MARCH 12, 2012 – Robert Blackstone, who has counseled some of the Northwest’s leading businesses on employment and labor matters, has been named partner-in-charge (PIC) of Davis Wright Tremaine’s Seattle office, the firm’s largest.

Blackstone succeeds Susan Duffy, who, after six years as PIC, is returning to her health care-focused corporate governance, business planning, and regulatory practice.

Thanks to Susan’s leadership, our Seattle office is well positioned for continued growth,” said Blackstone. “We plan to continue to play a key role in the Seattle area’s dynamic, entrepreneurial economy, and to keep this firm a destination of choice for the best lawyers and clients in the region. I will also be maintaining our commitment—in collaboration with our clients—to innovation in the delivery of legal services.”

“Bob is the ideal person to build on Susan Duffy’s achievements,” said DWT’s managing partner, Dave Baca. “He commands enormous respect among our attorneys for his judgment and integrity, and for his determination to provide first-rate service to clients.”

Blackstone will continue his employment and labor practice. He has been consistently recognized as a leading attorney in the field by Chambers USA, Best Lawyers, and Super Lawyers.

Among the important firm successes under Duffy’s leadership were the recruitment of nearly two dozen attorneys from the firm of Heller Ehrman, the acquisition of several other important lateral partners, the firm being named a Microsoft Premier Preferred Provider, and the office’s move of about 300 people from Century Square in downtown Seattle to the 1201 Third Avenue building.

Blackstone graduated with honors from Amherst College and received his J.D. from the Columbia University School of Law. He has been flying planes since he was a teenager and currently serves on the executive committee of the board of trustees at the Museum of Flight in Seattle.

About Davis Wright Tremaine
Davis Wright Tremaine LLP is a national law firm with approximately 500 lawyers representing clients based throughout the United States and around the world. For more information, visit www.dwt.com.