Head Of Litigation & Dispute Resolution

Technology | Telecommunications

Carpenter Wellington PLLC is seeking an entrepreneurial, experienced litigator to serve as Head of Litigation & Dispute Resolution. You will lead our burgeoning Pacific Northwest business litigation practice and build a full-service dispute resolution practice spanning litigation, arbitration, mediation, and early dispute strategy. You will assume an active docket of existing cases, build and manage the practice, and grow it with new and existing clients. We will give strong preference to candidates who bring a portable book of business. The role begins as a contract engagement, but we are hiring with the long term in mind: for the right person, we see a clear path to partnership as the practice grows.

ABOUT THE FIRM: Carpenter Wellington is a growing boutique corporate and commercial law firm with offices in Seattle, Portland, and Austin, and imminent plans for further geographic expansion. We advise fiber operators, ISPs, infrastructure investors, private equity-backed platforms, emerging companies, and technology companies on a broad range of legal matters, including M&A, financing, corporate governance, employment, commercial transactions, telecommunications, data privacy, and intellectual property.

ABOUT THE ROLE: This is a practice-building role. You will work directly with the managing attorney and a firm advisor, and will have the autonomy to build the litigation and dispute resolution practice the way you think it should be built. You will begin by assuming responsibility for pending and active commercial litigation matters across the broader Pacific Northwest. From there, you will own the firm’s litigation and dispute resolution practice: its strategy, its client base, its people, and its economics. If you bring clients with you, you will have a platform to serve them alongside a transactional practice and an established base of infrastructure and technology clients that generate disputes. Success in the first year means our current matters are in strong hands, your portable clients are fully integrated, CW’s existing clients see the firm as their first call when a dispute arises or is on the horizon, the firm offers arbitration, mediation, and early-resolution services alongside litigation, and the practice has a plan and a pipeline for sustained growth.

WHAT YOU’LL DO:

• Practice leadership and management:
• Set the strategy for CW’s litigation and dispute resolution practice, beginning in the Pacific Northwest, including target practice areas, industries, courts, and arbitral forums;
• Manage the practice’s operations, including case intake, conflicts coordination, budgeting, matter staffing, and reporting to the managing attorney;
• Develop pricing approaches, including hourly, blended, and alternative fee arrangements suited to commercial and infrastructure clients;
• Build and manage a network of local counsel, contract attorneys, experts, mediators, arbitrators, and litigation and ADR vendors;
• Help recruit and supervise associates and paralegals as the practice grows.
• Transition portable clients and matters to CW, and grow those relationships;
• Originate new litigation and dispute resolution work through referral networks, industry relationships, and professional visibility;
• Partner with CW’s transactional attorneys to cross-serve clients, identify disputes early, and advise on litigation risk in deals and contracts.
• Take over existing matters, including case assessment, strategy, court appearances, discovery, motion practice, mediation, and trial;
• Develop and execute pre-hearing motion practice and procedural strategy, selecting and sequencing dispositive, discovery, and provisional-relief motions (and, where warranted, extraordinary writs or interlocutory review) to position each matter for the strongest possible outcome before any hearing or trial;
• Represent clients in commercial disputes, including contract, business tort, partnership and shareholder, real property, easement and right-of-way, and technology and infrastructure disputes;
• Appear in state and federal courts throughout the Pacific Northwest, with travel as matters require.
• Build CW’s dispute resolution practice as a distinct offering alongside litigation, covering arbitration, mediation, negotiated settlement, and pre-suit dispute strategy;
• Represent clients in commercial arbitration (AAA, JAMS, and, as the practice grows, international forums such as the ICC and ICDR) and in mediation, from forum selection and tribunal composition through hearing and award enforcement or challenge;
• Develop early case assessment and dispute-avoidance services for CW’s transactional and outside general counsel clients, including escalation procedures, dispute resolution and arbitration clause design, and pre-dispute risk reviews;
• Advise clients on the right process for each dispute (negotiation, mediation, arbitration, litigation, or regulatory proceedings) based on cost, speed, confidentiality, enforceability, and business relationships;
• Counsel infrastructure and telecommunications clients on industry-specific disputes, including right-of-way, pole attachment, construction, and network services disputes, and coordinate with CW’s telecommunications practice where matters involve state utility commissions or federal agencies;
• Build relationships with neutrals, ADR providers, and dispute resolution professional networks to raise the firm’s profile and generate referrals.

WHAT WE’RE LOOKING FOR:

• Required:
• Active license in good standing in Idaho, Washington, or Oregon;
• 10+ years of civil litigation experience, with meaningful time as lead or first-chair counsel in commercial matters;
• Command of civil procedure and the court rules governing the pre-hearing stages of litigation, with the strategic judgment to know which motions and tactics to employ, and when, to advance the client’s position, including dispositive and pre-answer motions, discovery motions, motions for provisional or emergency relief (TROs, preliminary injunctions, and stays), and extraordinary writs where available, along with the discipline to weigh cost, credibility with the court, and client objectives in deciding when not to file;
• Excellent written and oral advocacy skills, including persuasive brief writing and the ability to translate complex legal issues into practical advice for business clients;
• A track record of generating business, originating matters, or managing client relationships directly;
• Experience managing cases from filing through dispositive motions and trial or arbitration;
• Substantive experience representing clients in arbitration and mediation as well as in court, with the judgment to recommend the right forum and process for each dispute and the ability to build a dispute resolution offering as a business; and
• Willingness to travel for in-person appearances across the region, as necessary.
• Strongly preferred:
• A portable book of business in commercial litigation or related areas;
• Experience building, leading, or managing a litigation or dispute resolution practice, group, or team, including supervising associates and staff;
• Admission in more than one Northwest jurisdiction (Idaho admission is a strong plus, as some current matters are pending in Idaho state court);
• Admission in the U.S. District Courts for the District of Idaho, Western or Eastern District of Washington, or District of Oregon, and the Ninth Circuit;
• Experience with telecommunications, infrastructure, and/or technology clients, particularly disputes involving rights-of-way, pole attachments, franchise and permitting, construction, or network services agreements;
• Experience with international or cross-border commercial arbitration (ICC, ICDR, SIAC, or similar);
• Training or service as a mediator or arbitrator, or experience drafting dispute resolution clauses and escalation procedures for commercial contracts; and
• First-chair trial experience and appellate experience, including petitions for extraordinary relief.

WHY CARPENTER WELLINGTON:

You get the autonomy of building a litigation and dispute resolution practice your way without starting from scratch: an active docket from day one, a transactional practice and established infrastructure and technology client base that generate disputes, direct access to firm leadership with minimal bureaucracy, origination credit for the work you bring, and a defined path to partnership.

ENGAGEMENT TERMS:

The role begins as an independent contractor (1099) Of Counsel relationship, with hourly compensation and origination credit for matters you bring in, including portable clients. During this initial phase, you may maintain an existing practice, subject to conflict clearance. We view this as the first step in a long-term relationship: as the litigation and dispute resolution practice establishes itself, we will evaluate a transition to a permanent role with partnership potential. That evaluation will be based on practice growth, origination, client relationships, and mutual fit.

Carpenter Wellington PLLC is an equal opportunity firm and welcomes applicants of all backgrounds.