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Shannon M. Kilpatrick joined DawsonBrownPS in 2014, after practicing for five years with her father, noted trial attorney and insurance bad faith expert, Dick Kilpatrick, in Bellevue. Shannon enjoys fighting for people and not government or corporations, which have no shortage of lawyers willing to represent them. She has handled claims involving substantial personal injury, wrongful death, professional negligence, insurance coverage disputes, and insurer misconduct, many of which eventually settled for six figures or more. She also handles pro bono work on behalf of the Northwest Immigrant Rights Project representing undocumented immigrants who have fled violence and persecution for a better life in the US.
Shannon also consults on and handles appeals, drawing on her previous appellate experience. Prior to entering private practice, Shannon clerked for the Honorable Debra L. Stephens at the Washington Supreme Court. Additionally while in law school, she externed for the Honorable John L. Coffey at the US Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit. She has appeared in the Washington Court of Appeals, Divisions 1 and Division 3, the Washington Supreme Court, and the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.
Shannon has been an invited speaker at numerous legal seminars and written articles about insurance law, tort law, ethics, and appellate issues.
Education
- Marquette University Law School (Milwaukee, WI), JD, cum laude, 2008
- Whitman College (Walla Walla, WA), BA in History, 1999
- Newport High School (Bellevue, WA), 1995
Memberships
- Washington State Bar Association (WSBA), admitted to practice 2009
- King County Bar Association
- Washington Women Lawyers
- Washington State Association for Justice (WSAJ), Eagle member
- American Association for Justice
Shannon serves on the Board of Governors for WSAJ, its governing body. She is also involved in the Women of WSAJ (WOW), a group of women trial lawyers who support each other through the unique challenges of being female in the trial bar. She is one of WSAJ’s liaisons to the Washington Superior Court Judge’s Association, and she serves on WSAJ’s Judicial Relations Committee.
Since 2011, Shannon has also served on the WSBA Court Rules and Procedures Committee, which reviews, vets, and makes recommendations about suggested changes to the state-wide court rules to the WSBA and the Supreme Court. She currently serves as the Chair of the Evidence Rules Subcommittee for that Committee. From 2011-2012, she served on the WSBA Admission to Practice Rules Task Force, which did an all-encompassing review of the state-wide Admission to Practice Rules with an eye toward updating and modernizing them. The recommendations made by that Task Force resulted in wholesale changes to those rules approved by the Washington Supreme Court.
Awards, Seminars, and Publications
Washington Super Lawyers, Rising Star, 2011-2015
Avvo.com, 10.0 “Superb” Rating
WSBA Pro Bono Commendation, 2010, 2012
Speaker, 2015 WSAJ Annual Insurance Law Seminar, Discovery of Insurer Claim Files After Cedell, January 2015.
Speaker, 2014 WSAJ Annual Convention, “MAR Fee Requests in the Post-Berryman World,” July 2014.
Author, Sounding the Alarm: Is Diversity Jurisdiction Interfering with Washington State's Development of Its Own Body of Law Related to the Insurance Fair Conduct Act? 49 Gonzaga Law Review 553 (2014).
Speaker, 2014 Insurance Law Seminar, “Examinations Under Oath in the Post-Staples v. Allstate World,” January 2014 (WSAJ).
Speaker, Auto Insurance and the Law, “Types of Insurance Policies and Requirements by State Law,” June 2013 (The Seminar Group).
Speaker, Insurance Law Seminar, “Getting Burned: Examinations Under Oath Are More Dangerous Than You Think,” January 2013 (WSAJ).
Co-Chair, Avoiding Pitfalls In Discovery CLE, April 2012 (WSAJ).
Author, Eagle Membership: Not Just For Established Lawyers, Trial News, May 2012.
Speaker, New Member Brown Bag: Insurance Basics, “Important Insurance Cases,” December 2011 (WSAJ).
Speaker, Insurance Law & Subrogation Basics, “Key Insurance Cases,” October 2011 (WSAJ).
Author, Tips From Inside the Chambers: A Former Law Clerk’s Guide to Appellate Briefs, Trial News, May 2011.
Speaker, Auto Cases: Be Prepared, “The Most Useful Ethics Opinions for the PI Practitioner,” April, 2011 (WSAJ).
Personal
Like any good Northwest native, Shannon loves the outdoors, drives a Subaru, and enjoys rooting for Seattle sports teams, some years more than others. She lives in Redmond with her husband, Dan, and their cat, Hannah. She and her husband are Mariners’ partial season ticket holders and enjoy traveling the country and the world.
Telephone 206-262-1444
