Family Law

• Divorce
• Guardianship
  In addition to work and school, I’ve been involved for several years with Whatcom County’s Law Advocates organization. I began volunteering in 2010 and, since 2012, have held a funded contract paralegal position with Law Advocates in their Kinship Custody Clinic, assisting pro se Law Advocates’ clients who are seeking non-parental custody/guardianship of relative and non-relative children in difficult situations.

Criminal Law

• Criminal Defense
  Shepherd and Allen does not presently accept criminal law matters. The examples of criminal cases are provided below that relate to what we believe was government misconduct.
• Wrongful Death
  Remaining silent, doing nothing or accepting the needless death is difficult, damaging, and likely emotionally harmful to you and risky for your community. Community safety, not just compensation, is provided by a just verdict, award or settlement after the unexpected wrongful death of a loved one.
• Traffic Violations
  A business man suffered permanent soft tissue damages when he was slammed into while exiting his driveway onto a public roadway. The negligent driver of the other car was speeding. Before arbitration, the insurance company of the negligent driver offered our client $70,000. The arbitrators awarded our client $850,000.
• Assault

Employment Law

• Employment Discrimination
  11. Represented a Hispanic, Jewish, Native American woman in her fifties in an employment discrimination matter. The woman was hired as the clinical director of a mental health agency. Shortly after beginning her employment in Washington, she discovered significant problems within the organization. The woman was eventually fired and sued the agency alleging among other things negligent misrepresentation and discrimination based on race, gender, and age. The trial court granted the agencies motion for summary judgment dismissing all claims. The appellant court found that her discrimination and misrepresentation claims were improperly dismissed and reversed and returned the case to the trial court. The matter was settled without trial.
• Employment Contract
  In response, Amazon has denied any wrongdoing, stating that its employment contracts comply with state laws. However, the lawsuit points to evidence showing that certain provisions in Amazon’s contracts may have violated the noncompete ban. According to Ferguson, these clauses were buried in fine print and designed to discourage workers from switching to better-paying competitors.
• Non-compete Agreement
  At the center of this lawsuit is Washington’s law banning noncompete clauses for certain workers, a law that went into effect in 2020. Noncompete agreements typically prevent employees from working for competitors or starting a similar business after leaving their job. These agreements can hurt employees by limiting their job options and preventing them from advancing in their careers.
• Sexual Harassment
  5. Represented a female employee against her employer for sexual harassment and hostile work environment. After trial the jury awarded the client $278,000.00. The trial judge reduced the amount to $25,000.00. On appeal, the Court of Appeals held that the trial judge had abused his discretion in reducing the jury award and therefore the client was entitled to reinstatement of the $278,000.00 jury verdict and her attorney fees incurred at trial and on appeal.

Property Law

• Construction Litigation

Health Law

• Personal Injury
  Personal injury is an injury to your body or mind that causes pain, disability and/or loss of function at work, home, and the ability to fully enjoy life. Again, insurance companies sell policies to drivers, property owners, and businesses to compensate others harmed by the policy holder’s negligence.
• Medical Malpractice
  People who see doctors, lawyers, accountants, and other professionals rely on professional advice and decisions. Preventable medical errors are the third leading cause of death in the United States. It is through the civil justice system, patients and their families are able to seek damages for their injuries and/or deaths and the public is made aware of the quality of medical care in its community. In addition to accountability, medical malpractice lawsuits improve patient care and patient outcomes.

Trusts and Estates

• Estate Planning
• Wills
• Trusts

Finance Law

• Foreclosure
  3. Represented the developer of two, multi residential planned unit developments against American Savings and Loan Association, at that time the largest Savings and Loan Association in the United States, on a breach of two construction loan agreements. Received a jury verdict in favor of client for all profits lost by the Associations breach, plus an award of $250,000 of attorney fees. The lender appealed. The Court of Appeals found in favor of the borrower client. A lender who materially breaches a construction loan agreement causing the borrower/developer to lose profits on the multi residential development projects, is not entitled to a deficiency judgment after foreclosure and the developer is entitled to all profits lost and its attorney’s fees, which on appeal resulted in an award of more than $1,000,000.00 for the developer client.