M. Colleen Barrett
Colleen made the jump from successful trial lawyer to committed and effective mediator and has not looked back. Since November 2013, she has worked exclusively as a neutral, mediating a wide variety of cases to a resolution.
Colleen is a member the Academy of Distinguished Neutrals, an invitation only group of peer reviewed mediators and arbitrators. She is one of only 14 attorneys in the state who are members. (Click link at left for additional information.)
Aside from her 30 years of experience as a litigator, Colleen added tools to assist her in helping the parties keep control of the outcome of their cases through formal training as a mediator at both the University of Washington Law School and, more recently, at the Strauss Institute for Dispute Resolution, the highly regarded program offered through Pepperdine University Law School.
Colleen's legal experience began with 8 years at the Seattle City Attorney's office where she tried hundreds of criminal cases, provided legal advice to the mayor and City Departments, and tried personal injury and employment law cases.
Since 1988, Colleen has handled complex litigation, including professional liability and medical negligence, defamation, insurance coverage and bad faith, construction defect, land use disputes, and represented both plaintiffs and defendants in personal injury, wrongful death and employment litigation. She has also handled appeals and done presentations on negotiation strategies, effective mediation presentations, trial practice and insurance law. She has served on a number of WSBA committees, including serving as a mediator with the WSBA Fee Dispute Program. Colleen obtained the highest rating from her peers, AV by Martindale-Hubbell. She has been recognized as a Super Lawyer, and received the Washington Defense Lawyer Trial Lawyer of the Year award.