Brian J. Waid
Waid Law Office offers you 35 years of experience in civil litigation and appeals, including substantial experience representing clients in legal malpractice claims and cases involving insurance coverage and insurance bad faith issues.
Brian Waid grew up in rural Nebraska, where he developed his commitments to hard work and unquestionable integrity. In 1975, he began his professional career as a Reginald Heber Smith Fellow with the Legal Services Corporation, i.e., a poverty lawyer, providing the disadvantaged with legal services. Mr. Waid eventually managed the Consumer Law Unit at New Orleans Legal Assistance Corporation in New Orleans, Louisiana, where he represented low-income clients in consumer class action litigation and nuclear power plant rate proceedings. Recognizing his particular expertise, the Loyola Law Review asked him to publish an article on attorneys' ethics in class action litigation. In 1982, Mr. Waid entered private practice in Louisiana, where he represented businesses in commercial litigation, injured victims in personal injury litigation, and a bank in complex fraud-related litigation. Because of his demonstrated expertise in fraud-related litigation, the United States Bankruptcy Court in New Orleans appointed Mr. Waid to investigate bankruptcy reorganizations in which fraud was suspected.
In 1996, Mr. Waid and his family moved back to his wife's native West Seattle. Since then, he has focused his legal practice primarily on malpractice claims by clients against their former attorneys. However, he also authored the winning briefs in two of the Washington Supreme Court's seminal insurance bad faith cases, Mutual of Enumclaw Ins. Co. v. Dan Paulson Construction Co. and Kirk v. Mt. Airy Insurance Co., and represented the plaintiff class in the Microsoft "perma-temps" litigation as its designated trial attorney.
Bar Admissions
Nebraska, 1975 inactive
Louisiana, 1980 inactive
Alaska, 1999 inactive
Washington, 1996
U.S. District Court Eastern District of Washington
U.S. District Court Western District of Washington
U.S. District Court Middle District of Louisiana
U.S. District Court Western District of Louisiana
U.S. Court of Appeals 5th Circuit
U.S. Court of Appeals 8th Circuit
U.S. Court of Appeals 9th Circuit
U.S. Supreme Court, 1980
Areas of Practice
- Legal Malpractice
Litigation Percentage
- 75% of Practice Devoted to Litigation
Education
- University of Nebraska College of Law, Lincoln, Nebraska
Published Works
- Telling the Truth--When Things Go Wrong, King County Bar Association Bar Bulletin, February, 2011
- The perils of the Co-Counsel Relationship and How to Reduce Them, Washington State Bar Association Bar News, May, 2010
- Ethical Problems of the Class Action Practitioner, 27 Loy. L. Rev. 1047, 1981
Representative Cases
- Shoemake v. Ferrer, 168 Wn.2d 193, 225 P.3d 990 (2010)
- Shoemake v. Ferrer, 143 Wn. App. 819, 182 P.3d 992 (2008)
- Bertelsen v. Harris, 537 F.3d 1047 (9th Cir. 2008)
- Mutual of Enumclaw Ins. Co. v. Dan Paulson Constr., 161 Wn2d 903, 169 P.3d 1 (2007)
- Feature Realty v. Kirkpatrick & Lockhart Preston Gates & Ellis, LLP, 161 Wn.2d 214, 164 P.3d 500 (2007)
- Burns v. McClinton, 135 Wn. App. 285, 143 P.3d 630 (2006)
- VersusLaw v. Stoel Rives, LLP, 127 Wn. App. 309, 11 P.3d 866 (2005)
- Metropolitan Water Dist. of Southern California v. Superior Court, aff'd, 32 Cal.4th 491, 84 P.3d 966, 9 Cal. Rptr.3d (2004)
- Vizcaino v. Microsoft, aff'd, 290 F.3d 1043 (9th Cir. 2002)
- Vizcaino v. Microsoft, Cert. Denied, 537 U.S. 1018 (2002)
- Vela v. Plaquemines Parish Government, 811 So.2d 1263 (La. 2002)
- Metropolitan Water Dist. of Southern California v. Superior Court, 112 Cal. Rptr. 513, 92 Cal. App.4th 1112 (2001)
- Vizcaino v. Microsoft, 142 F. Supp.2d 1299 (W.D. Wash. 2001)
- Winbun v. Moore, 143 Wn.2d 206, 18 P.3d 576 (2001)
- Vizcaino v. U.S. Dist. Ct., 173 F.3d 713 (9th Cir. 1999)
- Vela v. Plaquemines Parish Government, 729 So.2d 178 (La. App. 1999)
- Kirk v. Mt. Airy Ins. Co., 134 Wn.2d 558, 951 P.2d 1124 (1998)
- Brin v. Stutzman, 89 Wn. App. 809, 951 P.2d 291 (1998)
- Hoskin v. Plaquemines Parish Government, 703 So.2d 207 (La. App. 1997)
- Higgins v. USAA Prop. & Cas. Ins. Co, 669 So.2d 498 (La. App. 1997)
- Haworth v. L'Hoste, 664 So.2d 1335 (La. App. 1995)
- Vela v. Plaquemines Parish Government, 658 So.2d 46 (La. App. 1995)
- Olinde v. Couvillion, 650 So.2d 1241 (La. App. 1995)
- Buffinet v. Plaquemines Parish Government, 645 So.2d 631 (La. App. 1994)
- McKee v. Inspectorate America Corp., 636 So.2d 305 (La. 1994)
- Longman v. Allstate Ins. Co., 635 So.2d 343 (La. App. 1994)
- Perez v. Shook, 1993 WL 515775 (E.D. La.)
