Maggie began her legal career as litigation counsel for an insurance company over sixteen years ago. She has been litigating bodily injury and medical condition claims ever since and has served as defense counsel to insurance companies, individuals and businesses. Her practice includes premises liability, products liability, workplace injury, retail and hospitality, neighbor disputes, and automobile related lawsuits, as well as first party insurance disputes.
Over the course of her career, Maggie has litigated over 1,000 cases and strives to resolve cases in a strategic and efficient manner, but realizes that settlement isn’t always possible. She has successfully tried jury cases throughout Washington State and has obtained a defense verdict or bested her client’s last pre-trial settlement offer in her last five jury trials.
Maggie was the recipient of the 2015 Outstanding Mentor Award by the King County Bar Association Young Lawyers Division, she views mentorship as both a reward and an obligation.
Education
- J.D., University of Southern California School of Law, 2000
- B.A., Pacific Lutheran University, 1997
magna cum laude
Jurisdictions Admitted to Practice
- Washington State Bar, 2001
- United States District Court, Western District of Washington
Professional & Bar Association Memberships
- Washington State Bar Association
- King County Bar Association
- Washington Women Lawyers
- Defense Research Institute
- Washington Defense Trial Lawyers
- National Diversity Council
Professional History
- State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Company, 2001-2003
- Cozen O'Connor, 2003-2010
- Betts Patterson & Mines, 2010-2015
- Gordon Thomas Honeywell LLP, 2015-present
- Chair, GTH Defense Litigation Group
- Member, GTH Board of Directors, 2018
Articles & Presentations
- Defending Washington Auto Claims A-Z, Client Seminar, 2012
- Defending Washington Insurance Claims, Client Seminar, 2014
- Defending Washington Auto Claims, Client Seminar, 2016
- National Diversity Council Seattle Women in Leadership Symposium, 2017
Recent Jury Trials
Maggie defended a client tavern owner from the beginning of the case through the appeal. The plaintiff became a quadriplegic due to injuries in a motor vehicle accident. The plaintiff sued the tavern and two other bars that served the driver alcohol, declaring that the driver was under the influence of alcohol at the time of service. Maggie successfully barred hearsay evidence and prevailed on summary judgment and prevailed again on appeal. Plaintiff’s petition to the Washington Supreme Court was denied. Ensley v. Mollmann, 155 Wn. App. 744 (2010)
In a wrongful death action arising out of a bar fight, Maggie defended the owner of a Seattle nightclub. The deceased’s estate and surviving child sued the nightclub and its security company, claiming that the security company neglected to intervene and secure a weapon in a bar brawl in which a patron died. The trial court dismissed the liability claim against the nightclub, holding that it was not vicariously liable for the security company’s acts or omissions because it was an independent contractor, not the nightclubs' agent, as argued by the plaintiffs.
