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Brett Murphy - Washington's Injury Lawyers

10740 Meridian Avenue N.
Suite 209
Seattle, WA 98133
Map

Phone: (800) 925-1875 | Fax: (866) 437-0623
http://www.washingtoninjury.com

http://www.brettlaw.com

We help families rebuild their lives after an injury.

Types of Cases
Firm Focus & History
Practice & Philosophy
Office Information
Fees

Legal Topic

Personal Injury

Sub-Topics

Car Accident

Auto Accident

Toxic Tort

Mesothelioma

Truck Accident

Wrongful Death

Number of Attorneys

State Licensed In

Washington and Oregon

Firm Focus

Brett Murphy focuses on major personal injury and wrongful death claims. Dean Brett started practicing in 1972. The firm has grown and prospered from Brett & Daugert to Brett & Coats, and then in 2011 the firm expanded to Brett Murphy Coats Knapp McCandlis & Brown, better known as Brett Murphy -- Washington's Injury Lawyers.

Firm History

Brett & Daugert from 1972-2005
Brett & Coats -- Personal Injury Attorneys from 2005-2011
Brett Murphy -- Washington's Injury Lawyers from 2011-present

Activities and Awards

Rated by Martindale-Hubbell; Pro Bono work for Legal Aid):
AV-Rated by Martindale-Hubbell; Washington Super Lawyer from 2003-2011; Magistrate Judge at United States District Court for Western District of Washington from 2005-present; Fellow, American College of Trial Lawyers from 2002 - present.

Example Cases

1) French v. Parker et al -The $5.5 million dollar verdict is the largest jury verdict ever recovered in Skagit County; see details at our website at www.washingtoninjury.com .

2) Maxon v. WATCO - $3.5 million verdict for industrial worker injured by a train; see details at our website at www.washingtoninjury.com .

What is your firm's point of view regarding clients educating themselves on legal issues?

A big part of our job is to educate our clients on the legal issues they face. We never forget that it is the client's case, so the client must make the ultimate decisions. (For example, whether to settle out of court, and for how much.) It is our job to help educate each of our clients so that they can make fully informed choices.

Are your attorneys willing to review documents prepared by clients?

We are always willing to review documents prepared by clients. However, it is often less expensive for us to draft documents ourselves based on our many years of experience, than to correct mistakes in documents drafted by clients who are not well trained in the law.

Are your attorneys willing to coach clients who want to represent themselves?

The best advice we can give to a client who wants to represent himself is this classic statement: "A person who represents himself has a fool for a lawyer."

Are your attorneys willing to help a client with one discrete part of a case, without taking on the whole case?

I grew up on a farm, and I can't remember learning how to milk a cow, I just always knew. It was the same way about being a lawyer. I talked before I could walk, and my dad used to pat me on the head and say "This one's going to be a lawyer." And he was pretty clear about what kind of a lawyer I was going to be: a lawyer fighting against corporations and institutions that took advantage of less fortunate people like us. Our family had lost our farm during the Depression, and I was born into a family that was struggling to rebuild what we had lost through no fault of our own. It is probably not a coincidence that I now represent people who have been injured through no fault of their own and have to deal with large, powerful, uncaring insurance companies.

What are your policies about dividing work among the firm's partners, associates, and paralegals to make the process most cost-effective for the client?

Your entire life experience goes into giving you the perspective to understand how people think and feel. Mine is especially broad and diverse. I grew up poor so I know what it means to work for a living. I did well in school so I got to go to some of the finest educational institutions in the country (Whitman College and Stanford Law School) where I met and mingled with the prosperous and powerful. I've now spent 39 years meeting and representing people from all walks of life. I have served on the other side of the bench, both as a Whatcom County District Court Judge and as a Part Time Federal Magistrate Judge, so I have seen the justice system from the perspective of the person who has to make the hard decisions. I believe these varied perspectives help me understand and empathize with the problems of people who come to me for help.

How frequently does your firm use mediation, arbitration, or collaborative law to resolve cases?

I enjoy helping people, rather than large institutions like corporations, governments or insurance companies. We limit our practice to major personal injury and wrongful death claims, so we are always on the side of people who have been hurt through no fault of their own against insurance companies which want to maximize their profits rather than pay legitimate claims. I like the feeling of championing justice by working on behalf of the relatively powerless against the relatively powerful.

Does your firm provide pro bono legal services or otherwise participate in your community?

My career allows me to accomplish three goals: to do good, to do well, and to have fun.

I do good by helping people who have been injured through no fault of their own. My clients are rich or poor, young or old, middle class or disadvantaged. The only things they have in common are that they were in the wrong place at the wrong time and were injured by someone else's carelessness, that they are now stuck dealing with an insurance company to recover their losses, and that they need my help in putting their financial lives back together. I feel good when I can help people rebuild their lives after an injury.

I do well because as I help clients, I earn a good living. I generally work on a contingent fee so the better I do for my clients, the better I do at earning a living myself. Since I am very good at what I do, I earn a very good living.

Finally, I have fun because I enjoy the challenge of taking on insurance companies and forcing them to live up to the promises they make when they sell a liability insurance policy. They have promised to pay for the damages inflicted by their insureds' negligence. I enjoy meeting and working with new people, both the clients I represent and the adversaries I meet in the legal system. I enjoy building a case, negotiating a settlement, and when the settlement offer is inadequate, I love to try cases before a jury. I believe it is possible, even in tragic situations, to enjoy the struggle for justice.

What distinguishes your law firm from others?

We employ 7 attorneys, 5 paralegals, 2 paralegal assistants, one office manager, and one receptionist. We are paperless, wireless, and completely mobile, so we can serve clients throughout Washington State from our six offices in Seattle, Tacoma, Spokane, Bellingham, Mount Vernon, and Vancouver.

Office Manager/Assistant

Ahnie McHugh

Fax

(866) 437-0623

Office Hours

8:30 am - 5:00 pm
Monday through Friday

Emergency After Hours

Additional Offices

Bellingham Office
1310 10th Street
Suite 104
Bellingham, WA 98225
(360) 714-0900

Federal Way Office
33530 1st Way South
Suite 102
Federal Way, WA 98033

Spokane Office
505 W. Riverside Dr.
Suite 500
Spokane, WA 99201

Mount Vernon Office
1002 S. 3rd St.
Mount Vernon, WA 98273

Vancouver Office
4400 NE 77th Ave.
Suite 275
Vancouver, WA 98273

Fixed-Price Services and Fees

We work on a contingency basis on personal injury and wrongful death claims, with no payment up front, and payment of one third of the settlement amount.

Hourly Rates

Information coming soon.

Free Initial Consultation?

Yes, we offer a free one-hour initial consultation.

Typical Retainer

No typical retainer.

Understanding Fees

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Attorneys have passed a licensing check. Nolo has confirmed that every member attorney has a valid license and is in good standing with the state agency that licenses lawyers upon joining the directory.

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