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| Law Firm: |
Gierke, Curwen, Metzler & Erie, P.S. |
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| Address: |
Suite 400, Building D
Westgate Terrace
2102 N. Pearl Street |
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Tacoma, WA 98406-2550 |
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| Phone: |
206-752-1600 |
| Fax: |
206-752-1666 |
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| E-mail Address: |
gcurwen@gcmelaw.com
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| Education: |
University of Puget Sound, B.A., 1969; John Marshall Law School, J.D., Magna Cum Laude, 1974 |
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| Court Admissions: |
Georgia, 1974, Washington State, 1975 (WSBA #5978), U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia, 1974, The United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, 1974, U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington, 1975, U.S. District Court for the Ninth Circuit, 1981, U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Washington, 1996; U.S. Supreme Court, 1998 |
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Legal Experience
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| and Work History: |
I entered the practice of law in the State of Georgia, in a suburb of Atlanta in 1974. I began active practice of law in the State of Washington in 1975, and have been with the law firm of Gierke, Curwen, Metzler & Erie and its predecessors since that time. |
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| Focus of Law Practice: |
I have been engaged in an active trial and appellate practice in state and federal court since 1975. The bulk of my practice involves insurance defense and coverage litigation in state and federal courts involving products liability, professional liability defense, errors and omissions, civil rights defense, employment law defense, common carrier liability, general negligence and insurance related issues, and a substantial portion of my practice is involved in providing ADR services including arbitration, mediation, and alternative dispute resolution procedures. |
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| Professional Associations: |
Washington State and Georgia State Bar Associations, Washington Defense Trial Lawyers Association, Defense Research Institute, Washington State Trial Lawyers Association, American Trial Lawyers Association, American Bar Association, Appointed Special District Counsel, Washington State Bar Association-Discipline, 1983 to present. |
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| Alternative Dispute |
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| Resolution (ADR) Training: |
American Arbitration Association basic and intermediate arbitration training, Washington State Bar Association and Washington State Trial Lawyers Association and Seminar Training in Arbitration, former member, American Arbitration Association panel, current member of King County Mandatory Arbitration panel, Pierce County Mandatory Arbitration panel, and Thurston County Mandatory Arbitration panel.
Settlement Now, Basic, Intermediate, and Advanced mediator training, Washington State Bar Association and Washington State Trial Lawyers Association and Seminar Training in Mediation Services, former member, American Mediation panel; Advanced Mediation/ADR training through Alan Alhadeff, Esq.
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| ADR Experience: |
I began providing mediation services in 1983 in both federal and state court cases prior to being appointed as a Rule 39.1 Mediator. I have provided mediation services for the United States Attorney's office in Seattle in the field of professional negligence cases involving medical malpractice and in general liability cases involving premises liability. I have served as an arbitrator selected separately by both plaintiff and defense counsel, as a party designated arbitrator, I have served as a single agreed arbitrator based on the stipulation of counsel, and I have been appointed as a neutral arbitrator in three person uninsured/underinsured motorist panel arbitration proceedings. In the calendar 1996, I performed 34 mediations through the offices of American Mediation in Bellevue, Washington, plus six additional mediations independent of my membership as a panel member with American Mediation. I additionally served as a designated arbitrator under the provisions of MAR 3.1, approximately 15 times during the calendar year 1996, and served either as a plaintiff, defendant, or neutral arbitrator or a stipulated sole arbitrator in at least 12 additional UM/UIM arbitration proceedings during the calendar year 1996. I was additionally involved in another 12 to 15 arbitrations and mediations during the 1996 calendar year as defense counsel representing clients. Alternate dispute resolution procedures either as an arbitrator or a mediator comprise approximately 20% of my active practice. From 1997 through the present, I have mediated an average of twelve cases per year as a mediator and another twelve per year as counsel for various clients. I have also served as an arbitrator on approximately twenty cases per year from 1997 to the present. |
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| ADR Practice Areas: |
Civil Rights, Employment, Insurance, Products Liability, Professional Negligence, Torts |
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