Patricia K. Buchanan


Patricia K. Buchanan

Contact
Direct: 206-462-6703
Email: pkb@pattersonbuchanan.com
Founding Principal, President
Admitted to practice in Washington and Oregon
Practice Area

Pat Buchanan has litigated high-profile trials, including the Mary Kay Letourneau case and the Ride the Ducks Seattle Aurora Bridge collision. She defends public entities and private clients in complex cases. Her clients include many public school districts as well as private entities in cases involving mass casualty incidents and employment claims. She defends all forms of tort liability, breach of contract, civil rights, state and federal claims of discrimination, Title IX and defamation and invasion of privacy.


Education
  • University of Washington Business School, MBA, 2008
  • University of Oregon Law School, Juris Doctorate, 1990
  • University of Washington, BA in Political Science, 1987

Admissions
  • United States District Court for the Western District of Washington
  • United States District Court for the Eastern District of Washington
  • United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit

Publications / Presentations / Speaking Engagements
Ms. Buchanan routinely gives presentations on a wide variety of employment law and litigation related topics.

Honors and Awards
  • Ms. Buchanan is “AV” rated by the Martindale-Hubbell Law Directory, its highest rating. Early in her career she was aptly named one of Washington’s “Rising Star” attorneys by Law & Politics Magazine.
  • Selected as one of Puget Sound Business Journal’s 2010 “Woman of Influence”

Professional Memberships
  • Washington and Oregon Bar Associations
  • Delegate, Oregon State Bar House of Delegates
  • King County Bar Association
  • Washington Women Lawyers
  • Defense Research Institute
  • Council on Litigation Management
  • Washington Council of School Attorneys (WCOSA), past Board Member
  • Education Law Association
  • Special Deputy Prosecutor, Lewis County
  • Special Deputy Prosecutor, San Juan County
  • Washington Women’s Foundation (WWF)
  • Northwest Women’s Initiative for Education
  • Member of Seattle Children’s Hospital MLPC Advisory Board
  • International Municipal Lawyers Association
  • AGRIP Partner Member
  • American Bar Association Advisory Panel 2012 – present

Representative Cases
Jury Trials include:
  • Gambini v. DaVita – Employment disability discrimination and FMLA. Defense verdict.
  • Fualaau v. Highline School District (Re: Mary K. Letourneau) – Twelve year old male student, Vili Fualaau, had sexual relations with his former sixth grade teacher, Mary K. Letourneau, resulting in two children. Defense verdict for Highline School District.
  • Johnson v. Catholic Community Services – Wrongful adoption. Defense verdict.
  • Knittle v. Catholic Community Services – Wrongful adoption. Defense verdict.
  • Long and Davis v. Tacoma School District – Employment discrimination, whistleblower retaliation. Defense verdict.
  • Wright v. City of Gig Harbor – Personal injury. Plaintiff verdict for less than half what city had offered to settle case and avoid trial.
  • Ride the Ducks Litigation – Mass Casualty Incident. A collision on the Aurora Bridge resulted in over 80 injured and 5 fatalities lead to 8 months trial. Jury found client not primarily at fault.
Reported Cases include:
  • McCormick v. Lake Washington S.D, 99 Wn. App. 107, 992 P.2d 51 (1999)
  • Gambini v. Total Renal Care, 9th Circuit Court of Appeals (April 2007)
  • Gates v. Seattle Archdiocese, 103 Wn. App. 160, 10 P.3d 435 (2000)
  • Miller v. Campbell, Washington State Court of Appeals, Div. I (March 2007)
  • White v. Winthrop, 128 Wn. App. 588, 116 P.3d 1034 (2005)
Summary Judgment dismissals:
  • Frisino v. Seattle School District – King County Superior Court recently granted summary judgment to the Seattle School District dismissing all claims brought by a former teacher. The teacher alleged claims under Washington’s Law Against Discrimination including: failure to accommodate, disability discrimination, and retaliation. Plaintiff claimed damages in excess of $1.5 million. Plaintiff allegedly suffered from multiple chemical sensitivity (MCS) and allergies to mold and other environmental irritants. After a multitude of accommodations culminating in a remediation project at the high school, plaintiff was ordered to return to work. When she failed to do so, she was terminated for job abandonment. The District moved for summary judgment pointing out that plaintiff could not make a prima facie case and further argued that the termination was a legitimate business decision for non-discriminatory reasons. The court agreed. Attorneys Patricia K. Buchanan and Scott H. Husbands represented the District in this matter.
  • Abel v. City of Algona – Negligent supervision, breach of contract and Title VII violation
  • McKerricher v. RadioShack – Sexual abuse by mall employee
  • Heidi Moon v. City of Bellevue – Sexual harassment, gender & disability discrimination, retaliation, failure to accommodate
  • Miller v. Campbell – Bankruptcy estoppel applied to childhood sexual abuse claim
  • Woolard v. Tacoma School District – Wrongful termination and retaliation
  • McCormick v. Lake Washington School District – Wrongful termination
  • Joe Smith v. Tacoma School District – Racial discrimination
  • Hunter v. Brown – Contractor liability
  • Gates v. Archdiocese of Seattle – Wrongful termination
  • Johnson/Green v. St. Joseph’s – Racial discrimination
  • Walno v. Peninsula School District. – Wrongful termination
  • Wilson v. Okamoto – Medical malpractice
  • Young v. Anderson – Medical malpractice
  • Pollock v. Bellevue Square – Premises liability
  • Garcia v. Chec Medical Center – Medical malpractice
  • Tyner v. Hyde – Child abuse reporting statute
  • Tompkins v. Northwest Guardianship – Professional negligence
  • Hansen v. Archdiocese for Military Service – Alleged sexual improprieties of priest
Additional Cases:
  • Iversen v. Kent School District – Plaintiff claimed peer-on-peer sexual harassment, discrimination and violation of equal protection based on his perceived homosexuality. The matter was favorably resolved on the eve of trial in a settlement completely exonerating the District and its administrators.


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