Carrie M. Coppinger

Bar / Professional Activity

• Washington State Supreme Court, 1999
• Nooksack Tribal Court, 2008
• Lummi Tribal Court for the Lummi Nation, 2002
• U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Washington, 1999
• U.S. District Court, Western District of Washington, 1999
• United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, 1999
• Washington State Association for Justice, formerly known as Washington State Trial Lawyers Association, 1999 to present
• Washington State Association for Justice, formerly known as Washington State Trial Lawyers Association, Founding Chair, New Members Committee, 2001-03
• Washington State Association for Justice, formerly known as Washington State Trial Lawyers Association, Chair, Whatcom County Roundtable, 2001-04; 2006-07
• Washington State Association for Justice, formerly known as Washington State Trial Lawyers Association, Board of Governors, 2nd Congressional District, 2001-09
• Washington State Bar Association, 1999 to present
• Washington State Bar Association, YLD, Editorial Advisory Board, 1999-2001
• Washington State Bar Association, Litigation Section Board, 2013-present
• Washington State Bar Association, Leadership Institute Advisory Board, 2007-09
• Washington State Bar Association, Fellow of Inaugural Leadership Institute, 2005
• Washington State Bar Association, Committee Member, Professionalism Committee, 2006-07
• Washington State Bar Association, Disciplinary Board, 2006-09
• Washington Women Lawyers & Whatcom Women Lawyers Associations, 2000 to present
• Washington Employment Lawyers Association, 2005 to present
• Panel member, Federal Magistrate Selection Committee, 2002-03
• Whatcom County Bar Association, 2000 to present

Verdicts / Settlements (Case Results)

• Broad v. Mannesmann Anlagenbau A.G., 141 Wash. 2d 670, 10 P.3d 371 (2000)
• Kruchek v. Sedro Woolley School District, 110 Wash. App. 1006, 2002 WL 80694 (Div. 1) (unpublished opinion), Petition for Review Denied, 147 Wash. 2d 1010, 56 P.3d 565 (2002)

Pro bono / Community Service

• Coach, Nooksack Valley Teen Court Team, Whatcom County Teen Court Program and participation at Regional Conference on Juvenile Justice, 2000-2002
• Executive Board Member and Chair of Advancing Solutions to Adolescent Pregnancy (A.S.A.P.), 1996-2000
• Volunteer Lawyer and Contributor, Legal Advocates of Whatcom County, Street Law and Law Day, 2002 to present
• Coordinator, YWCA Back to Work Clothing Drive, Whatcom Women Lawyers, 2005-08
• Mentor for law students from University of Washington and Seattle University, 2005-08
• Auction Sponsor/donor, volunteer parent for field trips and classroom, St. Paul’s Academy, 2008-2013
• Board Member and pro bono legal work, Shalom Center Campus Outreach at Western Washington University, 2006-09
• Immanuel Lutheran Church: Deacon 2006-2009, Sunday School Teacher for Pre-K/K 2006-2010 and Ministerial Advisory Board Member, 2005 – 2009
• Participating Sponsor, Down’s Syndrome Outreach of Whatcom County/ARC of Whatcom County, Buddy Walk, Smiles of Life Calendar, Sprout Film Festival, 2010 to present
• Volunteer Parent, Nooksack Valley School District, 2014 to present
• Sponsor and Volunteer, Rascal Rodeo at NW Washington Fair, 2014 to present
• Team Member for DivorceCare, North County Christ the King Church, 2014 to present
• Coach, Boy’s Basketball Teams for Boys and Girls Club League, 3-8th grades, 2014 to present
• Seattle University School of Law, Summer Semester in comparative legal studies in constitutional/charter, criminal and commercial law at University of British Columbia & Southwestern University, Vancouver, B.C., Canada, 1996
• Corporate Sponsor and Volunteer for Rascal Rodeo at NW Washington Fair allowing those with disabilities to participate in modified rodeo activities and attend the Fair for free

