May 13, 2022

Social Media Victims Law Center

Bergman

Marquez-Garrett

The Social Media Victims Law Center (SMVLC), a legal resource for parents of teenage victims suffering from depression, an eating disorder, hospitalization, sexual exploitation, self-harm or suicide as a result of social media addiction, today announced the addition of Laura Marquez-Garrett as senior counsel and Madeline Bergman as an associate to the firm to help litigate the growing number of cases against social media companies.

Marquez-Garrett brings more than 20 years of experience handling complex litigation matters and business disputes, specializing in all manner of data and discovery related innovations, issues and disputes to SMVLC. At her prior firm, Lane Powell, Marquez-Garrett founded and led the firm's innovative electronic discovery practice group and discovery division.

She holds a J.D. from Harvard Law School where she served as editor-in-chief of the Harvard Latino Law Review.

Bergman joins SMVLC from Bergman Draper Oslund Udo where she was an associate attorney specializing in toxic tort litigation.

She holds a J.D. from Lewis and Clark. Following law school, Bergman moved to Tel Aviv to serve as the in-house legal advisor for technology start up AD Knight where she researched application of international data privacy laws to the company's technology. She also advised corporate leadership on compliance issues relating to American, European Union and Japanese data privacy regulations.

Bergman also serves as a board member of the Seattle American Jewish Committee.

“We are very pleased to have both Laura and Madeline join the Social Media Victims Law Center team,” said Matthew P. Bergman, founder of SMVLC. “Their unique mix of experience in electronic discovery and international data law make them ideal partners in the fight against social media malfeasance.”

The Social Media Victims Law Center, was founded in 2021 to hold social media companies legally accountable for the harm they inflict on vulnerable users. SMVLC seeks to apply principles of product liability to force social media companies to elevate consumer safety to the forefront of its economic analysis and design safer platforms to protect users from foreseeable harm.

May 12, 2022

Bosa opens REN

Photo by Brian Miller [enlarge]

The 41-story, 457-unit REN apartment tower, at 2014 Fairview Ave. in the Denny Triangle, has fully opened to renters, according to developer Bosa Family Cos. (The first residents began moving there in January.) About 40% of the apartments have been leased, with monthly rents in a range from about $2,514 to $9,343. Greystar manages the building, and its Shannon Hammond said in a statement, “The combination between art, architecture and nature has created something truly special for this growing neighborhood, and we're excited for our residents to move in and begin to experience all that this community has to offer.” The building features 23,000 square feet of amenity space, a curated art program, roof terrace, gym, co-working space and dog spa. Local artist Brent Comber created the lobby art installation. Tech features include the Brevvie kiosk system, Fetch delivery service, the STRATIS IoT OneApp, an all-in-one digital hub, plus free building-wide WiFi from a WhiteSky. ZGF Architects designed the project, which was built by Bosa (not to be confused with Bosa Development).

CBRE

Rogers

CBRE announced the recent hiring of Tom Rogers, who specializes in office occupier representation, often on the Eastside. He makes the move from Flinn Ferguson. CBRE's John R. Miller said in a statement, “Tom is a respected expert among both tenants and brokers on the Eastside with a reputation for the highest levels of client service.”

NAIOP to address short-term vacancies

What do you do with an empty building before knocking it down to redevelop? Interim development or interim occupancy. That's the topic to be addressed at NAIOP's May breakfast meeting, at 8:30 a.m. next Wednesday, at the Grand Hyatt Seattle. A panel discussion will feature Kris Curtis of JLL, Jessie Clawson of McCullough Hill Leary, King County Assessor John Wilson and Amazon's chief honcho of real estate, John Schoettler. Details and registration: naiopwa.org.

Pacific Program Management

Tirrell-Burton

Pacific Program Management announced earlier this month the recent hiring of Ann Tirrell-Burton. She'll join the advisory firm's workplace consulting group, and brings some 20 years' experience with firms including Amazon and Google. PPM's Clark Lindsay said in a statement, “Her international experience and her background leading strategy for Fortune 500 firms in technology and life sciences will give us added depth of experience for a practice area that many businesses see as a must-have in their strategic planning moving forward.”

Boise Cascade

Fleming

Humphreys

Dawson

Boise Cascade announced that Craig Dawson and Amy Humphreys were elected to its board of directors following the company's Annual Shareholders' Meeting. In addition, Richard Fleming retired from the board after nine years. Dawson currently serves as president of Retail Lockbox, a industry leader in remittance processing, credit card payments, and document management services, which he co-founded in Seattle. Prior to this role, he held a number of senior positions with Unisys. Dawson is the past chair and board member of the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco, Seattle Branch. He is the past president of Tabor 100, a non-profit organization which focuses on creating initiatives for CEOs of minority-owned businesses. Humphreys has 25 years of experience in manufacturing, commodities, global marketing and distribution, including holding executive leadership positions with large privately held companies. She has served on multiple boards, including directorships with Red Lion Hotels and Philly Shipyard. Fleming joined the board in 2013 when the company completed its IPO. He was the chief financial officer of USG for 18 years and was its EVP, CFO from 1999 until his retirement in 2012. Prior to that, he was employed by Masonite, which was acquired by USG in 1984. Boise Cascade is one of the largest producers of engineered wood products and plywood in North America.

DigniFi

Bellevue-based DigniFi, an inclusive financing platform whose credit branded products are issued by WebBank, announced that Pagaya has joined the platform as a credit analysis partner. By supplementing the standard underwriting for DigniFi-branded loans with Pagaya's credit analysis model, Pagaya supports DigniFi's efforts to fund up to $80 billion worth of repairs that might otherwise be deferred and supports up to 80 million people with inadequate access to the financial resources they need to stay safe while driving. Pagaya uses a proprietary AI to help partners, like DigniFi, better serve their customers. DigniFi is a FinTech company that helps auto dealers and small businesses grow their revenue through inclusive financing. Its technology simplifies the loan application process and enables small businesses to offer on-the-spot financing, for auto repairs, parts and accessory purchases, and maintenance packages.

Office Ally

Office Ally, a provider of healthcare software solutions, has acquired Bluemark, a provider of specialized healthcare software. Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed. Founded in 2001, Bluemark provides specialized healthcare software and adaptive technology, including revenue integrity and Medicaid enrollment solutions, for hospitals, health systems, nursing homes and community-based organizations. Bluemark offers four unique products that span Payer Audit Management and Assistance Program Enrollment, enabling healthcare professionals to both enhance reimbursement processes and achieve workflow efficiencies. With the acquisition of Bluemark, Office Ally will be able to expand its product set and add new health information handler credentials. In addition, the complementary nature of the two businesses will allow Office Ally to better serve existing customers with an integrated suite of healthcare software solutions now spanning self-pay management and Medicaid enrollment. Office Ally is headquartered in Vancouver.