Senior Assistant Attorney General
Gary L. Ikeda
Admitted to Practice: (Washington, U.S. District Courts for Eastern and Western Districts of Washington; Ninth Court of Appeals; U.S. Supreme Court)
Law Degree: University of Washington
Undergraduate Degree: University of Washington (B.A., English)
Other Degree: University of Washington, Executive Management Certificate
Practice Area(s): General
Gary joined the UW Division in November 2010. Immediately before coming to the UW Division, Gary was general counsel for Seattle Public Schools. He has previously served in the Attorney General’s Office as Deputy Attorney General and as an Assistant Attorney General with the Antitrust, Higher Education, UW, and Employment Security Divisions. Gary has also previously served as Vice President & General Counsel for Group Health Cooperative, Kaiser Permanente NW, and the Hope Heart Institute.
Assistant Attorneys General
Helen Arntson
Admitted to Practice: 1990 (Washington, Wisconsin) (U.S. District Courts for Eastern and Western Districts of Washington; Ninth Court of Appeals)
Law Degree: University of Wisconsin (1990, cum laude)
Undergraduate Degree: University of Massachusetts Amherst (B.Mus., Performance, 1978, summa cum laude)
Other Degree: Northwestern University (M.Mus., Performance, 1981)
Practice Area: Employment Law
Helen joined the UW Division in October 2007. Immediately before coming to the UW Division, Helen was with the Torts Division of the Attorney General's Office where she defended state agencies in employment and civil rights cases brought in state and federal courts. She has also practiced with the AGO's Labor & Personnel Division. Helen began her career in the private sector, in general civil litigation, when she returned to her native Washington in 1990. She has focused on employment litigation and counseling since 1997.
Kate Battuello
Admitted to Practice: 1983 (Washington)
Law Degree: Duke University School of Law (J.D., 1983)
Undergraduate Degree: University of New Mexico, Albuquerque (B.A., Political Science, 1980, summa cum laude)
Other Degree: University of Washington, (M.P.H., 2002)
Practice Areas: Healthcare Law
Kate joined the UW Division’s Health Care Team in October 2012. She has been with the Attorney General’s Office since 2008, when she joined the Torts Division. During her time in Torts Kate defended the State of Washington in employment discrimination cases filed against state owned universities and other public agencies. She also handled faculty and student contract, discrimination, and First Amendment retaliation claims. Prior to joining the AGO Kate was a faculty member in the Health Law Concentration Track at the University of Washington Law School. Kate began her career as an attorney in private practice in downtown Seattle where she spent 15 years acquiring extensive litigation experience, including jury trials, motions practice and alternative dispute resolution.
Aileen Huang
Admitted to Practice: 1996 (Washington), 2007 (U.S. District Courts for the Western and Eastern Districts of Washington)
Law Degree: University of Washington School of Law (J.D., 1996)
Undergraduate Degree: Barnard College, Columbia University (B.A., Sociology, Art History Minor, 1991)
Practice Areas: Student Life, Housing and Food Services, Student Fiscal Services, The Graduate School, The Burke Museum, FERPA, Public Records
Aileen has been with the Washington State Attorney General's Office since January 1998. Before joining the UW Division in May 2007, she represented the Department of Social and Health Services in child abuse and neglect cases. Her other work experience includes serving as a law clerk for a King County Superior Court judge and as an intern for the King County Prosecutor's Office.
Rolf B. Johnson
Admitted to Practice: 1996 (California), 1999 (Washington)
Law Degree: University of California at Berkeley School of Law (Boalt Hall) (J.D., 1995)
Undergraduate Degree: University of Washington (B.A., History, 1991, magna cum laude; B.A., Economics, 1991, magna cum laude)
Practice Areas: UW Technology, Software Licensing, Copyright, Trademark, and Trade Secret Law, Purchasing, Public Records, E-Discovery, UW Police, Real Estate Transactions, UWTV
Rolf joined the UW Division in 2007. He began his legal career in San Francisco where his practice focused on securities class action and derivative litigation. He then spent two years in Paris, France practicing international commercial arbitration and public international law. In 1999, Rolf returned to Seattle and joined Perkins Coie LLP, where he worked in the firm’s general and commercial litigation department. During his time at Perkins, he also worked on secondment as in-house counsel to The Boeing Company and, through a fellowship program, as a Special Deputy Prosecutor in the Drug Enforcement Unit of the King County Prosecutor’s Office.
