Washington State

Office of the Attorney General

Attorney General

Bob Ferguson

Contact:
PO Box 359475
Seattle, WA 98195-9475
E-mail


Overview

The University of Washington Division is comprised of 16 attorneys and 10 professional staff.  The division provides legal services to the University of Washington.  The university is a large, complex client with campuses in Seattle, Bothell, and Tacoma, over 45,000 students, over 25,000 faculty and staff, and three major medical centers.

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Legal Services Provided

The division furnishes legal advice and representation across a wide scope of specialized areas, including healthcare, employment law, labor relations, student affairs, real estate, business law, intercollegiate athletics, public finance, bonds, intellectual property, tax, benefits, gifts and trusts, and constitutional law.  The division’s mission is to serve the university — and the students, patients and citizens who benefit from its teaching, healthcare and research — by assuring that the university receives legal advice and representation that meets the highest professional standards.

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Major Issues

Northwest Hospital:  The division served as the hub of legal work on a complex transaction that made Northwest Hospital the third hospital of the UW Medicine system.

H1N1 Flu:  With the reemergence of H1N1 flu at campuses, the division has worked with groups on two related efforts.  First, a division attorney met regularly with representatives of local healthcare providers and regulators to help medical facilities develop contingency plans.  Second, the division provided legal guidance to the UW’s Advisory Committee on Communicable Disease to protect students, staff and faculty and to anticipate and mitigate the possible effects on campus operations.

Labor Relations:  The division provides legal support to the negotiation and interpretation of labor contracts.  Meanwhile, economic stress continues to produce a high volume of hearings concerning labor practices and employee grievances.

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