Timothy Leyh

timothy g. leyh

education
BA (honors), Business, Michigan. JD (cum laude), Michigan. Also taught legal writing and oral advocacy.

experience
Perkins Coie, 1984 (employment law & litigation). Danielson Harrigan Leyh & Tollefson, 1987.

Tim Leyh has established his reputation as one of Seattle's finest trial lawyers. Business leaders and state and local government call on Tim for his expertise in environmental insurance coverage, class action defense, securities and business torts. His clients and colleagues know him not only as a litigator, but as a superb problem solver.

Tim has recovered millions of dollars in defense and indemnity payments from corporations and insurance companies on behalf of corporate officers and directors. He has successfully represented the State of Washington, various cities, and publicly traded corporations in class actions involving public employee pension and benefit disputes, claims against community college administrators, inverse condemnation and public nuisance claims, trademark and copyright matters, and environmental tort claims. He has handled cases involving securities fraud claims (civil and criminal), antitrust claims (civil and criminal), and accountant and lawyer malpractice.

Tim joined the firm from Perkins Coie in 1987. He took a sabbatical year to sail with his family to the Society Islands, Tonga, Hawaii and home. He has been the Managing Partner of the firm since 1996.

The following is a small but representative list of Tim's significant engagements. He would be happy to provide a complete list of significant cases.

Together with Art Harrigan, Tim represented the Port of Seattle in airport noise litigation. The case was filed in federal court as a class action. Tim led the effort that resulted in denial of class status. The case was refiled in behalf of 144 individuals, followed by trial of a "test" case involving twelve claims to a jury in federal court for two weeks. The jury rendered a defense verdict against all twelve plaintiffs, and the balance of the claims were settled.

Tim was brought in to assist the City of Yakima in a pending complex group of cases, including defense of an environmental pollution class-action and related insurance coverage litigation. After convincing the trial judge to certify a key issue for interlocutory appeal, the litigation was settled on favorable terms shortly before trial.

He was retained by the state to represent Green River Community College in a class-action employment case. After Tim succeeded in reducing the class members to fewer than 25, the case settled before trial.

The Tacoma City Council retained Tim for advice on legal issues arising from the Chief of Police's murder of his wife.

Tim recently defended an internet entrepreneur against a $460 million business fraud claim. The case was resolved by a nominal settlement during trial, following successful evidentiary challenges and other rulings that virtually eliminated the plaintiff's claims.

Tim has developed a particular reputation for his creativity in crafting litigation and settlement strategies. For instance, he was lead counsel for the founder of InfoSpace, Naveen Jain, in a complex group of securities cases involving claims of insider trading and violations of Section 16(b) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Tim was able to craft a settlement of all the cases for a small fraction of the damages claimed, and with a substantial contribution from insurers, even though there were serious questions as to whether the claims being made were covered by the insurance.