker, Lighthouse Law Group - Tom Brubaker joined Lighthouse Law Group in March, 2018, after 27 years with the City of Kent city attorney’s office, serving the last 16 years as Kent’s City Attorney. During that time, Tom worked in all areas of municipal law, and regularly assisted the city’s mayor, city council, and chief administrative officer with legal and strategic advice and planning. In his day-to-day work, Tom focused his expertise on all aspects of public contracting and public bidding, all things right-of-way, drafting and negotiating software agreements, franchise negotiations and agreements, and a number of high profile public-private partnership projects, including the Kent Station development, Kent’s Accesso ShoWare Center, and two significant mixed use residential developments. Tom also monitored Kent’s litigation and supervised an office of nineteen attorneys and support staff.
Non-Compete, Breaks and Personnel Files – Oh My! – Recent Updates in Washington Employment Law
(materials not yet available)
Shirley S. Lou-Magnuson and Brenna R. McLaughlin, Ballard Spahr
CRIMINAL SESSION – THURSDAY OCTOBER 1
Mechanics of 2nd Deferred Prosecution (materials not yet available)
Bradley Lane, City of Seattle
A Few of the Things Prosecutors Are Not Allowed to Say at Trial
Jason Gelfand, City of Seattle -
How to Establish the Reliability of Toxicology Evidence
Michelle Rutherford, Snohomish County - Michelle Rutherford has been a Prosecutor in the State of Washington since 2012. Starting out in Municipal Court in the City of Seattle, Michelle developed a passion for enforcement of impaired driving cases that persists to this day. Since 2014, Michelle has worked as a Deputy Prosecutor in Snohomish County Washington. Michelle has tried over seventy cases ranging from misdemeanors to class A felonies, but never lost sight of the importance of traffic safety issues. Between July of 2022 and November 2024, Michelle served as the District Court Lead and supervised the Deputy Prosecutors in the District Court Unit. Starting in December 2024, Michelle is assigned as a Traffic Safety Resource Prosecutor to offer training and litigation support for all Prosecutors and law enforcement related to traffic crimes.
Assistant Division Commander, Brian Capron, WSP Toxicology Laboratory -
CIVIL SESSION – FRIDAY OCTOBER 2
Development in Uncertain Economic Times: Pros, Cons, and Tips and Traps of Using Development Agreements
(materials not yet available)
Bob Sterbank and Daniel Zellner, Foster Garvey; Bob Stowe, Stowe Development and Strategies
Web Accessibility
Tricia Juettemeyer and Laura Shepard, City of Vancouver
Ethics: OPMA Litigation: Privilege, Settlements, Conflicts
(materials not yet available)
Chris Barack, City of Auburn
Update on Changes to Federal Grant Regulations and Guidance
Paul Lawrence, Pacifica Law Group
Accommodating Affordable Housing: Kitsap County GMHB cases
Lisa Nickel, Kitsap County
CRIMINAL SESSION – FRIDAY OCTOBER 2
Jury Selection
(materials will be available after conference concludes)
Michelle Rutherford, Snohomish County
Jury Selection (Cont.)
(materials will be available after conference concludes)
Michelle Rutherford, Snohomish County
10.77 and Forensic Navigator
Kirsten Peebles, Forensic Navigator, Department of Social and Health Services