Biography
Judge J. Kathleen Learned (Ret.) has earned a reputation for her hard work, thorough preparation, and quick mastery of complex and difficult matters, with a fair, gracious, and good humored but no-nonsense style.
ADR Experience and Qualifications
- Since joining JAMS in 2003, Judge Learned has had a high rate of resolution success; during her prominent 14-year judicial career on the King County Superior Court, she was involved with the settlement of numerous civil matters in a wide range of areas in after hours settlement conferences
Representative Matters
- Business/Commercial: resolved many contract matters with issues ranging from commercial leases to shareholder/partnership agreements. As an arbitrator, Judge Learned has decided cases involving consumers and various companies over fraud, misrepresentation, and non-payment of claims
- Class Actions: handled a large employment benefits case against the county, and cases involving consumer products, financial institutions, and telecommunications companies
- Construction: claims arising from major construction projects involving multiple parties, insurance liability and contractor liability disputes involving large condominium and other large building projects, construction defect matters involving residential construction
- Consumer Protection: from small to large matters
- Employment: disputes involving claims of wrongful termination; discrimination based on disability, gender, and race; breach of contract; ADA; hostile work environment; constructive dismissal; pay and hour issues; and non-compete. While a prosecuting attorney, she tried a ground breaking affirmative action case for the county
- Environmental: pollution cleanup insurance coverage claims including one of the largest multi-state claims
- Estate/Trust: a large estate dispute involving multiple out of state parties and significant assets. Has also resolved cases with multiple parties, complex issues, and large estates
- Family Law: dissolutions involving small to multimillion dollar estates
- Partnership Dissolutions: including claims of trade secret violations
- Personal Injury: wrongful death cases, auto accidents, slip and fall
- Product Liability: claims involving safety devices and warning adequacy, drugs, industrial machinery
- Professional Liability: medical, legal, claims of trustee, breach of public duty doctrine, breach of fiduciary duty in administering retirement plan
- Real Estate: has mediated several condemnation matters involving local municipalities, also resolved matters involving property line disputes
- Toxic Torts: asbestos cases and other environmental and work place hazards and exposures
Completed Virtual ADR training conducted by the JAMS Institute, the training arm of JAMS.
- Judge of the Year, King County Washington Women Lawyers, 1997
- Award of Merit, ADR section of the Washington State Bar Association, 1994
- Chief, King County Superior Court Civil Department, 1997
- Chair, Judges ADR Committee, King County Superior Court, 1990-1996
- Member, Delay Reduction Task Force, King County Superior Court, 1987-1989
- Co-Founder & Board Member, Northwest Women’s Law Center, 1975-1981 (Co-operating attorney, 1975-1988)
- Member, ADR Council, Washington State Bar Association, 1993-1995
- Member, Mediation Section, King County Bar Association
- Member, Supreme Court Gender and Justice Implementation Committee, 1990-1993
- Member, Medical/Legal Committee, Seattle-King County Bar Assn., 1985-1988
- Arbitrator, King County Mandatory Arbitration Panel, 1985-1988
- JAMS "Remedies in Arbitration" Training, 2009
- JAMS Mediation Training, 2003
- Judge, King County Superior Court, 1988-2002
- Partner, Schroeter, Goldmark and Bender, 1979-1988
- Deputy, King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office, (Civil Division, 1977-1979; Criminal Division, 1975-1977)
- Staff Attorney, State of Wisconsin Legislative Reference Bureau, 1974
- J.D., with honors, University of Wisconsin School of Law, 1974 (Am. Jur. Award in Criminal Law)
- M.A., Political Science, University of Washington, 1967
- B.A., Political Science, University of Washington, 1965
Counsel Comments
- “Judge Learned was wonderful, patient and perfect for this case”
- “I would use Judge Learned again without reservation.”
- “Judge Learned was great [I] didn’t think this case would settle but it did.”
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Practice Areas
- Arbitration
- Banking
- Business/Commercial
- Class Action/Mass Tort
- Construction Defect
- Employment
- Environmental
- Estates/Probate/Trusts
- Family Law
- Governmental/Public Agency
- Insurance
- Intellectual Property
- Personal Injury/Torts
- Professional Liability
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