In response to growing client demand for employment, litigation, and environmental and land use services, West Coast law firm Miller Nash Graham & Dunn LLP announced today it has added four attorneys to its Seattle office: Alyson Palmer, Connor O'Brien, Drew Duggan, and Amalia Walton. All four work out of Miller Nash Graham & Dunn's Seattle office located on Pier 70.
Alyson Palmer comes to the firm as an associate on the employment law & labor relations team; Connor O'Brien and Drew Duggan join as litigation associates; and Amalia Walton joins as counsel working in the area of environmental and land use.
“Our Seattle office is pleased to provide added resources to help our clients address a steady stream of emerging issues,” said Steve Miller, partner-in-charge of the Miller Nash Graham & Dunn Seattle office. “We look forward to the contributions that each attorney brings to our growing firm.”
Miller Nash Graham & Dunn has been expanding in Seattle starting with the January 1, 2015 combination of the long-established Northwest firms of Miller Nash and Graham & Dunn, and having since added attorneys in the areas of business, corporate litigation, environmental & natural resources, land use, condemnation and real estate valuation, and employment. The firm serves a variety of industries, including banking, education, energy, food and beverage, government, manufacturing, real estate, and technology.
About Alyson Palmer
Palmer works with public and private employers in litigation before state and federal courts against claims involving illegal harassment, discrimination, retaliation, wrongful discharge, and wage-and-hour disputes, and defends employers in administrative agency proceedings and alternative forms of conflict resolution. She also regularly counsels employers on a range of employment and labor issues, including independent-contractor status, minimum-wage compliance, covenants not to compete, employee termination, employment discrimination, union avoidance, and collective bargaining issues.
Palmer currently serves on the board of directors of Central District Forum for Arts & Ideas. Before joining Miller Nash Graham & Dunn, Palmer was an associate of Stoel Rives LLP and served as an extern in the Appellate Division of the U.S. Department of Justice. Before attending law school, she served as Acting Deputy White House Liaison and Public Affairs Specialist for the U.S. General Services Administration and as a staff assistant in the White House Office of Management and Administration. She received her bachelor of arts degree from Seattle University and her law degree from the University of Washington School of Law.
About Connor O'Brien
O'Brien is a member of the firm's business litigation and condemnation and real estate valuation teams. He focuses his practice on commercial litigation, representing business and government entities in a variety of matters. In his condemnation practice, O'Brien advises and represents municipal agencies and property owners regarding eminent domain law.
Before joining Miller Nash Graham & Dunn, O'Brien served as a Judge Advocate in the United States Marine Corps. In the Marines, he was a trial attorney in over 80 criminal cases, litigating multiple jury and bench trials as prosecutor and defense counsel. O'Brien served as the senior defense counsel for one year in Afghanistan, where he successfully tried the first general court-martial conducted by the Marine Corps in Afghanistan. He received his bachelor of arts degree from Pomona College and his law degree from Notre Dame Law School.
About Drew Duggan
Duggan is a member of the firm's business litigation practice team. He works to resolve clients' business disputes in a wide variety of commercial litigation matters.
Before joining Miller Nash Graham & Dunn, Duggan held positions as a legal honors clerk for General Counsel for the Secretary of Defense at the Pentagon, and as a legal clerk at the King County Prosecutor's Office. Before law school, he served in the United States Army as an Army Ranger and an Infantry Squad Leader, and conducted combat tours in Afghanistan and Iraq. Duggan received his bachelor of arts degree from the University of Washington and his law degree from the University of Washington School of Law.
About Amalia Walton
Walton is a member of the firm's environmental & natural resources practice team. She practices land use and environmental law with a focus on shoreline permitting, aquaculture, and project development. Walton has been involved in drafting and negotiating legislation related to Seattle's Shoreline Master Program and Washington's Shoreline Management Act. In addition, she has represented waterfront property owners and businesses when obtaining shoreline exemption permits, seeking conforming or preferred-use status and negotiating habitat conservation plans. She has worked with a variety of regulatory agencies, including Seattle's Department of Construction and Office of Planning, Washington’s Department of Natural Resources, Washington’s Department of Ecology, and various state and local governmental entities.