- Berrera v. Hyundai Motor America, 620 So.2d 890 (La. App. 1993)
- Succession of Cosse, 608 So.2d 1092 (La. App. 1992)
- Scandurro v. Thibaut, 1992 WL 394712 (E.D. La.)
- Spitzfaden v. Daigle Welding Service, Inc., 607 So.2d 951 (La. App. 1992)
- Cosse v. Commercial Union Ins. Co., 597 So.2d 84 (La. App. 1992)
- H & B Const. Co. v. La. Insurance Guarantee Association, 580 S.2d 931 (La. App. 1991)
- DuBois v. McGuire, 579 So.2d 1025 (La. App. 1991)
- Putzeys v. Schreiber, 576 So.2d 563 (La. App. 1991)
- Davenport v. Amax Nickel, Inc., 569 So.2d 23 (La. App. 1990)
- Smith v. Zimmer, 553 So.2d 919 (La. App. 1989)
- Cantwell v. Garcia, 522 So.2d 721 (La. App. 1988)
- Foval v. First Nat'l Bank of Commerce, 841 F.2d 126 (5th Cir. 1988)
- Adolph v. FEMA, 854 F.2d 732 (5th Cir. 1988)
- Eddie's Quality Oysters v. F.S.B., Inc., 503 So.2d 562 (La. App. 1987)
- Wallen v. Simpson, 518 So.2d 1144 (La. App. 1987)
- Page v. Page, 512 So.2d 1234 (La. App. 1987)
- Taylor v. Taylor, 505 So.2d 98 (La. App. 1987)
- Taylor v. Taylor, 473 So.2d 867 (La. App. 1985)
- Hero Lands Co. v. Borello, 459 So.2d 658 (La. App. 1984)
- Metro. New Orleans Ch. of La. Consumers League v. Council of City of New Orleans, 391 So.2d 878 (La. App. 1980)
- Powers v. Chizek, 285 N.W.2d 501 (Neb. Sup. Ct. 1979)
- Miller v. Reighter, 581 F.2d 1181 (8th Cir. 1978)
- Binnick v. Avco Finance, 435 F. Supp. 359 (D. Neb. 1977)
Classes/Seminars
- "Local Counsel-Hazards of this Relationship", National Association of Legal Secretaries, March 17, 2011
- Effective and Ethical Fee Agreements, Before the Fee Agreement, King County Bar Association, October 27, 2010
- Ethics for the IP Attorney, Washington State Bar Association, Intellectual Property Institute, Seattle, 2009
- Legal Ethics and Malpractice Issues for the Intellectual Property Attorney Wannabe, Washington State Bar Association, Seattle, 2008
- Ethics: Establishing and Maintaining the Attorney-Client Relationship, Washington State Trial Lawyers Association, Seattle, 2008
- It's Not Just Microsoft!, Washington State Bar Association, Employment Law Seminar, Washington State Bar Association, Employment Law Seminar, 2000
- Employment Law Seminar, Washington State Trial Lawyers Association, 2000
- Rule 11: Its Use and Abuse, and Implications for Professionalism, King County Bar Association, 1998 - 1999
- ERISA Subrogation, Washington State Trial Lawyers Association, 1998
- Chairperson, Subrogation, King County Bar Association, 1998
Honors and Awards
- AV-Rated by Martindale-Hubbell (The Highest Peer Rating of Competence and Ethics), 2005 - Present
- Rotarian of the Year, Rotary District 5030 (Seattle and King County area), 2005 - 2006
- Rotarian of the Year, Rotary District 6840 (SE La./So. Miss.), 1993 - 1994
Professional Associations and Memberships
- American Bar Association
- King County Bar Association
- Alaska Bar Association
- Louisiana State Bar Association
- Nebraska State Bar Association
Past Employment Positions
- Southeast Nebraska Legal Services Corp., Smith Fellow and Staff Attorney
- New Orleans Legal Assistance Corp., Consumer Law Unit Managing Attorney, 1979 - 1982
- Bubrig & Waid, Buras and Belle Chasse, Louisiana, Associate, Partner, Managing Partner, 1982 - 1998
- Law Offices of Robert B. Gould, Contract Attorney, 1996 - 1998
- Bendich, Stobaugh & Strong, Trial Attorney, 1998 - 2002
- Law Offices of Robert B. Gould, Trial Attorney, 2003 - 2009
