• Principals

• Mike Patterson
• Pat Buchanan
• Duncan Fobes
• Charles Leitch
• Karen Kalzer
• Donald F. Austin

• Associates

Founding Principal

Admitted to practice in Washington and Oregon

Practice Area

Ms. Kalzer practices professional and general liability defense with an emphasis on complex litigation involving professional negligence, sexual torts and racial discrimination.

Ms. Kalzer has handled and successfully resolved over 150 claims of childhood sexual abuse by combining tough incisive legal tactics with an empathetic litigation approach and compassionate communication skills. Her practice requires targeted experience in areas of privacy rights, Constitutional issues, mental health, and human development.

Additionally, she has tried professional liability and employment discrimination cases to verdict in District Court and Superior Court and engaged in oral argument in Divisions I and II of the Washington State Court of Appeals and the Washington State Supreme Court. She has practiced in both State and Federal Court. She is experienced in managing complex multi-plaintiff litigation and bringing the matter to a successful and cost efficient conclusion.

Education

• Seattle University School of Law, Juris Doctorate, cum laude, 1995
  • Top 10% of her class
• Universite de Poitiers (France), Certificat des Etudes
• University of Oregon, Bachelor of Arts, English, 1984

Admissions

• Supreme Court of the State of Washington
• United States District Court for the Western District of Washington
• United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit

Professional Memberships

• Washington State Bar Association
• King County Bar Association
• Council on Litigation Management
• Education Law Association

Publications / Presentations / Speaking Engagements

Information on some of Ms. Kalzer's published writings is available here. Information on some of her recent and upcoming speaking engagements is available here. 

Honors and Awards

Ms. Kalzer has been named a “Rising Star” in Washington law by Law and Politics. She is a speaker on her areas of practice.

Representative Cases

Reported Cases include:

• G.C. v. Corporation of the Catholic Archbishop of Seattle – Summary judgment dismissal of claim of childhood sexual abuse under court’s discretionary application of judicial estoppel.
• L.M. v. Corporation of the Catholic Archbishop of Seattle – Summary judgment dismissal of negligent supervision and childhood sexual abuse claim due to pre-existing relationship between victim and alleged offender.
• T.C. v. Corporation of the Catholic Archbishop of Seattle – Summary judgment dismissal of claim of negligent supervision and childhood sexual abuse under theory of no duty to control or supervise alleged offender.
• Blakely v. Bergeson – Karen Kalzer and Michael Patterson litigated and resolved claims of failure to provide legally mandated education to minors incarcerated in adult prisons.
• M.W. v. Corporation of the Catholic Archbishop of Seattle – Ms. Kalzer tried this childhood sexual abuse case before the King County Superior Court with Michael Patterson. After one week of trial, the plaintiff agreed to settle his case.
• R.C. v. Corporation of the Archbishop of Seattle – Ms. Kalzer and Michael Patterson defended this matter involving 15 claims of childhood sexual abuse. After 17 months of litigation, the plaintiffs settled their claims before trial.
• Thomas v. Puyallup School District – Ms. Kalzer defended this racial discrimination claim made against the Puyallup School District with a team of defense lawyers in Federal Court. After several years of litigation, the 37 plaintiffs chose to settle their claims.
• Crisman v. Pierce County Fire Protection District No. 21 – Division II of the Court of Appeals upheld summary judgment of the plaintiff’s claims, including negligent hiring and denial of civil rights. Although a more thorough background check may have raised issues regarding a supervisor’s competence, the court agreed that the plaintiff employee must show a causal connection between incompetence and the alleged harm.
• Tunstall v. Bergeson – Seminal court decision regarding the statutory and constitutional obligations to provide public education to prison inmates.
• Bryan Adam v. Seattle Archdiocese – Ms. Kalzer and Michael Patterson tried this childhood sexual abuse case to jury.  After several days of testimony, the plaintiff decided to accept a settlement offer that had been outstanding for several weeks.