Davis Wright Tremaine was founded in Seattle, Washington in 1908. In 1944, founder John Davis outlined the "real aims" of firm in a series of hand-written notes which included financial independence, "good reputation among fellow men, especially for ability and integrity"; and "enough time off to enjoy living." The firm merged with Wright, Simon, Todd & Schmechel in 1969. In the 1980s, the firm opened offices in Anchorage, Alaska; Washington, DC; Bellevue, Washington; and Los Angeles, California. It merged with Ragen, Tremaine, Krieger of Portland, Oregon in 1990 and added more than 20 lawyers from Heller Ehrman LLP in 2008. In 1993 the Ministry of Justice of the People's Republic of China selected Davis Wright Tremaine to be the first United States firm to open a law office in Shanghai. The Shanghai office closed in 2018. Alumni of the firm include Gary Locke, former Governor of Washington state, and U.S. Secretary of Commerce and U.S. Ambassador to China during the Obama Administration.
Notable cases
The firm served as lead counsel for 30,000 plaintiffs in consolidated proceedings on behalf of fishermen, processors, Alaska natives, landowners, businesses, and others injured as a result of the spill of 11.8 million gallons of North Slope crude oil into the coastal waters of Alaska by the Exxon Valdez. The plaintiffs were ultimately awarded almost a billion dollars in damages and interest. The firm also successfully represented CBS in its long-running effort to overturn fines imposed by the Federal Communications Commission over the Janet Jackson’s "wardrobe malfunction" at the 2004 Super Bowl.
Assistance to Guantanamo captives
, then Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Detainee Affairs, stirred controversy when he went on record criticizing the patriotism of law firms that allowed employees to assist Guantanamo captives: "corporate CEOs seeing this should ask firms to choose between lucrative retainers and representing terrorists." Stimson's views were widely criticized; the Pentagon disavowed them, and Stimson resigned shortly thereafter.
Malpractice suits
Davis Wright Tremaine has been the subject of numerous malpractice lawsuits. Of particular note however, was a suit alleging that they played a key role, in assisting retirement home operator Sunwest Management Inc. in its running of a $400 million Ponzi scheme. The lawsuit, which was filed by a group of Sunwest investors, alleged that Davis Wright Tremaine encouraged individuals and businesses to invest in Sunwest, even though they were aware of the company's financial troubles. The suit was resolved before trial, when Davis Wright Tremaine agreed to pay a $30 million settlement to the plaintiffs, the largest malpractice award in the history of the State of Oregon.
Accolades
In 2012, Davis Wright was ranked 96th largest law firm in the United States by the National Law Journal, based on attorney headcount. The firm was ranked No. 114 by gross revenue on the AmLaw 200 that same year. The firm received Band 1 rankings in the 2016 Chambers USA guide to America’s Leading Lawyers for Business in 13 practice areas across 5 states, including Corporate/M&A, Commercial Litigation, Energy, Labor & Employment, Media & Entertainment, and Real Estate. The firm was again extremely strong in the rankings for First Amendment Litigation – Nationwide, with more lawyers ranked nationally than any firm in the country. The media practice group is widely recognized as a national leader. The firm’s team of 70 media lawyers was honored in 2013 with the Chambers USA Award for Excellence, designating Davis Wright as the firm that "has excelled above all others" in this practice area. In 2012, Davis Wright was named Law Firm of the Year in the Communications practice area by Best Lawyers and U.S. News.
