Company Profile
Foster Garvey PC
Company Overview
Full list of Open Positions on FG Career Portal: https://www.foster.com/careers-positions
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With attorneys located in six cities across the United States and in Beijing, Foster Garvey is frequently recognized by national and local legal resources and publications. Below is a selection of our current awards and recognition.
Best Lawyers in America©. In 2020, 44 Foster Garvey attorneys were selected by their peers for inclusion in the 2021 Best Lawyers in America© and 10 selected as Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch.
Chambers USA. In May 2021, Foster Garvey received 16 individual attorney rankings and eight practice rankings by Chambers USA in Employee Benefits & Executive Compensation and Litigation: General Commercial in Oregon. The firm was also ranked for Bankruptcy/Restructuring, Corporate/M&A, Environment, Healthcare, Real Estate and Real Estate: Zoning/Land Use in Washington state.
Chambers High Net Worth. In July 2020, our attorneys earned individual rankings in the Chambers High Net Worth legal directory. In addition to the individual attorney rankings, the firm ranked in the Yachts & Superyachts category globally.
Super Lawyers. In 2020, 18 Foster Garvey attorneys were named to the Super Lawyers list and six were named Rising Stars.
U.S. News/Best Lawyers “Best Law Firms.” Foster Garvey was ranked on the 2021 “Best Law Firms” list by U.S. News & World Report and Best Lawyers with 13 practice areas ranked nationally and 48 ranked regionally.
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Public service is a core value and a guiding principle of the firm. Foster Garvey is committed to serving and supporting the communities in which we live and work through a wide range of pro bono and community-focused activities, including direct pro bono legal advocacy, community service, charitable contributions, serving on nonprofit boards of directors, volunteerism, sponsorships and donations. We are honored to give back to our communities through these efforts and eagerly seek new opportunities and causes we are passionate about to continue to make a meaningful impact on the communities we serve.
Our attorneys and staff devote a considerable amount of their time and resources each year to pro bono legal work and community services to organizations and individuals.
Foster Garvey has a long-standing tradition of giving back to the community through direct pro bono legal advocacy, community service, charitable contributions and service on nonprofit boards of directors. Pro bono was deeply ingrained in the cultures of both legacy firms, Foster Pepper and Garvey Schubert Barer, and is an essential component of the culture at Foster Garvey.
The firm strongly encourages participation by its attorneys in public service activities and those that will help represent individuals and organizations that do not have equal access to justice. Our work has helped individuals in cases spanning high-profile criminal justice reform to individual representation of low-income individuals, refugees and immigrants, those seeking clemency and veterans, among many others.
Each year, Foster Garvey attorneys from all practices and with all levels of experience contribute more than 3,000 hours of pro bono time to organizations and individuals in the regions we work. Pro bono service is more than a commitment for Foster Garvey; it is an enduring tradition and part of the firm’s culture.
Learn more about our firm's pro bono efforts in our 2020 pro bono report.
The firm’s Pro Bono program is thoughtfully managed by attorneys John Hoerster, Malcolm Seymour and Jack Zahner.
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Diversity, equity and inclusion are core values at Foster Garvey that are integrated into the firm’s culture and the way we do business. Through these core values we enhance our ability to provide clients with innovative, creative and collaborative advocacy, as well as creating a vibrant Foster Garvey team.
We are committed to recruiting and mentoring diverse professionals, maintaining an inclusive environment in which our talented workforce may thrive, and increasing diversity representation in all aspects of our firm, including firm leadership.
Guiding Foster Garvey’s actions in these important areas is the Opportunity & Progress Council (OPC), which establishes and executes the firm’s strategic initiatives aimed at breaking down institutional and cultural barriers to diversity, equity and inclusion, and creating a shared environment where everyone can do their best work together.
Our Commitment
Foster Garvey’s goal is a workplace reflective of the communities we serve. We firmly believe that commitment to the principles of diversity, equity and inclusion involves more than statistics. The firm’s commitment is exemplified by our ongoing efforts to continually improve diversity, equity and inclusion in every aspect of our workplace.
Leadership
Our diverse professionals are active in firm leadership, holding positions as Practice Group Leaders, managing directors of our offices, chairs of committees and members of the firm’s Executive Committee and Practice Management Committee.
Hiring & Training
Foster Garvey has a strong record of recruiting diverse talent from across the United States. We participate in minority job fairs and diversity receptions at law schools including Seattle University and the University of Washington, as well as at local law firms.
We provide training annually to all of our professionals to promote an inclusive workplace. We have worked with several inclusion and diversity experts who have helped us appreciate the opportunities that an inclusive firm brings and how it helps us better serve our clients.
