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Williams, Kastner & Gibbs, P.L.L.C.

Williams, Kastner & Gibbs PLLC's Indian Lawyers Settle Tse-whit-zen Dispute With Washington State Governor, Local Officials For Lower Elwha Klallam Tribe
The Lower Elwha Klallam Tribal Council and Chairwoman Frances Charles, joined by Washington State Governor Christine Gregoire and local officials, earlier this week signed an agreement ending conflicts over the historic Tse-whit-zen Village and ancestral burial ground. The tribe's litigation efforts were led by Williams, Kastner & Gibbs PLLC of Seattle, Washington. The comprehensive agreement, spearheaded by the firm's Native American lawyers Debora Juarez (Blackfeet) and Gabe Galanda (Round Valley), provides for restoration and long-term protection of the village.

“This has been a difficult experience for everyone. We have been forced to understand each other. But the compromise we have reached suggests we have more values in common than different,” said Chairwoman Charles. “We look forward to when our ancestors will return to their final resting place. For us, reburial is what this has always been about.”

While similar tribal cases in the State of Washington remain unsettled for decades, this settlement came only a year after the tribe filed suit against the state and its contractors for the disturbance of Tse-whit-zen and the unearthing of Indian graves from the village. This was in large part due to the willingness of the tribe to articulate, and to allow WK&G’s tribal attorneys to share, their tribal narrative about death.

“How [we] understand and practice death is how we understand life, it is just a continuation,” explained Debora Juarez, chair of Williams, Kastner & Gibbs’ Tribal Practice Group. This is quite different from other popular views, and it was important for the community to recognize that the tribe was not just unhappy about the disturbance of an old cemetery, but concerned with continued protection of its ancestors. From either point of view death involves land, and that is where the imbalance of the two worlds collided with the unearthing of Tse-whit-zen.

Ancestral Indian graves were discovered in August 2003, soon after The Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) began excavation for the development of a “graving dock” facility to build concrete pontoons that would replace aging pontoons on the Hood Canal Bridge. After extensive state-tribal negotiations, archaeological study, and an initial $3 million settlement, more than 300 Klallam ancestral remains and thousands of artifacts were found before the state halted work in December 2004.

A state-tribal settlement agreement transfers ownership or control of 17 acres of historic Klallam lands from the state to the tribe, and provides the tribe $5.5 million for the reburial of remains and materials and for site restoration (including the original $3 million). The state will provide an additional $7.5 million to both the City of Port Angeles and the Port of Port Angeles for capital investment in economic development initiatives. WK&G attorneys Dana Ferestien, Kim Baker, John Knox, Sharon Haensly and Claire Hur were also instrumental in achieving the settlement.

The four-party agreement also establishes protocols to ensure clear communication among the parties when archaeological resources are discovered during future shoreline construction projects, and to provide guidance for resolving land-use conflicts so that cultural resources can be protected and construction projects can go forward.

“The tribal and non-tribal parties took conflict, pain, anger and misunderstanding and transformed those emotions into respect, understanding, compromise and a vision for all the people of Port Angeles and Washington State,” said Juarez. “We wove together tribal world views and modern notions of economic development, and crafted an agreement that harmonizes both paradigms.”

“This agreement brings positive closure to a difficult and painful experience and new hope for a brighter economic future for the entire community,” said Governor Gregoire, who helped keep state, tribal, federal and local parties together during a six-month mediation period leading to the settlement after the tribe reached out to her on a government-to-government basis in December 2005. “I am very pleased with the outcome and appreciate the hard work of the Lower Elwha Klallam Tribe, the City of Port Angeles and the Port of Port Angeles that made this pivotal agreement happen.

08-17-2006

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Shannon, Gracey, Ratliff & Miller, LLP

Shannon Gracey Lawyer Honored as a 2006 40 under 40 by the Fort Worth Business Press
The Fort Worth Business Press has honored Monika Cooper, a partner with Shannon Gracey, as one of their 40 under 40 best in Tarrant County for 2006. This reward recognizes her dedication to the community, her business and her family. Congratulations Monika!

