Firm Overview

HALVORSON SAUNDERS & WILLNER, PLLC has more than 50 years combined experience in the areas of employment litigation, labor law, regulatory compliance, and employer counseling. The breadth and depth of our experience allows us to advise clients on a wide spectrum of labor and employment issues:

Employment litigation involving wrongful discharge, whistle-blower, discrimination, sexual harassment, and various other tort and employment claims;

Traditional labor union matters, such as collective bargaining, arbitrations, and organizing and union avoidance; and

Human Resources and personnel issues, such as difficult terminations, sexual harassment investigations, FMLA, personnel policies, wage and hour regulations, non competition and trade secret issues, workers compensation, and employee safety and health concerns.

Broad Experience

Our firm's practice and clients are diverse. We have represented a significant number of employers and contractors, public employers, construction companies, trucking concerns, manufacturers, service companies, high-technology companies, nonprofit agencies, and other organizations. Although most of our labor and employment law practice is concentrated on the West Coast and particularly in the Pacific Northwest, we have represented clients throughout the country.

Prompt Response

Because we focus on representing management in labor and employment law, we understand the urgency faced by employers in most labor relations matters. Our firm provides immediate and effective responses to our clients in a manner that is unattainable for larger or less-experienced firms.

Members of the Firm

LARRY HALVORSON has nearly thirty years experience in labor and employment law including traditional labor relations and employment related litigation in both state and federal courts. Larry's practice involves representation of employers in a wide variety of industries, including government contractors, health care, public sector counties, cities and port districts, banking, technology, and construction.

Larry was a partner in the employment law department of Davis Wright Tremaine where he served for more than 10 years. He also served as labor counsel for more than 7 years to Washington Employers, Washington Metal Trades, Distributors Association and Washington State Boat Builders, followed by a stint as Director of Labor Relations for Carter Hawley Hale in Los Angeles, which owned The Broadway Stores, Neiman Marcus, Holt Renfrew and Bergdorf Goodman.

MIKE SAUNDERS advises and assists employers in a broad range of employment law issues and has extensive experience in wrongful termination, employment discrimination, and wage and hour litigation. He has represented employers in Washington, Oregon and California in a number of venues including the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, federal district courts, state courts, arbitrations, and administrative agencies.

Mike was an employment law litigator at Davis Wright Tremaine for several years. Mike graduated from the University of California at Santa Cruz where he majored in Economics, and attended the University of Washington School of Law where he was Executive Articles Editor of the Washington Law Review.

JENNIFER WILLNER manages the firm’s offices in Bellingham, Washington and represents both public and private employers in a wide range of employment and labor law matters. Jennifer’s practice includes representing employers in proceedings before the National Labor Relations Board and the Public Employment Relations Commission, employer defense of fair employment practice and wrongful discharge claims; wage/hour matters; and the representation of employers in regulatory proceedings before the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, Washington State Human Rights Commission, Seattle Office of Civil Rights, Department of Labor and Industries and U.S. Department of Labor. Jennifer provides labor negotiation services and contract interpretation to clients including serving as lead negotiator on behalf of management. She provides preventive counseling on a day-to-day basis to her clients to avoid or minimize the risk of litigation as well as routinely drafts personnel policies and procedures for both public and private employers.

Seattle Office
800 Fifth Avenue, Suite 4100
Seattle, WA 98104
Telephone: (206) 386-7789

Bellingham Office
Bellingham Towers
119 N Commercial Street, Suite 190
Bellingham, WA 98225
Telephone: (360) 392-3995