DAVIS WRIGHT TREMAINE — STATEMENT RE: EMPLOYEE DEATH AND OFFICE CLOSURES
It is with great sadness that I share the news that a Davis Wright Tremaine executive legal assistant who worked in our Bellevue, Washington office, has passed away unexpectedly. Lisa Carney was 60 years old and a beloved member of our firm for more than 16 years.
At this point, we do not know the cause of her death and are awaiting more information from the medical examiner. However, we do know that she left the office early on Tuesday experiencing flu-like symptoms, worked remotely on Wednesday and was found deceased Thursday morning in her home.
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Since we do not yet know the cause of her death, in the interest of the health and well-being of all our employees, we are closing our Bellevue and Seattle offices until further notice and have asked everyone in those offices to work remotely. In addition, we have asked those in the Bellevue office to self-quarantine according to the CDC’s guidelines during that time.
Yesterday, we were also told of a confirmed case of an individual, not from our firm but in the building where our Portland office is located, who has tested positive for COVID-19. Therefore, we have also decided to close our Portland office and have asked everyone in that office to work remotely today while it is deep cleaned.
We are instructing our employees in all our other offices to work remotely if possible, starting Monday, March 16. We are continuing to carefully monitor this situation across the firm and are prepared to implement additional measures to ensure safety.
This is a profoundly sad and very anxious time. Davis Wright Tremaine is more than a workplace—it’s a community. We are mourning the loss of one of our own and will lean on each other to get through this trying time together. While it is extremely difficult, we remain focused on protecting each other and maintaining the highest level of client service and continuity of firm operations, even if the evolving circumstances necessitate changing how we do that.
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Legal work isn’t slowing down, and the firms that win won’t be the ones working harder — they’ll be the ones working smarter.
– Jeff Gray, Davis Wright Tremaine Managing Partner
Staci Zaretsky is a senior editor at Above the Law, where she’s worked since 2011. She’d love to hear from you, so please feel free to email her with any tips, questions, comments, or critiques. You can follow her on Twitter or connect with her on LinkedIn.