Keith L. Kessler

James Williams is a partner in the firm's Litigation practice. He has been trying cases and managing litigation for over 25 years as a government attorney and a private practitioner. James graduated in 1985 from The Citadel in Charleston, South Carolina, with honors, and earned his law degree in 1988 from the University of Virginia School of Law. After law school, he served in the Judge Advocate General's Corps of the U.S. Air Force before moving to Seattle and joining Perkins Coie in 1993. H...

Rory D. Cosgrove is a Seattle-based appellate attorney at Carney Badley Spellman who focuses exclusively on civil appeals in state and federal courts. Recognized by Washington's appellate courts as the "Cadillac" of appellate lawyers, Rory has served as lead counsel in numerous appeals before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit and Washington's appellate courts, including the Washington Supreme Court. Rory is also the premier embedded appellate counsel in the Pacific Northwest &md...

Char Eberhardt, a partner in the firm's Labor & Employment practice, focuses on public and private sector labor relations, and class action litigation. He provides counseling on administrative proceedings, grievance arbitration and wage-and-hour issues. He has extensive experience representing clients, such as The Boeing Company, in high-stakes arbitration matters, including subcontractor arbitration disputes. He also handles a wide range of public sector labor matters, including teacher ...

David Clarke, a Partner in Perkins Coie’s national Business Practice, focuses on the representation of emerging growth companies, middle market businesses, public companies, venture funds and private equity funds. David's practice emphasizes mergers and acquisitions, private equity and growth equity transactions, venture capital financings, public offerings and corporate governance. David works with privately held clients at all stages of development, serving as outside general counsel ...

Sean V. Small is a top attorney recognized by Best Lawyers in the practice area(s) of Litigation - Trusts and Estates. Sean V., who practices law in Seattle, Washington, has been recognized since 2025. This recognition is based on an exhaustive peer-review survey, reflecting the high esteem in which Sean V. is held by other top lawyers in the same geographic and legal practice area.

Douglas Smith focuses his practice on representing clients in complex class action litigation and offering advice on legal compliance with federal and state wage and hour requirements. He also helps employers respond to wage and hour investigations by the U. S. Department of Labor and the Washington State Department of Labor and Industries. He has also testified before the Washington State legislature on numerous class action and wage and hour issues and consulted on a variety of legislative ...

Don Kari has successfully represented the firm's energy and utility clients for more than 30 years. He focuses on state and federal public utility regulation, energy power marketing, energy regulation and policy, contract and administrative law, commercial transactions and energy law.

Kim Sandher is a top attorney recognized by Best Lawyers in the practice area(s) of Bankruptcy and Creditor Debtor Rights / Insolvency and Reorganization Law. Kim, who practices law in Seattle, Washington, has been recognized since 2025. This recognition is based on an exhaustive peer-review survey, reflecting the high esteem in which Kim is held by other top lawyers in the same geographic and legal practice area.

Mark C. Pepple is a top attorney recognized by Best Lawyers in the practice area(s) of Commercial Finance Law and Real Estate Law. Mark C., who practices law in Seattle, Washington, has been recognized since 2022. This recognition is based on an exhaustive peer-review survey, reflecting the high esteem in which Mark C. is held by other top lawyers in the same geographic and legal practice area.

Otto has been involved in all aspects of employer representation in labor and employment law for over thirty years. He works with employers of all sizes, helping them understand their legal rights and responsibilities. Otto regularly takes the lead in bargaining negotiations for many public and private sector clients, and has represented numerous employers in both grievance and interest arbitration. Otto has also worked extensively on executive compensation matters, representing both executiv...