Charles P.E. Leitch

Contact

Direct: 206-462-6705
Email: cpl@pattersonbuchanan.com

Founding Principal

Admitted to practice in Washington and Oregon

Practice Area

Mr. Leitch is a Founding Principal of Patterson Buchanan Fobes & Leitch, Inc., P.S. Prior to founding PBF&L in 2007, he was a partner in another longstanding, downtown Seattle litigation firm. Before transitioning to his civil practice, he served as a prosecutor on the city and county levels.

Mr. Leitch’s civil practice emphasizes complex public sector litigation, tort defense, school law, employment law, abuse litigation, and civil rights. His experience includes over two decades of work for school districts, counties, cities and towns, law enforcement, Fire/Emergency Medical Service entities and corporate clients. Throughout his career, he has tried multiple bench and jury trials in State court and Federal District court. These include complex litigation.

Mr. Leitch also provides counsel to public entities on prevention and response to harassment, intimidation and bullying (HIB) in personal and electronic form, effective supervision in workplace and educational settings, and civil rights issues. Within this context, he routinely advises on policy creation, implementation oversight, training, compliance, administrative hearings, and limits to enforcement. He previously served on multiple regional HIB and cyberbullying public entity workgroups and was a member of the Washington State Attorney General’s Youth Internet Safety Task-force and the Advisory Board of the Internet Keep Safe Coalition (iKeepSafe.org) in Washington D.C.

Mr. Leitch also advises on critical response to workplace violence, boundary invasion and abuse, catastrophic events, and, since the beginning of the worldwide pandemic, best practices on COVID-19 for educational public entities. He routinely coordinates response to governmental agency inquiry and handles proceedings such as administrative hearings, grievance and labor arbitrations, and terminations within the scope of his practices

Education

Willamette University School of Law, Juris Doctorate, 1995
Willamette University Center for Dispute Resolution, Certificate of Dispute Resolution, 1995

With Mediation Honors

Whitman College, Bachelor of Arts, History, 1991

Admissions

Supreme Court of the State of Washington
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
Supreme Court of the State of Oregon

Professional Memberships

Washington State Bar Association
King County Bar Association
Washington Council of School Attorneys
Council on Litigation Management

Publications / Presentations / Speaking Engagements

Mr. Leitch is a veteran and dynamic presenter. Comfortable with large audiences, he has a demonstrated track record of hundreds of successful appearances nationwide. He routinely conducts presentations and webinars on request and has been an invited faculty to national educational conferences and symposiums. These include legal trainings on school security and safety, prevention of harassment, intimidation and bullying (HIB), and youth and employee supervision practices. Most recently, these have included COVID-19 practices and standard of care. These appearances can vary from targeted working groups up to keynotes, depending upon the client’s need or audience interest. Multiple references are available upon request.