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| Law Firm: |
Ryan, Swanson & Cleveland, PLLC |
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| Address: |
1201 Third Avenue, Suite 3400 |
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Seattle, Washington 98101 |
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| Phone: |
206-654-2234 |
| Fax: |
206-652-2934 |
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| E-mail Address: |
mellem@ryanlaw.com |
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| Education: |
University of Oregon, J.D., 1982 – Order of the Coif;
Yale Law School, M.S.L., 1980;
The Evergreen State College, B.A., 1973;
University of Oregon Honors College, B.A., 1973
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| Court Admissions: |
Oregon, 1983; Washington, 1985; U.S. District Court for the District of Oregon, 1985; U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, 1986; U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington, 1985; U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Washington, 2001; admitted pro hac vice for particular cases in Alaska and New York. |
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Legal Experience
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| and Work History: |
Ryan, Swanson & Cleveland – Member, 2007-Present.
Foster Pepper PLLC – Member, 1992-2006; Associate, 1985-1991; Chair, Securities and Complex Litigation Group, 2001-2006.
State of Washington – Special Assistant Attorney General, 1993-1996.
King County Prosecutor’s Office – Special Deputy Prosecuting Attorney, 1991.
Honorable Owen M. Panner, United States District Judge, Portland, Oregon – Law Clerk, 1982-1984.
“Super Lawyer,” Washington Law & Politics, 2001-present.
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| Focus of Law Practice: |
Complex litigation with a particular emphasis on securities, real estate, noncompetition and other civil disputes.
Practice includes a wide variety of securities matters, including stock option and class action disputes as well as defense of governmental investigations and disciplinary/enforcement actions; prosecution and defense of nonsolicitation and trade secret disputes, particularly those between broker-dealers and registered representatives; securities arbitration actions involving customers and broker-dealers; and real estate disputes, including those involving commercial leases, purchase and sale contracts, investments, condemnation, easement disputes and adverse possession.
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| Professional Associations: |
Washington, Oregon, King County, American and Federal Bar Associations and the Litigation, Securities Litigation and ADR Sections where available. Member of the Leadership Council of the Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies. |
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| Alternative Dispute |
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| Resolution (ADR) Training: |
Intensive Mediator Training Seminar, Alhadeff & Forbes Mediation Services – March 2004 |
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| ADR Experience: |
I have arbitrated more than 50 disputes for either the King County Superior Court or a national arbitration service, have been engaged as a civil disputes mediator, and have served as a pro bono mediator upon referrals from a King County Superior Court Judge. I have extensive experience successfully representing litigants in mediations of high-stakes disputes, including with some of the nation’s leading mediators (e.g., Tony Piazza of Hawaii, Howard Miller of California and Robert Herschman of New York and Florida) and have developed a keen sense of the mediation process from the advocate’s perspective. This has helped me relate very well to litigants and their counsel and be a successful mediator. |
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| ADR Practice Areas: |
Business Litigation, Contracts, Corporations, Employment, Real Property and Securities |
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