Sidney knows appeals. She has litigated hundreds of civil appeals in state and federal courts. Appeals are a specialized and often misunderstood practice area that have been Sidney’s sole career focus since 2005. Most folks have at least some passing familiarity with the trial process. Appellate clients need experienced guidance and representation so that they can understand the purposes, practices, and pitfalls of appeal, and feel confident about the process. Sidney provides knowledgeable, candid, and clear advice and analysis to clients. And when it comes to representation in court, her analytical skills are top-notch, her brief writing is clear and persuasive, and her skill in appellate oral argument is superb.
Sidney got her start in appeals serving as a law clerk for the Honorable William Baker at Division One of the Washington State Court of Appeals. Judge Baker’s mentorship and guidance was an inspiration, as was the inside perspective on the appellate process that job provided. She then became an associate and eventually a partner at a boutique appellate firm. She has been recognized as a Washington “Super Lawyer” and teaches complex appellate practice subject annually at the Pincus Professional Education Advanced Appellate Advocacy Continuing Legal Education seminar.
Honors and Recognitions
- Washington State’s Super Lawyers Magazine, and Super Lawyers Women’s Edition, 2018-2021
Publications and CLE Writings
“Issue Identification, Selection, and Presentation in Appellate Advocacy” (2018)
“How to Preserve the Record to Win at Trial or on Appeal,” GP Solo Magazine, (September/October 2015)
“A Major Reset: The Washington Supreme Court Reverses Decades of Precedent on Wrongful Discharge in Violation of Public Policy” (2015)
“Motions for Discretionary Review & Petitions for Review in Washington: Tricks of the Trade” (2011)
Representative Appellate Cases
Trial court obligated to apply public duty doctrine before ordering condemnation of City’s transmission line easement. Cent. Puget Sound Reg’l Transit Auth. v. WR-SRI 120th N. LLC, 191 Wash. 2d 223, 422 P.3d 891 (2018)
In trial on claim and cross-claim for breach of contract, trial court correctly construed two contracts separately but erred in piercing the corporate veil and in denying post-judgment interest on entire judgment. Babbitt v. Kingsgate Ridge Manor Ass’n of Apartment Owners, No. 76555-8-I, 2018 WL 5538390, at *1 (Wash. Ct. App. Oct. 29, 2018)
Abuse of Vulnerable Adults Act has an implied cause of action against mandated reporters who fail to report abuse. Kim v. Lakeside Adult Family Home, 185 Wash. 2d 532, 374 P.3d 121 (2016)
In cases where there can be no objective measure for accommodating a disability under the Washington Law Against Discrimination, duty to accommodate includes reasonable trial and error until accommodation is reached or no more accommodations are available. Frisino v. Seattle Sch. Dist. No. 1, 160 Wash. App. 765, 249 P.3d 1044 (2011)
Manufactured home park did not violate Manufactured/Mobile Home Landlord-Tenant Act by offering lease provision that converted twenty-year rent-controlled lease terms to one year upon assignment. Little Mountain Estates Tenants Ass’n v. Little Mountain Estates MHC LLC, 169 Wash. 2d 265, 236 P.3d 193 (2010)
Education
- University of Washington School of Law, J.D., 2002
- Washington Law Review 2000-2002, Member and Executive Articles Editor
- Moot Court Honor Board 2000-2002, Member and President
- The Order of the Barristers, Invited Member
- Best Oralist and Regional Team, Falknor Appellate Advocacy Competition
- Author, “Closing a Discrimination Loophole: Using Title VII’s Anti-Retaliation Provision to Prevent Employers from Requiring Unlawful Arbitration Agreements as Conditions of Continued Employment”, 77 Washington Law Review 957 (July 2001)
- Willamette University, B.A., 1994
- Cum laude, English & Literature
- G. Herbert Smith Scholarship, 1990-1994
- Dona Adams Rothwell Award, 1993 & 1994
- Alpha Lambda Delta
Bar and Court Admissions
- State of Washington, 2002
- United States District Court, Western District of Washington, 2007
- United State Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit, 2007
- United States Supreme Court, 2007