Our attorneys are involved in numerous affinity groups and bring key information and insight back to the firm for discussion. Foster Garvey attorneys are currently involved with organizations including:
American Women in Radio and Television
Cardozo Society of Washington State
Japan Business Association of Seattle
Lambda Legal Defense and Education Fund
Legal Voice
Loren Miller Bar Association
Minority Media and Telecommunications Council
Mother Attorneys Mentoring Association of Seattle (MAMAS)
Nichibei Women's Network
Northwest Indian Bar Association
Oregon Minority Lawyers Association
Oregon Women Lawyers
Oregon Gay and Lesbian Law Association
South Asian Bar Association
Vietnamese American Bar Association
Washington Women Lawyers
Company History
Foster Garvey was created in 2019 through a “merger of equals” of Foster Pepper and Garvey Schubert Barer. These two law firms came together to bolster their strong Pacific Northwest roots and celebrate nearly 170 years of combined history. Foster Garvey is deeply committed – and connected – to the region, serving local, state and regional municipal entities and the innovative companies, individuals and visionaries who have driven sustainable growth in the area.
Foster Pepper was founded in 1904 in Seattle's boom era at the dawn of the 20th century and its growth has tracked that of the region. Garvey Schubert Barer was founded in 1966 by three entrepreneurial law graduates who built the firm and then went on to start their own successful businesses. Both firms have had an integral part in shaping the region, and Foster Garvey is proud to solidify our presence and continue working with valued clients, coupled with being a consistent supporter of our communities in the Pacific Northwest and beyond.
Explore more of Foster Garvey’s history below:
Foster Pepper Timeline
1904: Weter & Roberts is founded by James Weter and Fred Roberts.
1921: Tanner & Garvin is founded by Vaughn Tanner and John Garvin.
1922: Harold Shefelman becomes a partner at Weter & Roberts and the firm changes its name to Weter Roberts & Shefelman.
1926: Paul Ashley, a friend of Harold Shefelman, joins Tanner & Garvin.
1948: Tom Foster is admitted to the Washington bar and joins Tanner Garvin & Ashley.
1952: Lou Pepper joins Tanner Garvin & Ashley.
1953: Dan Riviera joins Tanner Garvin & Ashley.
1957: Tanner Garvin & Ashley changes its name to Garvin Ashley & Foster.
1960: Weter Roberts & Shefelman changes its name to Roberts, Shefelman, Lawrence, Gay & Moch.
1968: Lou Pepper and Dan Riviera become partners at Garvin Ashley & Foster. The firm changes its name to Ashley Foster Pepper & Riviera.
1974: Paul Ashley becomes Of Counsel and the firm’s name changes to Foster Pepper & Riviera.
1982: Roberts, Shefelman, Gay & Moch changes its name to Roberts & Shefelman.
1986: Foster Pepper & Riviera merges with Drake & Whitely.
1988: Roberts & Shefelman and Foster Pepper & Riviera merge to form Foster Pepper & Shefelman.
1998: Foster Pepper & Shefelman opens its Spokane office.
2004: Foster Pepper & Shefelman celebrates its 100th anniversary and changes its name to Foster Pepper PLLC.
2015: Spokane office triples in size with addition of nine attorneys from now-closed K&L Gates LLP local office
Garvey Schubert Barer Timeline
1966: Three young lawyers establish the firm Houger, Garvey & Schubert with 39 files and $800 in the bank, a $12,000 line of credit guaranteed by their parents and unbounded optimism.
1972: Garvey Schubert Barer becomes the Pacific Northwest’s first law firm to open a Washington, D.C. office.
1973: Garvey Schubert Barer becomes one of the first U.S. law firms to station an attorney with a law firm in Japan, Matsuo & Kosugi.
1973: The firm represents the purchasers of Ste. Michelle Wine Estates, Washington State’s first winery.
1974: Stan Barer joins the firm.
1979: Stan Barer negotiates the resumption of shipping trade between the U.S. and China after a 30-year hiatus.
1982: Garvey Schubert Barer becomes second law firm with offices in both Seattle and Portland.
1992: The firm establishes the first permanent endowed professorship at the University of Washington School of Law.
1997: Garvey Schubert Barer represents China Ocean Shipping Company in the first securitization financing ever completed in the United States by a Chinese company.
2000: Haley Bader & Potts, P.L.C., one of the nation’s oldest telecommunications law firms, joins Garvey Schubert Barer in our Washington, D.C. office.
2001: Garvey Schubert Barer opens a New York Office to expand the firm’s sports and entertainment and intellectual property practices.
2004: Garvey Schubert Barer opens an office in Beijing, reinforcing our longstanding commitment to Pacific Rim trade.
2011: Garvey Schubert Barer launches hospitality, travel, and tourism practice.
2014: Garvey Schubert Barer establishes the first full-service law firm Cannabis practice.
2016: Garvey Schubert Barer celebrates its 50th anniversary.
2019: Foster Pepper combines with Garvey Schubert Barer in a “merger of equals” to create Foster Garvey