Page 25 - Pierce County Lawyer - March April 2025

Another mentor in my career was John A. Miller, who started
his career in 1974. John received the highest rating by his peers
for legal ability and ethical standards. He was always an active
member of the Tacoma-Pierce County Bar Association. He
served as Trustee and President. He was named the Family
Law Attorney of the Year. At the annual “Love Stinks” TPCBA
Family Law Seminar in 2024, a panel of attorneys discussed
the importance of civility and mentoring the next generation
of lawyers. The panel members talked about John’s influence
on their careers. Chris Torrone explained that as a new lawyer
he wanted to just argue his case, not negotiate, before a show
cause hearing. John was opposing counsel. Before the hearing,
John pulled up a chair in the hall outside the courtroom, asked
Chris to sit down, and explained how important it is to clients
to negotiate because outcomes are unpredictable in court. To
this day, Chris thanks John for that important lesson. John was
always a lifeline for me and many lawyers in Pierce County.
Thank you, John.
Another exceptional mentor was G. Perrin Walker who
passed October 17, 2023; a day I view as a significant
loss to our profession. He was a partner with Vandeberg,
Johnson Gandara PS. He taught me how to apply the Rules
of Professional Conduct. I first met Perrin when I tried a
case involving a vulnerable adult. Perrin represented the
guardian that I believed had taken financial advantage of my
elderly client. He never objected to the admission of evidence
unless absolutely necessary. Perrin treated me with respect,
although I was an inexperienced lawyer. He addressed the
court with great respect. We resolved the issues, and then
sometime later I asked him if I could retain him to help me
wade through ethical issues. I represented many litigants with
varying degrees of diminished capacity, and I was always
concerned about violating the Rules of Professional Conduct.
His thorough analysis of the RPCs served my firm well. He
also invited me to join the Inn of Court. My years as a member
of The Honorable Robert J. Bryan American Inn of Court
helped me focus on professionalism and respect for the law, the
Bench, opposing counsel, and litigants. Thank you, Perrin.
Without the mentoring of the attorneys and judge mentioned
above, and many more, I am confident I likely would not
have been appointed as a Superior Court Commissioner
nor elected as a Superior Court Judge. My eleven years as
a Court Commissioner helped prepare me for my current
responsibilities as a Judge. I would be remiss if I did not
mention the judges who helped me develop my judicial career
while serving as a Court Commissioner. Retired Judge Jack
Nevin, Retired Judge Frank Cuthbertson and Retired Judge
Bryan Chushcoff never stopped encouraging me to develop my
career. Judge Cuthbertson was Presiding Judge when I asked
him if he could establish a cultural competency committee
for our bench. He not only formed the committee but allowed
me to select our first presenter and expert on implicit bias.
Judge Nevin was Dean of Judicial College while I served as
a Commissioner. He invited me to teach at Judicial College
regarding Ex Parte procedures. That was the year five judges
were sworn in to the Pierce County Bench. You can imagine
the stress teaching judges who were also my bosses. Judge
Chushcoff as Presiding Judge was always an inspiration for the
Commissioners. He asked me to serve as Commissioner in
CD2 the summer of 2011. All these experiences have prepared
me for my position as Judge since January 11, 2021. Thank
you, Judge Cuthbertson, Judge Nevin and Judge Chushcoff.
Mentoring the next generation of lawyers is my passion.
The judges allowed me, as a Commissioner, to work with
Seattle University School of Law externs from 2011 until I
was elected Judge. As a Judge, I typically work with three
externs. Catherine Case and Liz Johnson, as President and
President Elect of the TPCBA, helped me last year with coffee
hours to mingle with lawyers and discuss a variety of topics,
including hiring interns. Katherine Kameron as President of
the Pierce County Minority Bar Association helped mentor a
recent extern. Thank you, Catherine, Liz, and Katherine, for
mentoring new lawyers.
Everyone needs a mentor,
and everyone needs to mentor.
No one knows everything. The law is complex. I “phone-a
friend” when I am over my skis in a new area of law. I also
found a great way to keep up with the never-ending changes
to the law is to work with interns or externs. I hired interns
from Seattle University Law School prior to taking the bench.
Interns and externs teach me as much, or more, than I teach
them. I hope everyone will hire a law school intern this year.
Professor Dutton is the Extern Director at SU Law School.
Email or call her for details4. I would love to talk to you about
working with interns over coffee. Just send me an email to
arrange a time for coffee. Coffee is on me.
After two decades in private practice, Judge
Kiesel served as a Pierce County Superior
Court Commissioner from 2009 to 2019. She
was elected as Judge in 2020 and re-elected in
2024. She is currently serving as a Dependency
Judge at Juvenile Court. Judge Kiesel is active
in the Superior Court Judges’ Association. She
is Chair of the Superior Court Judges’ Probate
and Guardianship Committee, and a member of
the Superior Court Judges’ Technology Committee and Superior Court
Judges’ Legislative Committee. She was appointed to the Supreme
Court Disability Justice Task Force. She further serves on the Legal
Pathways Community Advisory Board, University of Washington
Tacoma.
4. https://law.seattleu.edu/faculty/directory/profiles/dutton-gillian.html
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