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PHILIP E. CUTLER
Cutler Nylander & Hayton PS
1191 Second Avenue, Suite 1650
Seattle, Washington 98101
Phone:   (206) 340-4600
Fax:   (206) 340-4646
eMail:   philcutler@cnhlaw.com
Web:   www.cnhlaw.com

  • Legal Experience and Work History
    Over 30 years experience as a trial lawyer representing and counseling clients in complex business and commercial litigation and ADR. President and Shareholder/Principal, Cutler Nylander & Hayton PS, Seattle, 1990-present; Shareholder, Karr Tuttle Campbell, Seattle, 1986-89 (following merger of Sax and MacIver and Karr Tuttle); Partner, Sax and MacIver, Seattle, 1979-85); Associate, Perkins Coie, Seattle, 1973-79.

  • Law Practice
    Law practice emphasizes business and commercial problem-solving and dispute resolution including trials, appeals, mediation and arbitration in areas of antitrust/business torts; franchising and product distribution; internal and external business and corporate disputes; e-commerce domain name disputes; employment discrimination and termination; government relations; licensing; intellectual property (copyrights, trademarks, trade secrets); insurance; UCC negotiable instruments, sales and warranty disputes; financial institutions (mortgage brokers and lenders); and securities (customer/broker and broker-dealer/broker-dealer).

  • Court Admissions
    Admitted to the Bar: Washington, 1973 (WSBA #5084); U.S. District Court: Eastern (1979) and Western (1973) Districts of Washington; Northern District of California, 1985; U.S. Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit, 1991; U.S. Claims Court, 1976.

  • ADR Experience
    Over 25 years experience serving as arbitrator, mediator, judge pro tem, and special master in several hundred business and commercial disputes involving a wide variety of disputes between public and private parties in areas such as agriculture, agricultural cooperatives and regulated commodities; class action settlements; communications; construction; consumer protection; contracts; licensing and intellectual property protection (copyrights, trademarks, patents and trade secrets); corporate affairs and governance; discovery under federal and state rules; franchising and distributor termination; Indian tribes and sovereign immunity; international law; securities; Olympic sports; and UCC sales and warranty.

    Representative arbitrations include 6-, 7- and 8-figure customer/broker securities disputes; 8-figure securities dispute between Indian tribe and financial advisors; 7-figure international franchise encroachment and wrongful termination dispute; 8- figure aircraft parts manufacturer/ distributor dispute; 6-figure construction disputes (residential and commercial); 7-figure agricultural equipment breach of warranty dispute; athletes' challenges of U.S. Olympic Committee rulings under Ted Stevens Olympics & Amateur Sports Act; 6-figure dispute between agricultural cooperative and joint venture partner over interpretation of commodity purchase contract and LLC agreement; 6- and 7-figure disputes involving the communications industry (wireless and broadcast media).

    Representative mediations include 5- to 8-figure disputes involving unfair business practices; commercial leasing; contracts; construction; corporate, partnership and LLC reorganization and dissolution; business strategic alliances; distributor termination; employment; professional fees (legal, architecture); fishing rights; patents, copyrights and trademarks; labor/collective bargaining; real estate; securities (customer/broker and broker-dealer/ broker-dealer); and software counterfeiting/piracy.

    Representative Special Master assignments include Arbitrator for ChoiceDek Class Action Settlement (Pelletz v. Weyerhaueser and Advanced Environmental Recycling Technologies, Seattle WA federal court, 2009); Special Master for Weyerhaeuser HBS Class Action Settlement (San Francisco Superior Court, ongoing through 2009); Mediator/Arbitrator for AAA/Prudential mass claims settlement (1998-99); Mediator/Arbitrator for Louisiana Pacific Inner-Seal Siding Class Action Settlement (Portland OR federal court, active 1997-99); Discovery Master, Kirlan Venture Capital v. Regis (King Co. Superior Court, Judge Suzanne Barnett, 2001).

  • ADR Training
    Arbitration: AAA Arbitrator Updates/ACE 2001-2007; ABA DR Section Spring Conferences (2002-2003, 2005-2008); AAA Neutrals Conferences (March and September 2005); AAA Commercial Arbitrator II Training, Seattle (March 2001); AAA Commercial Arbitration Train the Trainer course (Arb I), Denver (August 1998); College of Commercial Arbitrators Annual Meetings (2006 and 2008); NASD Arbitrator Chairperson Training, Seattle (June 1998); NASD Basic Arbitrator Training, Seattle (September 1996); AAA Basic Arbitrator Training, Seattle (September 1992).

    Mediation: Northwest ADR Conferences – Seattle (1994-2007); ABA DR Section Conferences (2002-2003, 2005-2008); ABA DR Section Advanced Mediation Institutes (2005 and 2007); AAA National Mediator Conferences (2000); AAA Neutrals Conferences (1998 and 2005); Settlement Now Advanced Mediator Training, Seattle (1993); Federal Bar Assn/Western District of Washington mediation skills-training (various, 1986-2008).

