Hon. Beth M. Andrus (ret.)

Judge Beth M. Andrus (ret.) is Of Counsel to the firm. After practicing law for over 20 years, 15 as a partner with Skellenger Bender, Andrus joined the judiciary and spent 13 years as a judge—eight years with the King County Superior Court and another five years with Division One of the Washington Court of Appeals.

As a trial judge, Andrus presided over civil, criminal, and family law trials. She held leadership roles on the court’s Executive Committee and was Assistant Presiding Judge in 2015 and Chief Civil Judge, responsible for making trial assignments and managing the court’s Civil Department, in 2016 and 2017. After her appointment to the court of appeals in 2018, Judge Andrus (ret.) held the roles of Acting Chief and Chief Judge with Division One.

Andrus retired as a judge in March 2023 and rejoined the firm in September 2023 to focus on arbitration, mediation, and appellate consulting.

Education:

Bachelor of Arts, French and Speech Communications/Public Relations, Wayne State University, 1985.

J.D., University of Minnesota, 1988.

Masters of Judicial Studies, University of Nevada, Reno, 2016.

Awards:

King County Bar Association, 2017 Judge of the Year Award.

Seattle University Law School and Women’s Law Caucus 2017 Woman of the Year Award.

King County Chapter, Washington Women Lawyers, 2016 Judge of the Year Award.

Academic Work:

Masters Thesis, The Vanishing Civil Trial in King County Superior Court, published 2016.

Author, The Right to Life During Armed Conflict: Disabled Peoples International v. United States, 20 Harvard International Law Journal 59 (1988) (with Professor David Weissbrodt).

Books:

Contributing Author, ABA, Form and Substance: Specialized Agreements for the Construction Project, Chapter 3, Environmental Services, Preconstruction Services, and Program Management Agreements (2007) (with Kenneth Strong).

Contributing Author, Washington Health Law Manual Third Edition, Chapter 26, Employment Law Issues (2007), http://www.wsha.org/files/62/HLM_Chapter26.pdf (with Kara Masters).

Contributing Author, Construction Law & Risk Management Vol. II, Americans with Disabilities Act: Design Professionals Not Subject to Liability under Title III of the ADA an Washington’s Law Against Discrimination (with H. Bruce Marvin) (2006).

Articles:

Author, Accommodating the Alcohol Dependent Executive Under the Americans with Disabilities Act, published by the Society for Human Resources Management Legal Report (January 2008).

Author, The Economic Loss Doctrine in Construction Cases: Are the Odds for Design Professionals Better in Vegas?, Journal of the American College of Construction Lawyers (published Winter 2007) (with James Gessford).

Author, What’s the Buzz about BIM: Developing a Workable Contractual Structure For BIM Projects, STRUCTURE Magazine (December 2007) (with William J. Bender).

White Papers:

Author, Understanding the Legal Risks Associated With Design and Construction of Engineered Logjams, presented to American Consulting Engineers Council of Washington (2007) (with Jim Gessford).

Author, Alternative Dispute Resolution for Architects (Jan. 2004), presented to AIA Seattle.

Co-author, Claims Against Design Professionals: Responsibility for Site Safety (2004) (with Terence Scanlan), paper presented to the American Consulting Engineers Council of Washington.

Author and Presenter, Dealing With Difficult Contracts: Risk Management During Project Design and Construction, XL Environmental Client Conference, Exton, Pennsylvania (September 2003).

Co-author, Threatened Salmon: How the Endangered Species Act Will Affect the Design Professional/Client Relationship (1999) (with William J. Bender), presented to the Consulting Engineers Council of Washington.

Judicial Presentations:

Panelist, DRI Fifteenth Annual Judicial Symposium, Judicial Ethics: Disqualification and Recusals (Chicago, IL 2019).

Presenter, “Are Civil Trials Really Vanishing?” American Judges Association National Conference (October 6, 2015).

Presenter, Discovery and Admissibility of Electronically Stored Information (ESI), 2014 Superior Court Judges Spring Conference (April 29, 2014).

Continuing Legal Education Presentations:

Presenter, KCBA Appellate Section, Status Report on Division One Court of Appeals (September 2022).

Panelist, Washington Defense Trial Lawyers Association Annual Seminar, Gender Equity from a Judicial Perspective (July 2022).

Presenter, WSBA Construction Law CLE, A View from the Bench (June 2018-2022).

Panelist, American Bar Association Forum on Construction Annual CLE, Managing the Tower of “Babble,” and Techno-Babble, A View from the Bench (October 2021).

Presenter, KCBA ADR Roundtable, Are Civil Trials Vanishing and the Role ADR May Be Playing (June 5, 2018).

Presenter, WSBA Construction Law CLE, Judicial Perspective on Managing Complex Construction Cases (June 9, 2017).

Presenter, The Vanishing Trial: How Did We Get Here and What Does it Mean to Employment Practitioners, Pacific Coast Labor Law Conference, KCBA CLE (April 29, 2017).

Presenter, The Client’s Dilemma: Whither the Civil Trial? The Phenomenon of the “Vanishing Trial” and Recent Research on Civil Litigants’ Preferences for Alternative Dispute Resolution, KCBA CLE (October 14, 2016).

Presenter, Motions and Trial Practice Tips, University of Washington School of Law Washington Leadership Institute (August 19, 2016).

Presenter, Construction Law CLE, KCBA CLE (May 4, 2016).

Presenter, It’s Electrifying! An Overview of Important Issues & Hot Topics in e-Discovery, the Judicial Perspective, KCBA (November 13, 2015).

Presenter, Litigators’ Roundtable, King County Bar Association, 2012 Bench-Bar Conference (November 11, 2013).

Presenter, As Judges See It: Top Mistakes Attorneys Make in Civil Litigation, National Business Institute CLE (November 9, 2012).

Presenter, Criminal Law Boot Camp, View from the Bench, WSBA CLE (June 13, 2012).

Presenter, Oral Argument Tips from the Bench, Seattle University Law School Judicial Externship Seminar (February 29, 2012).

Presenter, Pretrial Motions-A View from the Bench, WSBA CLE (August 26, 2011).

Author and Presenter, Recent Employment Law Developments: Discrimination and Retaliation, Sterling Education Services CLE, Employment Law Update CLE (October 26, 2006).

Author and Presenter, Discovery to Plaintiff In Employment Litigation, WSBA CLE, Investigating and Litigating an Employment Discrimination/Harassment Case (May 26, 2005).

Author and Presenter, Motion Practice in Federal Court, Washington State Bar Association CLE, The Essentials of Federal Practice from Start to Finish (#04693B) (October 29, 2003).

Author and Presenter, Claims Against Design Professionals, Tenth Annual Washington Construction Law Seminar, the Seminar Group (September 2003).

Author and Presenter, Protecting Business Interests: Trade Secrets, Copyrights, and Non-Competition Agreements, Sterling Education Services, Employment Law CLE (August 21, 2003).

Co-Author and Presenter, Title VII Update, Sterling Education Services Employment Law CLE (August 21, 2003) (with Kara Masters).

Co-Author and Presenter, Claims Against Design Professionals, Lorman Education Services CLE, Construction Claims in Washington (December 10, 2002).

Author and Presenter, Seminar Group, CLE Bootcamp (January 17-18, 2002).

Author and Presenter, Motions Practice in Federal Court, Washington State Bar Association CLE (November 16, 2001).

Author and Presenter, Contracting with the Design Professional Firm, Eighth Annual Washington Construction Law Seminar, the Seminar Group (September 20-21, 2001).