Walton has been an active volunteer and past board member of the Floating Homes Association in Seattle. She received her bachelor of arts degree from Wellesley College and her law degree from the University of Washington School of Law.
Alyson Palmer comes to the firm as an associate on the employment law & labor relations team; Connor O'Brien and Drew Duggan join as litigation associates; and Amalia Walton joins as counsel working in the area of environmental and land use.
“Our Seattle office is pleased to provide added resources to help our clients address a steady stream of emerging issues,” said Steve Miller, partner-in-charge of the Miller Nash Graham & Dunn Seattle office. “We look forward to the contributions that each attorney brings to our growing firm.”
Miller Nash Graham & Dunn has been expanding in Seattle starting with the January 1, 2015 combination of the long-established Northwest firms of Miller Nash and Graham & Dunn, and having since added attorneys in the areas of business, corporate litigation, environmental & natural resources, land use, condemnation and real estate valuation, and employment. The firm serves a variety of industries, including banking, education, energy, food and beverage, government, manufacturing, real estate, and technology.
About Alyson Palmer
Palmer works with public and private employers in litigation before state and federal courts against claims involving illegal harassment, discrimination, retaliation, wrongful discharge, and wage-and-hour disputes, and defends employers in administrative agency proceedings and alternative forms of conflict resolution. She also regularly counsels employers on a range of employment and labor issues, including independent-contractor status, minimum-wage compliance, covenants not to compete, employee termination, employment discrimination, union avoidance, and collective bargaining issues.
Palmer currently serves on the board of directors of Central District Forum for Arts & Ideas. Before joining Miller Nash Graham & Dunn, Palmer was an associate of Stoel Rives LLP and served as an extern in the Appellate Division of the U.S. Department of Justice. Before attending law school, she served as Acting Deputy White House Liaison and Public Affairs Specialist for the U.S. General Services Administration and as a staff assistant in the White House Office of Management and Administration. She received her bachelor of arts degree from Seattle University and her law degree from the University of Washington School of Law.
About Connor O'Brien
O'Brien is a member of the firm's business litigation and condemnation and real estate valuation teams. He focuses his practice on commercial litigation, representing business and government entities in a variety of matters. In his condemnation practice, O'Brien advises and represents municipal agencies and property owners regarding eminent domain law.
Before joining Miller Nash Graham & Dunn, O'Brien served as a Judge Advocate in the United States Marine Corps. In the Marines, he was a trial attorney in over 80 criminal cases, litigating multiple jury and bench trials as prosecutor and defense counsel. O'Brien served as the senior defense counsel for one year in Afghanistan, where he successfully tried the first general court-martial conducted by the Marine Corps in Afghanistan. He received his bachelor of arts degree from Pomona College and his law degree from Notre Dame Law School.
About Drew Duggan
Duggan is a member of the firm's business litigation practice team. He works to resolve clients' business disputes in a wide variety of commercial litigation matters.
Before joining Miller Nash Graham & Dunn, Duggan held positions as a legal honors clerk for General Counsel for the Secretary of Defense at the Pentagon, and as a legal clerk at the King County Prosecutor's Office. Before law school, he served in the United States Army as an Army Ranger and an Infantry Squad Leader, and conducted combat tours in Afghanistan and Iraq. Duggan received his bachelor of arts degree from the University of Washington and his law degree from the University of Washington School of Law.
About Amalia Walton
Walton is a member of the firm's environmental & natural resources practice team. She practices land use and environmental law with a focus on shoreline permitting, aquaculture, and project development. Walton has been involved in drafting and negotiating legislation related to Seattle's Shoreline Master Program and Washington's Shoreline Management Act. In addition, she has represented waterfront property owners and businesses when obtaining shoreline exemption permits, seeking conforming or preferred-use status and negotiating habitat conservation plans. She has worked with a variety of regulatory agencies, including Seattle's Department of Construction and Office of Planning, Washington’s Department of Natural Resources, Washington’s Department of Ecology, and various state and local governmental entities.
Walton has been an active volunteer and past board member of the Floating Homes Association in Seattle. She received her bachelor of arts degree from Wellesley College and her law degree from the University of Washington School of Law.