08-17-2006

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Schottenstein Zox & Dunn Co., LPA

Schottenstein Zox & Dunn Attracts CompeteColumbus President, Creates New Entity
Schottenstein Zox & Dunn Co., LPA (SZD) is pleased to announce that David Powell will be joining the SZD family on September 5, 2006 as president of their newly established entity, SZD Economic Development Advisors LLC.

Powell, currently the president of CompeteColumbus will, through this new enterprise, assist public and private entities in dealing with a wide variety of development concerns including financing, land use, and relocation issues. In addition, he will work closely with SZD’s China Consulting and Government Advocates businesses.

Powell’s extensive background aiding economic development between China and the City of Columbus will allow him to serve as a liaison between the U.S. and China markets, supporting SZD’s China Consulting Group. He will also use his expertise in economic development to aid SZD Government Advocates, a full-service, bi-partisan lobbying group with reference to economic development issues.

Powell will remain active in CompeteColumbus through the end of the year, fulfilling much of his current role. During this time, he will continue as the organization’s point of contact and will continue his involvement with their working groups and consultants.

Having moved to Columbus, Ohio in early 2003 after accepting a position as vice president of economic development for the Greater Columbus Chamber of Commerce, Powell became president of CompeteColumbus in October of 2005. Prior to moving to Ohio, Powell served as economic development director for Research Triangle Park in Durham, North Carolina. Through this position, he helped attract more than $2 billion in capital investments and 18,000 jobs to the area.

Powell has also held other economic development positions with Verizon Corp. and for the Greenville, South Carolina Chamber of Commerce, prior to working in Durham. He holds a bachelor’s degree in public administration and history, and two master’s degrees - one in urban design and land-use planning and another in economics and economics history.

08-17-2006

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Law Weathers & Richardson, P.C.

Michael J. Daray Joins Law Weathers & Richardson
Law Weathers & Richardson PC is pleased to announce that Michael J. Daray has joined the firm as a senior attorney working in the business practice group. Michael received his B.A. from the University of Michigan and his J. D. cum laude from the University of Minnesota School of Law.

08-17-2006

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Kamlet Shepherd & Reichert, LLP.

Former PUC Chairman Ray Gifford Joins Kamlet Shepherd & Reichert as Partner
Kamlet Shepherd & Reichert has hired Raymond L. Gifford, 39, former Colorado Public Utilities Commission chairman, to head up its communications, Internet and intellectual property practice. He begins as partner at the Denver law firm Sept. 1, 2006.

For the last year, Gifford has acted as special counsel to Kamlet Shepherd.

Since February 2003, Gifford served as the president of the Washington, D.C. based Progress & Freedom Foundation (PFF), a market-oriented think tank that studies the digital revolution and its implications for public policy. Under his leadership, PFF expanded its work in the communications field with the launch of the Digital Age Communications Act (DACA) Project, the Center for Digital Media Freedom, the Institute for Regulatory Law and Economics and the Center for the Study of Digital Property.

“Technological convergence brings with it legal convergence. Issues such as net neutrality, intellectual property, communications and media regulation, and antitrust now overlap and interrelate in challenging new ways for business and policy makers. Our new practice area at Kamlet Shepherd will help the business community navigate the issues faced in the digital age,” Gifford said.

Gifford will incorporate his new practice area into the existing regulatory and telecommunications practice groups at Kamlet Shepherd.

Before joining the Foundation in 2003, Gifford served as chairman of the Colorado Public Utilities Commission for four years, following his appointment by Governor Bill Owens. Prior to that, Gifford served under then-Colorado Attorney General Gale Norton as First Assistant Attorney General for Regulatory Law.

From 1993-1996, he worked for two national law firms—Kirkland & Ellis and Baker & Hostetler. Gifford earned his law degree from the University of Chicago in 1992. He began his legal career as a law clerk to the Honorable Richard P. Matsch of the U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado. Gifford studied Great Books, earning a bachelor's degree from St. John's College in Annapolis, Maryland.

“We are extraordinarily pleased to have an expert of Ray’s caliber within the regulatory and communications industries join our firm,” said Willie E. Shepherd, managing partner of Kamlet Shepherd. “The tremendous knowledge that Ray brings will bolster our current energy and regulatory practice. There are few other people in the country who are as familiar and well-versed in the current issues faced by the energy and utilities industries as Ray Gifford.”

