Carolyn also provides training to employers and other attorneys in employment-related and litigation topics. In addition, approximately one-third of her practice is devoted to neutral work, primarily commercial, contract and employment cases, including class actions. Her neutral work includes arbitration, mediation, investigations and fact-finding.
CONTACT INFO
206-892-2100
carolyn.cairns@stokeslaw.com
PRACTICE AREAS
Employment
Alternative Dispute Resolution
EDUCATION
DePaul University School of Law, J.D., magna cum laude (1976)
Wheaton College, B.A., cum laude (1970)
ADMITTED TO PRACTICE
Illinois (1976-2006)
Washington (1980 to date)
ASSISTANT
REPRESENTATIVE WORK
Carolyn has represented public and private corporations as well as employees in a wide range of litigation matters, including claims of age discrimination, retaliation, race discrimination, disability discrimination, sex discrimination and sexual harassment, religious discrimination, national origin discrimination, wage and hour violations, contract claims, covenants not to compete, and trade secret violations. These cases have involved both jury and bench trials, arbitrations, and numerous cases advantageously settled on the client's behalf.
PROFESSIONAL & COMMUNITY ACTIVITIES
Member, ADR Roundtable
Arbitration and mediation panel, American Arbitration Association and the 39.1 panel of arbitrators and mediators for the Western District of Washington
Member, Board of the Endowment for Equal Justice
Past President and Trustee, Federal Bar Association of the Western District of Washington
Past Lawyer Representative and Co-Chair, Ninth Circuit Judicial Conference
Past Chair, Local Rules Committee of the Federal Bar of the Western District
Past Member, ADR Task Force
Past Trustee, King County Bar Association
Past Chair, Labor and Employment Section of the King County Bar Association
Past Chair, Employment Law Section of the Washington State Trial Lawyers' Association
RECENT PUBLICATIONS & SPEAKING ENGAGEMENTS
Carolyn is a regular presenter at seminars and employment law institutes, speaking on a wide range of topics, including mediation and arbitration, how to evaluate cases, substantive areas such as disability and sexual harassment law, and trial practice and discovery topics. For the past sixteen years Carolyn has been a co-presenter of the plenary session of the Employment Law Institute, reviewing key cases and trends of the prior year. She is the author of "Mediation of Employment Disputes" in the Washington State Trial Lawyers' forthcoming Employment Law Deskbook. Carolyn also provides training to employer groups in sexual harassment and other employment-related topics.
RECOGNITION
Super Lawyer, WASHINGTON LAW AND POLITICS (1998-2010)
Top 100 Lawyers, WASHINGTON LAW & POLITICS (2010)
Top 50 Women Lawyers, WASHINGTON LAW & POLITICS (2010)
Best Lawyers in America (1989-2009)
AV® rated by Martindale-Hubbell Peer Review
BACKGROUND & INTERESTS
Prior to joining Stokes Lawrence, Carolyn was a trial attorney and supervisory trial attorney for the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission in Chicago and Seattle, and was a partner in the firm of Cairns & McKinnon.