  • Professional Associations
    Member of American Arbitration Association (Mediation, Commercial and Large Complex Case Panels); FINRA-Dispute Resolution (Public Arbitrator Panel); King County Superior Court Mandatory Arbitration Panel; Western District of Washington Rule 39.1 mediation and arbitration panel; ADR Roundtable.

    Also member of American Bar Assn (Sections of Antitrust (Civil Practice & Procedure Committee); Litigation; Dispute Resolution (Membership Chair, 2002-2008; Section Council, 2005-2008)); Washington State Bar Assn (Sections of Antitrust & Unfair Business Practices (Past Newsletter Editor); Litigation; Dispute Resolution (Past Chair)); Federal Bar Assn/Western District of Washington (Past Trustee; ADR Committee, Past Chair; ADR Task Force, Past Member); Washington Supreme Court (Committee on Pattern Commercial Jury Instructions); Ninth Circuit Standing Committee on ADR; U.S. District Court/Western District of Washington (Civil Justice Reform Act Advisory Committee, Past Member); King County Bar Assn (ADR Section, Trustee and Past Chair).

  • Education
    Northwestern University (J.D. with honors, 1973); Georgetown University (A.B. History, 1970).

  • Publications and Speaking Engagements
    Articles: I AM YOUR ARBITRATOR…, Private/AAA, 2003-2008; REPRESENTING CLIENTS IN MEDIATION: A MEDIATOR'S PERSPECTIVE, Dispute Resolution Magazine (ABA DR Section), Spring 2003; ADR PROVISIONS IN COMMERCIAL AND EMPLOYMENT CONTRACTS: A DRAFTING CHECKLIST, Private, 1999; contributor, ADR DESKBOOK, 1998 supplement, Washington State Bar Association, 1998; DOING BUSINESS IN WASHINGTON, Washington State Bar Association, 1997 and supplements; WASHINGTON PATTERN JURY INSTRUCTIONS - MISAPPROPRIATION OF TRADE SECRETS/TORTIOUS INTERFERENCE WITH ECONOMIC RELATIONS, 6A Washington Practice, Washington Supreme Court Committee on Jury Instructions, West, 1997; WASHINGTON CONSUMER PROTECTION, ANTITRUST AND UNFAIR BUSINESS PRACTICES LAW DEVELOPMENTS, 2nd ed., WSBA, 1988 and 1993 supplements; ANTITRUST EVIDENCE HANDBOOK, American Bar Association Section of Antitrust Law, 1991; WASHINGTON ANTITRUST LAW DEVELOPMENTS, WSBA, 1985.

    Faculty: ABA DR Section Advanced Mediation Institutes (2005 and 2007); AAA Neutrals Conferences (2005); AAA Best Arbitration Practices (2004 and 2005); AAA Arbitrator Updates/ACE (2003 and 2005); AAA Commercial Arbitrator I and II courses (1999-2003).

    Program chair, presenter and/or panelist at numerous ADR skills seminars sponsored by a variety of organizations, including the AAA, ABA Dispute Resolution Section, Federal Bar Association/Western District of Washington, King County Bar Association, U.S. Department of Justice, University of Washington Law Foundation, and Washington State Bar Association.

  • Peer Recognition
    ADR All Star, WSBA Dispute Resolution Section (1998-2002); Super Lawyer, Washington Law & Politics (1999-2008); Who's Who in America; Who's Who in American Law. Rated "AV" by Martindale-Hubbell Law Directory.

  • Compensation
    Arbitration/Special Master: $345 per hour for AAA and private arbitrations, all special master assignments – plus costs/expenses. FINRA-DR arbitrations, compensation per FINRA/NASD/NYSE rules. King County Superior Court MAR program, court-paid (first day), additional days at hourly rate. Rate includes pre-hearing, hearing, study and award preparation time. Per diem/flat fee available on request. Pre-hearing deposit ordinarily required. Available to serve outside the Pacific Northwest at reduced fee for travel time. Cancellation fee (up to one-half estimated hearing compensation) may apply if hearing is canceled or postponed fewer than 14 days before scheduled hearing date (fewer than 30 days for multi-day hearings).

    Mediation: $345 per hour for most mediations; higher rate may apply for mediations involving multiple parties. Unless otherwise agreed, compensation is allocated equally among separately represented parties; pre-mediation deposit ordinarily required. Rate includes all preparation, conference and post-conference time. Per diem/flat fee available on request. Available to serve outside the Pacific Northwest at reduced fee for travel time. No cancellation fee for mediations. Routine costs (copying, fax, long-distance phone) up to $50 in the aggregate are waived.

  • Further Information

    Consult Cutler Nylander & Hayton’s website www.cnhlaw.com or contact Amylyn Riedling (amylyn@cnhlaw.com) or Liz Fuhrmann (elizabeth@cnhlaw.com) for more information or scheduling.
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