Gifford teaches a seminar on the Law and Economics of the Information Age at the University of Colorado School of Law and is a member of the American Law Institute. He will remain involved at the Foundation as a Senior Adjunct Fellow. He serves as the chairman of the Federalist Society’s communications practice group.

Kamlet Shepherd is a comprehensive legal services firm structured to serve large businesses in the Rocky Mountain region and can be contacted at www.ksrlaw.com. Based in Denver, it was formed in 2000 by partners who decided to make customer service and responsiveness a hallmark of the firm. It now has 34 attorneys with specialties ranging from real estate and project finance, corporate and securities, and regulatory and administrative to litigation.

08-17-2006

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Gunster, Yoakley & Stewart, P.A.

GUNSTER ATTORNEY APPOINTED TO THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS OF THE ECONOMIC FORUM OF PALM BEACH COUNTY
Harvey E. Oyer III, a shareholder and real estate attorney with Gunster, Yoakley & Stewart, P.A. in West Palm Beach, has been appointed to the Board of Directors of the Economic Forum of Palm Beach County. Oyer will serve as historian for the group, of which he has been a member for seven years.

The Economic Forum membership includes over 200 prominent business and political leaders in the community and meets monthly at the Cohen Pavilion of the Kravis Center for the Performing Arts. Throughout the year, it features national and local speakers who focus on the economic and business issues affecting the South Florida area and specifically Palm Beach County.

Oyer is one of the most influential real estate attorneys in Palm Beach County. He concentrates his practice in real estate development, land use, agricultural lands and zoning law, and has managed negotiations for many high-profile developments that impact the future of Palm Beach County. In 2005, he was appointed to the “Great Floridians Committee” by Florida Senate President Tom Lee for his significant contributions to promoting Florida’s history and culture and the overall welfare of the state. Most recently, he was named the local recipient of the prestigious Jefferson Award for his outstanding achievements and contributions in public and community service.

A fifth-generation Palm Beach County native, he was instrumental in the campaign to save and restore the 1916 Courthouse in downtown West Palm Beach. Under his leadership, the Historical Society of Palm Beach County will open the area’s first county-wide history museum inside the building in 2007. In 2004, he championed an initiative to launch a fourth-grade history curriculum taught in the Palm Beach County public school system. This was followed by a seventh-grade history and civics program in 2005. Combined, these programs reach more than 25,000 students annually. He also serves as an advisor to the School Board of Palm Beach County, where he recommends names for new schools that reflect historical significance to the community. He was also instrumental in the creation of the county’s first and only state Underwater Archeological Preserve at the site of The Lofthus shipwreck off Manalapan.

He is a board member of the Palm Beach County Cultural Council; a trustee of the Palm Beach Community Chest—United Way; a member of the Palm Beach County Centennial Committee, the Lake Worth Pioneers Association and the Sons of the American Revolution. In addition to his juris doctor, he has a master’s degree in archaeology from Cambridge University.

08-17-2006

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Rawle & Henderson, LLP.

Carianne P. Torrissi joins the Philadelphia office of Rawle & Henderson LLP
Rawle & Henderson LLP is pleased to announce that Carianne P. Torrissi has joined the Firm’s Philadelphia office as an associate, concentrating her practice on the defense of commercial motor vehicles and their insurers.

Prior to joining Rawle & Henderson, Ms. Torrissi was employed by Marcus Broder, P.C. in Turnersville, N.J., where she represented clients in various commercial, collection, bankruptcy and employment matters before all courts in New Jersey and Pennsylvania, as well as the American Arbitration Association. She also previously served as a judicial law clerk for the Honorable Lee B. Laskin, Superior Court Judge in Camden, N.J.

Ms. Torrissi earned her law degree from Rutgers University School of Law in Camden, N.J. and her bachelor’s degree from Pennsylvania State University. She is admitted to practice in the state courts of New Jersey and Pennsylvania as well as the US District Court for the District of New Jersey.

08-17-2006

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