Waid Law Office offers you 45 years of experience in civil litigation and appeals, including substantial experience representing clients in legal malpractice claims and attorney fee disputes.
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.
Please see a list of select representative cases here.
Education
- University of Nebraska College of Law, Lincoln, Nebraska
- J.D.
Bar Admissions
- 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
- U.S. District Court Eastern District of Louisiana
Past Positions
- Southeast Nebraska Legal Services Corp., Smith Fellow and Staff Attorney
- New Orleans Legal Assistance Corp., Consumer Law Unit Managing Attorney, 1979 to 1982
- Bubrig & Waid, Buras and Belle Chasse, Louisiana, Associate, Partner, Managing Partner, 1982 to 1998
- Law Offices of Robert B. Gould, Contract Attorney, 1996 to 1998
- Bendich, Stobaugh & Strong, Trial Attorney, 1998 to 2002
- Law Offices of Robert B. Gould, Trial Attorney, 2003 to 2009
Honors
- AV-Preeminent Rated by Martindale-Hubbell (The Highest Peer Rating of Competence and Ethics)
- Rotarian of the Year, Rotary District 5030 (Seattle and King County area)
- Rotarian of the Year, Rotary District 6840 (SE La./So. Miss.)
Classes / Seminars
- Liens & Fees & Federal Pre-Emption Wha?-II, Washington Defense Trial Lawyers Ethics CLE (Seattle), 12/03/2019
- Liens, & Fees & Federal Pre-Emption (Wha?), Washington Defense Trial Lawyers Ethics CLE (Seattle), 11/30/2018
- Ethical Perils in the Probate Process, National Business Institute (Seattle), 10/27/2017
- Ethical Fee Agreements and Practice, National Business Institute (Seattle), 10/27/2017
- What You Don't Know (Or Do) Can’t Hurt You: Tips, Trips, and Lessons Concerning Employment Law Legal Malpractice Claims, National Business Institute (Seattle), 10/27/2017
- Emerging Ethics and Standard of Care Issues in Trust and Estate Practice, National Business Institute (Seattle), 10/27/2017
- Annual Law of Lawyering Seminar, Washington State Bar Association, 12/20/2013
- Legal Malpractice: A Primer With a Cutting Edge, National Association of Legal Secretaries, 04/12/2013
- Ethics of Withdrawing from Representation, National Association of Legal Secretaries, 01/26/2013
- Law Firms & Associations, Law of Lawyering Seminar, Washington State Bar Association, 12/14/2012
- Local Counsel-Hazards of the Relationship, National Association of Legal Secretaries, 03/17/2011
- Effective and Ethical Fee Agreements, Before the Fee Agreement, King County Bar Association, 10/27/2010
- Ethics for the IP Attorney, Washington State Bar Association, Intellectual Property Institute, Seattle, 2009 to 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
- RRule 11: Its Use and Abuse, and Implications for Professionalism, King County Bar Association (1998 and reprised by request 1999), 1998 to 1999
- ERISA Subrogation, Washington State Trial Lawyers Association, 1998
- Chairperson, Subrogation, King County Bar Association, 1998
Published Works
- A Personal Pet Peeve, King County Bar Bulletin , May , 2020
- A Lesson in Real Trust, King County Bar Association Bar Bulletin, July, 2013
- 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
Professional Associations
- Washington State Bar Association
- American Bar Association
- King County Bar Association
- Alaska Bar Association
- Louisiana State Bar Association
- Nebraska State Bar Association
- American Bar Association Center for Professional Responsibility
Current Employment Positions
- Attorney