News & Events

NBF attorney Ruby Redshaw was admitted to practice in the State of Montana. Congratulations Ruby!!

NBF attorney Jeremy Jones obtained partial summary judgment for a fishing vessel owner, resulting in the dismissal of a seaman’s claims for maintenance and cure pursuant to the landmark McCorpen case. The court determined the seaman was not entitled to maintenance and cure because he had misrepresented his medical history. This victory paved the way for a favorable settlement of the seaman’s remaining claims against the fishing vessel owner.

NBF attorney Larry Altenbrun has been elected President of the Puget Sound Maritime Claims Association. PSMCA, founded in 1980, is the leading trade organization for maritime claims in the Pacific Northwest. Larry is one of only a handful of individuals to serve as President of both PSMCA and the Marine Insurance Association of Seattle, which Larry served as President of in 2011. Larry looks forward to leading PSMCA as it continues to offer great benefits to its Membership in the midst of a global pandemic.

SHE’S BACK !!! NBF proudly announces that attorney Ruby Redshaw has returned to an Of Counsel position at Nicoll Black & Feig after practicing at a litigation and corporate law firm in Salt Lake City and serving as a Deputy District Attorney for Salt Lake County. She returns with additional commercial litigation experience, having represented clients in business disputes, including breach of contract, unfair competition, trade secrets, and non-competes. While serving as a Deputy District Attorney, Ruby handled employment, civil rights, and tort cases before state and federal courts. She is also well-versed in conducting workplace investigations into employee complaints and potential claims of discrimination, harassment, and retaliation. This adds to the practice areas Ruby honed while previously at NBF from 2010-2014: insurance coverage and defense; medical malpractice defense; maritime law; and commercial litigation.

Ruby graduated summa cum laude from the University of Idaho, College of Law. She received her B.A. from Vanderbilt University and then worked on Capitol Hill before attending law school. Ruby is admitted to practice in Washington and Utah.

HE’S BACK!!! NBF proudly announces that attorney Jeremy Jones has returned to his position as a partner with NBF. He brings with him some new experiences from the Attorney General’s office. He will resume his work as a stalwart and seasoned member of the NBF maritime team

NBF attorneys Rod Fonda and Noah Jaffe obtained a result that is increasingly difficult to obtain: summary judgment dismissal of a defendant in an asbestos case filed in State Court. Rod and Noah represented a marine parts supplier in Florida who had nothing to do with the Seattle shipyard worker’s asbestos, and therefore their client should have been dismissed—but judges in King County are so leery of overreaching appellate decisions to make sure that mesothelioma victims have some available legal recourse, that such dismissals, no matter how meritorious, have become rare. Well done Rod and Noah!!

Congratulations to NBF attorneys Chris Nicoll, Rivers Black and Curt Feig, who were again named as “Super Lawyers” by Super Lawyers Magazine for 2020.

NBF is honored to join the growing list of companies that recognize the importance of Juneteenth. This American holiday, named by blending the words June and nineteenth, commemorates the occurrence on June 19, 1865 when Union Major General Gordon Granger rode into Galveston, Texas, and told slaves of their emancipation from slavery: “In accordance with a proclamation from the Executive of the United States, all slaves are free.” Major General Granger’s pronouncement came more than two years after President Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation. African-Americans and others mark Juneteenth, also called Emancipation Day, much like the Fourth of July, with parties, picnics and gatherings with family and friends. In 1980, Texas was the first state to make Juneteenth a state holiday, although it had been celebrated informally since 1865. Join NBF on June 19th as we take time to reflect on our past; we look forward to using resources, actions, and voices to continue to effect positive change in the black community. It is our sincere hope that you will join us in lending your voice and resources as well. For more information regarding Juneteenth, please visit http://nationaljuneteenth.com/Juneteenth_National.html.

The Washington Defense Trial Lawyers (WDTL) association released a statement addressing Juneteenth and providing resources for members to learn more, as well as donate to local nonprofits that support the African American community. This statement was written by Diversity Committee Co-Chairs Gauri Shrotriya Locker and L. William Locke, and NBF associate Shantrice Anderson. The statement is available on the WDTL website at https://www.wdtl.org/blog_home.asp?Display=47.

All of us at Nicoll Black & Feig are saddened by the death of George Floyd, another in a too-long list of senseless and violent deaths at the hands of police. Nicoll Black & Feig was founded on the principles of equal opportunity for all, regardless of race, religion, gender, and sexual orientation and we stand by and strive to live those values every day. This death and the calls for action that followed have caused us, individually and collectively, to reexamine our commitment to these values. 

Through this examination, we have concluded that we have not done enough. It is time for change because without justice for all, there can be no peace.  It is simply insufficient for us to treat our employees fairly, equally, and with dignity and compassion.  Rather than being content with mere inward-facing attitudes and values, we now recognize that outward-facing action is necessary for us to fulfill our obligations to ourselves,  our profession,  the  communities where we live and work, and in particular to our brothers and sisters of color.  We hear you and we support you. We must do more to end the systemic, pervasive, and implicit discriminatory biases that are part of the fabric of this country.  To that end, Nicoll Black & Feig is taking concrete steps, both financially and personally, to encourage, support, and empower all of our employees to take direct action, as they are able and see fit, to discern, confront and address these biases in our community. It does not diminish the value of any life for us to emphatically declare that black lives matter.

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