Educational Background

• University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, Double B.A. in Society & Justice with honors, and in English with Writing Emphasis, 1991

Scholarly Lectures / Writings

• Research Assistant to Professor Michael Pendleton, researched and located authority and data on deaths in jails, 1990-91
• Speaker, “Controlling The Flow Of Information: When Should Releases Be Signed Or Resisted”, Washington State Trial Lawyers Association, 2002
• Speaker, “The Pitfalls of Foreign Service under the Hague Convention & Tolling Washington’s Statute of Limitations”, Washington State Trial Lawyers Association, Whistler, B.C., 2001
• Speaker, “Strategies For Multiple Plaintiffs And Multiple Defendants In Indivisible Claims”, Washington State Trial Lawyers Association, 2002
• Research Assistant to Professor Janet Ainsworth, 1995-97, researched and located authority relating to women and political asylum issue, Seattle University School of Law
• Speaker, “Maximizing Damages In A Soft Tissue Injury Case”, Washington State Trial Lawyers Association, March 2005
• Speaker and Panel Member, Voir Dire, Whatcom County Bar Association, May 2005
• Panel Moderator, Federal Practice CLE sponsored by Federal Bar Association of the Western District, “Bankruptcy Reform, the Class Action Fairness Act, & the Schiavo Legislation: Where is Congress taking federal jurisdiction and practice?”, December 2005
• Speaker, “Born to Run: What To Do When It’s Not Working – Tools For Transition: The Ethics Of Taking Clients With You”, Washington State Trial Lawyers Association, Women of WSTLA and Seattle University, September 2006
• Speaker, “The Unimpeachable Witness”, Washington State Trial Lawyers Association, 2007
• Speaker, “A Mountain Guide to the Insurance Fair Conduct Act, RCW 48.30.015”, Washington State Bar Association, Young Lawyers Division, March 2008
• Speaker, “The Paperless Office – Is It Possible?”, The Cost Effective Small Office, Washington State Bar Association, March 2010
• Speaker, “Time Management: A guide to defining your priorities so you can chart the course”, Washington State Bar Association, Leadership Institute, May 2011
• Guest Speaker, Martin Luther King Day Assembly, Nooksack Valley Middle School, 2012
• Speaker, “Getting into the Game: Informal Discovery”, Washington State Bar Association, Litigation Section Annual CLE, August 2015
• “The Effects of Foreign Service under the Hague Convention on the Service Abroad of Judicial and Extrajudicial Documents in Civil or Commercial Matters on the Tolling of Washington’s Statute of Limitations”, Washington State Bar Association’s International Newsletter, Jan. 1999
• “Broad v. Mannesmann: Tolling Washington’s Statute of Limitations for Foreign Service under the Hague Convention”, WSTLA Trial News, Nov. 2000

Honors

• Team Member of Pacific Region Champions, Jessup International Law Competition, 1998
• Member, Order of Barristers, 1997-98
• Recipient of Warren R. Pederson Advocacy Award by Puget Sound Inn of Courts, 1998
• Top 15 Oral Advocates, Jessup International Law Competition, Washington, D.C., 1998
• Rising Star by Washington Law and Politics, 2003, 2004, 2006
• Recipient of Volunteer Lawyer Award for extraordinary giving and for service, LAW Advocates, 2009
• Fellow of Inaugural Leadership Institute, Washington State Bar Association, 2005
• Fellow of Inaugural Judicial Institute, Washington State Bar Association, 2005, 2012
• Graduate of Distinction in honor of Outstanding Service to School, Community and Career, Nooksack Valley School District and Nooksack Valley High School, 2011

“Carrie does great work for her personal injury and employment law clients in Bellingham,.”

“Carrie is not only an amazingly talented attorney but a strong example for other women in the legal field. She inspires others to fight regardless of the obstacles in your way, and to continually elevate the practice of law in Washington.”