Related Practices

Admitted to Practice

Washington, 1993
District of Columbia, 1995
U.S. Supreme Court, 2005
U.S. District Court Eastern District of Washington, 2000
U.S. District Court Western District of Washington, 1994
U.S. Court of Appeals 9th Circuit, 2001
U.S. Court of Appeals Federal Circuit, 2006
U.S. Court of Appeals 4th Circuit, 1995

Harry J. F. Korrell

Partner

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Seattle

T206.757.8080

F206.757.7080

Harry Korrell practices litigation and employment law and has extensive experience in large-scale and high-profile cases, including class actions and civil rights, political, campaign finance, and election litigation. He defends employers in discrimination, wrongful termination, and wage and hour cases, and represents companies and individuals in litigation over trade secrets and noncompetition and nonsolicitation agreements. Harry’s experience includes arguing important civil rights, employment and election cases before the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals, the Washington Supreme Court and the U.S. Supreme Court.

In 2010, Harry was appointed by President Obama and confirmed by the U.S. Senate to serve on the Board of Directors for Legal Services Corporation.

Practice Highlights

Successfully defended trade association as lead trial counsel in multimillion-dollar class action and trust dispute brought by political opponents in an effort to deprive association of its ability to spend revenue on political speech. Re-Sources for Sustainable Comm., et al. v. Building Indus. Assoc. of Wash. (Thurston County, 2010)
Successfully represented parents in Equal Protection Clause challenge to a school district's use of race in its student admissions plan in the District Court, U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit, Washington Supreme Court, and U.S. Supreme Court. Parents Involved in Community Schools v. Seattle Sch. Dist. No. 1, 127 S.Ct. 2738 (2007).
Successfully defended employer in a harassment and retaliation case that established parameters for an employer's defense to a plaintiff's claim of harassment by a senior manager. Hardage v. CBS Inc., et al., 427 F. 3d 1177 (9th Cir. 2005).
Lead trial counsel for Washington State Republican Party and gubernatorial candidate Dino Rossi in the 2004 Washington state gubernatorial election recount and contest litigation. McDonald v. Secretary of State, 153 Wn.2d 201 (2004); Wash. State Republican Party v. King County, 153 Wn.2d 220 (2004); Borders v. King County, et al., Chelan County No. 05-2-00027-3 (2005).

Representative Experience

Robert Utter, Faith Ireland v. Building Industry Association of Wash.

Obtained summary judgment for association in campaign finance litigation filed by former state Supreme Court justices. (King Cnty. (Wash.) Super. Ct. 2011)

Blethen Maine Newspapers, Inc., Portland Press Herald v. Portland Newspaper Guild Local 31128

Represented media company in a suit for declaratory judgment and to compel arbitration in response to union's effort to interfere with a sale of assets. (D. Me. 2009)

JCA Corporation v. Detty

Obtained restraining order and injunction enforcing noncompetition agreement against former division manager attempting to work for competitor in Florida. 07-2-11180-8 (King Cnty. (Wash.) Super. Ct. 2007)

Neopost, Inc., v. Pitney Bowes, Inc.

Successfully defended Pitney Bowes against competitor's allegations of unfair competition and violations of Consumer Protection Act. Cause No. 05-2-29988-6 (King Cnty. (Wash.) Super. Ct. 2007)

State of Washington v. WEA

Prepared amicus briefs for Evergreen Freedom Foundation and 12 other policy organizations in support of petition for certiorari and on the merits in a case involving a constitutional challenge to a state law requiring consent before a union may use agency fees for political purposes. 127 S. Ct. 2372 (U.S. 2007)

Locke v. Reed; Grange v. Locke

Defended Washington's Secretary of State as Special Assistant Attorney General in Supreme Court mandamus actions filed by the Governor seeking to keep a referendum off the ballot. Locke v. Reed, No. 75392-0 (2004), Grange v. Locke, et al., 153 Wn.2d 475 (U.S. 2005).

Moyer v. Renal Care Group

Obtained defense verdict for health care provider at trial on former employee's wrongful termination and whistleblower retaliation claims. C-02-5625 RBL (W.D. Wash. 2004)

Plantec v. Swanton

Obtained injunction for Plantec prohibiting violations of duty of loyalty and prohibiting performance of service contract by competitor founded by former employee. Cause No. 03-2-00717-4 (Island Cnty. (Wash.) Super. Ct. 2004)

Pacific Aerospace & Electronics, Inc., v. Taylor

Obtained preliminary injunction and summary judgment for Pacific Aerospace on its claims for breach of confidentiality and nonsolicitation agreements; obtained contempt sanctions in excess of $200,000 for defendants' failure to honor the resulting consent decree. 295 F. Supp. 2d 1188 & 295 F. Supp. 2d 1205 (E.D. Wash. 2003)

Banks et al. v. Rite Aid Corp.

Obtained summary judgment for Rite Aid on claims of 34 plaintiffs alleging their layoff violated the NLRA, breached employment agreements, and violated Utah law. 1:98-CV-115K (D. Utah 2000)

Professional & Community Activities

Board of Directors, Legal Services Corporation
National Executive Board, Labor and Employment Law Practice Group of the Federalist Society for Law and Public Policy
Executive Board, Puget Sound Lawyers Chapter of the Federalist Society for Law and Public Policy
Employment Rights and Responsibilities Subcommittee, Labor & Employment Law Committee, American Bar Association

Professional Recognition

Recipient, Federalist Society’s Justice Theodore Stiles Award, 2006
Selected to "Washington Super Lawyers," Thomson Reuters, 2004-2012
Named as one of the "Best Lawyers in America" in Labor & Employment Law by Best Lawyers, 2010-present