James P. "Jim" Savitt

Jim specializes in the trial and creative resolution of substantial disputes for a diverse client base, including Fortune 500 companies and major e-commerce firms. While much of his practice has focused on intellectual property, corporate, and commercial matters, Jim believes that knowing how to win a case–developing and executing a strategy to prevail by motion if possible and by trial if not–is the most important skill of a lawyer handling complex litigation.

Jim teamed with David Bruce to establish Savitt Bruce & Willey in 1999, after a nine-year tenure as a partner at Perkins Coie. Jim began his career with Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison in New York City before finding his way to the Great Northwest. He is a graduate, magna cum laude, of the Georgetown University Law Center.

Outside of the office, Jim recently completed service as the Chairperson of the Pike Place Market Preservation & Development Authority (which owns and operates Seattle’s famed Pike Place Market) and is a past President of the Federal Bar Association of the Western District of Washington. Jim enjoys skiing in winter, playing infield on the firm’s softball team in summer (when we can field one with enough young guns to do serious harm), his morning workout, reading novels that his partner Steve Willey sneers at and, not least, time with his family, including two teenage sons who, depending on the day, are either keeping him young or making him old.

Areas of Practice
Contracts and Commercial Litigation
Corporate Governance Disputes
Financial and Banking Litigation
Intellectual Property Litigation
Risk Management and Litigation Avoidance
Real Estate Litigation
Securities Litigation

Prior Professional Experience
Perkins Coie LLP, Seattle WA, 1987-1999
Partner, 1991-1999
Associate, 1987-1990

Paul Weiss Rifkind Wharton & Garrison LLP, New York City NY, 1983-1986