Robert W. Kosin
Admitted to Practice: 1998 (Washington)
Law Degree: Seattle University School of Law (J.D., 1998)
Undergraduate Degree: Whitman College (B.A., Philosophy, 1992)
Practice Areas: Labor and Employment, Public Records, Occupational Health and Safety
Rob re-joined the division in February 2012. After law school, Rob served as an Assistant Attorney General in the Labor & Personnel Division focusing on civil service employment litigation and then as an associate in private practice where he worked in defense of employers in labor and employment matters. He returned to the Labor & Personnel Division and also has experience in representing state agencies in appellate matters, administrative licensing and regulatory matters, and tribal fuel tax litigation. Rob previously served in the UW Division in 2007-08 and more recently served as an Assistant City Attorney representing an eastside city in criminal, infraction and appellate matters.
John Nicholson
Admitted to Practice: 2000 (Washington)(U.S. Districts for Eastern and Western Districts of Washington; Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals)
Law Degree: Seattle University (2000, magna cum laude)
Undergraduate Degree: University of Washington (B.A., Russian Language and Literature, 1997)
Practice Areas: Healthcare Law
John joined the UW Division in September 2011. Previously, John worked for eleven years in the Torts Division of the Attorney General’s Office, where he defended state agencies in all types of tort cases in both state and federal courts. He has experience in all phases of civil litigation, including discovery, settlement and mediation, trials, and appeals. Since joining the UW Division, John has focused his practice on healthcare law.
Karin L. Nyrop
Admitted to Practice: 1984 (Washington)
Law Degree: University of Puget Sound School of Law (Seattle University) (J.D., 1984, magna cum laude)
Undergraduate Degree: St. Martin’s College (B.A., Criminal Justice, 1981, summa cum laude)
Practice Areas: Intercollegiate Athletics, Construction, Purchasing, Faculty Adjudications, Scientific Misconduct
Karin joined the division in March of 1997. Prior to that, Karin served as a Senior Deputy Prosecuting Attorney for the King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office, where she advised and represented the Water Quality Division and the Transit Division on a variety of purchasing issues and capital project matters (1994-1997). Karin also was a Deputy Prosecuting Attorney in the Civil Division of the Kitsap County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office (1988-1994) and an associate at the Seattle firm of Reed McClure (1985-1988). Upon graduation from law school, Karin served as a Law Clerk for the Washington State Supreme Court (1984-1985).
Lawrence W. Paulsen
Admitted to Practice: 1998 (Washington)
Law Degree: University of Washington Law School (J.D., 1998)
Other Degree: Cambridge University (M.St., International Relations)
Undergraduate Degree: Washington State University (B.A., Political Science, 1992 summa cum laude)
Practice Area: Employment Law
Lawrence Paulsen came to the UW in 2004. He practices primarily in the field of employment law. Among other things, he advises on issues related to Title VII, the ADA, the FMLA, the ADEA, RCW 49.60, and the University Faculty Code.
Jessica Russell
Admitted to Practice: 2005 (Washington and U.S. District Courts for the Western and Eastern Districts of Washington)
Law Degree: University of Oregon, School of Law (J.D., 2005)
Undergraduate Degree: Western Washington University (B.A., Law & Diversity, 2001)
Practice Areas: Employment Law, Environmental Health and Safety, WISHA/LNI, Commuter Services, and Student Residency Issues
Jessica joined our office from the Torts Division of the Attorney General’s Office where she defended state agencies in employment and civil rights cases brought in state and federal courts. She began her career at the AGO in the Labor & Industries Division litigating worker’s compensation, wage and hour, and prevailing wage cases at the administrative and state court levels.
Clark C. Shores
Admitted to Practice: 1990 (Washington)
Law Degree: University of Washington, School of Law (J.D., 1990)
Undergraduate Degree: Reed College (B.A., Philosophy, 1978)
Other Degree: University of Washington (Ph.D., Philosophy, 1985)
Practice Areas: Intellectual Property, Technology Transfer, Libraries, Research Contracts, CTC
Clark joined the division in April of 1993. However, from February of 1997 to September of 1999, Clark was employed by the University of Washington as a Special Assistant for Research and Technology Transfer and as a Senior Assistant to the Vice Provost. In these positions, Clark reported to the Office of Technology Transfer and the Office of Research. In September of 1999, Clark returned to the division, where his practice focuses primarily on intellectual property issues. Prior to entering the field of law, Clark taught philosophy at the University of Washington and at the University of Puget Sound. After law school, Clark served as a Law Clerk for the Washington State Supreme Court (1990-1993).
Erica E. Sumioka
Admitted to Practice: 2007 (Washington)
Law Degree: University of Washington (2007, Health Law Concentration Track)
Undergraduate Degree: Whitman College (B.A., Foreign Languages & Literatures: Spanish, 2003, cum laude)
Practice Areas: Healthcare Law
Erica joined the UW Division in 2010. Immediately before coming to the UW Division, Erica worked at the Tacoma Division of the Attorney General's Office, where she represented the Department of Social and Health Services in child abuse and neglect cases. Prior to joining the Attorney General’s Office, Erica served as Law Clerk and Bailiff to the Honorable Sharon Armstrong of King County Superior Court.
