George M. Ahrend

George Ahrend has over 25 years of experience in personal injury, insurance, medical malpractice, and civil litigation at both the trial and appellate level. Over 100 precedent-setting published state and federal court decisions. Highlights include:

Essex v. Grant County Public Hospital District (2024), recognizing hospitals have a nondelegable duty for care provided by nonemployed physicians; Beasley v. GEICO (2022), recognizing recovery for noneconomic damages under the Washington Insurance Fair Conduct Act, Johnson v. Liquor & Cannabis Board (2022), adopting reasonable foreseeability standard for premises liability; Hor v. Seattle (2021), reversing denial of relief from judgment based on false witness testimony; Magney v. Pham (2019), protecting information covered by the marital counseling privilege from discovery; Swank v. Valley Christian School (2017), recognizing new claim for concussion injuries in high school sports; and State v. ANJ (2010): reversing conviction based on ineffective assistance of counsel, leading to adoption of caseload limits for public defenders. 

George is admitted to practice in the U.S. Supreme Court; the U.S. Courts of Appeals for the Ninth and Federal Circuits; the U.S. District Courts for the Eastern and Western Districts of Washington and the District of Idaho; and the states of Washington and Idaho. 

He is a current member of Washington Appellate Lawyers Association and Washington State Association for Justice. 

He is a former officer and board member of national Catholic Bar Association, Co-Coordinator of the Amicus Curiae Program for the Washington State Association for Justice Foundation, consultant to the Washington State Office of Public Defense, and adjunct professor of law at Gonzaga University School of Law. 

He obtained his law degree from Gonzaga University School of Law, where he was Editor-in-Chief of the Gonzaga Law Review. He also has a Master of Divinity degree from Princeton Theological Seminary.