Mark Yamashita
Admitted to Practice: 1989 (Washington) (U.S. District Courts for Western and Eastern Districts Washington; Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit)
Law Degree: University of Puget Sound School of Law (J.D., 1989)
Undergraduate Degree: University of Washington (B.A., Political Science, 1986)
Practice Areas: Employment Law, Labor Relations
Mark joined the UW division in May 2008. He has been practicing law in Washington State since 1989, and became an Assistant Attorney General in 2000. Before moving to the UOW division, he worked exclusively in the Torts Division, where he represented government agencies (WSDOT, WSF, WA Liquor Board, Western Washington University, Everett Community College, DSHS, DOC, WSP, Ecology) and various state agency directors, managers, and employees in suits concerning employment discrimination, civil rights violations, personal injury, and maritime claims. Prior to working for the AGO, Mark was in private practice for 5 years, with a general practice in criminal defense, employment law, and estate planning. Before private practice Mark worked at a public defense agency for 7 years, representing indigent clients in felony, juvenile, and misdemeanor offense matters, and supervising juvenile and felony units.
Quentin Yerxa
Admitted to Practice: 1988 (Washington)
Law Degree: University of Washington School of Law (J.D., 1988)
Undergraduate Degree: University of Washington (B.A., History, 1981)
Other Degrees: University of Washington (M.A.T., English, 1983)
Practice Areas: Real Estate Transactions (Metro Tract), Land Use, Environmental Health and Safety, Development, Admissions, Tuition & Residency, Financial Aid
Immediately prior to joining the Attorney General's Office in November 2003, Quentin worked for four years as a Senior Assistant City Attorney in the Environmental Protection and Utility Sections of the Seattle City Attorney's Office. Before that, Quentin spent eleven years in the Civil Division of the King County Prosecutor's Office, where he advised on and litigated a wide variety of public contracting, employment, constitutional and general municipal law issues. Quentin worked as a law clerk at the UW Division while attending law school.
Jane Yung
Admitted to Practice: 1996 (Washington)
Law Degree: University of Washington School of Law (J.D., 1996)
Undergraduate Degree: Washington State University (B.A., English, 1992)
Practice Areas: Health Sciences and Medical Centers, Healthcare Law, Compliance
Jane came to the University of Washington Division from Washington State University where, from 1998 to 2003, she was the Assistant Director of Government Relations. Formerly, Jane was an Assistant Attorney General in the Labor & Industries Division, litigating industrial insurance cases and advising and litigating for the employment standards team.
Dina L. Yunker
Admitted to Practice: 1987 (Washington, U.S. District Courts for Eastern and Western Districts of Washington)
Law Degree: University of Puget Sound (Seattle University) (J.D., 1986)
Undergraduate Degree: Montana State University (B.A., Political Science, 1982)
Practice Areas: Health Sciences and Medical Centers, Healthcare Law, Risk Management
Admitted in Washington in 1987, Dina maintained a commercial litigation practice before joining the Attorney General’s office in 1993. Upon joining, she helped establish the Bankruptcy and Collections Unit where she represented the state taxing agencies and advised the Attorney General's Consumer Protection, Ecology, and Natural Resources divisions. Today, Dina represents the University of Washington in its Health Sciences division, providing business-related health law advice to UW Medicine. Dina serves as the primary attorney for University of Washington Medical Center.
Professional Support Staff
Olga Buiter, Legal Secretary, provides direct support for Lawrence Paulsen, Jessica Russell, and Mark Yamashita.
Elizabeth Dahl, Paralegal, supports the attorneys in our business group.
Michelle Doiron, Paralegal, supports the attorneys in our employment group.
Jane Dukuray, Budget Clerk, oversees fiscal matters for the division.
Dawn Glinsmann, Administrator for the division, supervises the support staff, oversees the budgets, technology issues, and the day-to-day running of the office. She also provides direct assistance and support to Division Chief Gary Ikeda.
Lanse Jones, Paralegal, supports the attorneys in our healthcare group.
Michael Mooney, Computer Support Analyst, oversees the Division’s databases and file system. He also assists with computer hardware and software issues.
Dennis Paclibon, Office Assistant Lead, serves as the office's receptionist. He also oversees the library, supervises the student employees, and administers time records and leave slips.
Mary Taylor, Legal Secretary, provides direct support for Helen Arntson, Aileen Huang, Rolf Johnson, Karin Nyrop, Clark Shores, and Quentin Yerxa.
Sandy Webb, Legal Secretary, provides direct support for Matthew Lund, Kristin Miles, Noella Rawlings, Jane Yung, and Dina Yunker.