Alex is a legal advisor, trial lawyer and former in-house general counsel with more than 25 years of global experience across multiple industry sectors. Drawing on his combined legal and business acumen, he serves as a key advisor to executives, boards of directors and other corporate leadership, helping his clients develop and deploy effective regulatory compliance, risk management, dispute resolution and business strategies.

Alex is equally comfortable in the boardroom, the courtroom and the factory floor. He takes a customer-centric approach to finding fit-for-purpose, fit-for-risk solutions that are developed and placed within his clients’ larger business objectives and support effective, informed operational and strategic decisions. A skilled negotiator, he routinely represents clients in a broad range of matters, from bet-the-company disputes to major corporate and real estate transactions.

Having successfully litigated numerous disputes — at the trial and appellate levels, in international arbitrations and in settlement negotiations — as outside and in-house counsel, he understands the potential costs and risk of litigation. Over the course of his career, Alex has handled numerous complex disputes involving issues such as trade secrets, non-competes, commercial real estate, employment, corporate/fiduciary matters, insurance and contracts. 

Prior to joining Summit Law Group, Alex spent more than five years as general counsel of Colliers International Group, Inc., where he oversaw the company’s global legal operations and its growth into a multibillion-dollar, publicly traded entity. He personally managed the company’s strategy in defending against high-value, strategic litigation in jurisdictions including Canada, the United States, England, Switzerland, the People’s Republic of China, Hong Kong, India and Malaysia. During this time, he also acted as director and secretary to the company’s offshore captive insurer.

Before that, Alex was senior counsel to the Saudi Arabian Oil Company (Saudi Aramco) in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia, where he oversaw complex, multibillion-dollar international arbitrations involving infrastructure and construction matters. He also handled special matters such as financial compliance for project financed mega-projects, governance and legal issues surrounding the company offshore captive insurer, and alternative energy pilot ventures. Prior to this, Alex was a Seattle-based partner with an AmLaw 100 firm.

Committed to equity, access to legal services and positive change, Alex currently is a member of the board of directors of the Law Firm Antiracism Alliance, an international collaboration across law firms focused on identifying the causes of and solutions to racial inequity. While not at work, Alex enjoys long-distance road biking, snowboarding, attending his daughter’s soccer tournaments, camping and world travel with his family.

• Federal Bar Association – Western District of Washington, Co-Chair, Ethics & Practice Committee (2006­–2008)
• Washington State Minority & Justice Commission, Technical Support Group Member (2007–2008)
• King County Bar Association, Chair, Judiciary & Courts Committee (2007)
• King County Bar Foundation – Future of Law Institute, Board Member (2006-2007)

• American University, Washington College of Law
  JD
  Dean’s Fellow (antitrust research in conjunction with Professor Robert Lande); Articles Editor, American University International Law Review
• University of Washington
  BA, Political Science
  Mentor, Educational Opportunity Program

• Washington
• United States Supreme Court
• US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
• US District Court for the Eastern District of Washington
• US District Court for the Western District of Washington

• The Best Lawyers in America, Commercial Litigation; Litigation – Intellectual Property; Litigation ­– Real Estate (2019-2023)
• Washington Super Lawyers, Super Lawyer (2004, 2007, 2018–2022); Rising Star (2001–2002, 2004)
• Chambers USA, Litigation: General Commercial – Washington (2020–2023)
• Benchmark Litigation, Labor and Employment Star; Litigation Star (2019–2020)
• America’s Top 100 High Stakes Litigators
• Puget Sound Business Journal, Corporate Counsel of the Year (Public Company General Counsel) (2016)
• National Law Journal, Seattle In-House Legal Department of the Year – Outside Counsel Management (2014)
• Seattle Business, Executive Excellence Award (2014) (only lawyer/general counsel to receive this award)
• Washington CEO Magazine, Top Lawyer in Washington (2008)

• “Linking Legal Spend to Value: How Legal Operations Can Build the Bridge,” Corporate Legal Operations Consortium, May 2016 Institute
• “Collective Action,” World Economic Forum – Partnering Against Corruption Initiative, 2014
• “Protecting Your Company’s Most Valuable Assets: Employee Mobility & Trade Secrets,” Washington State Council-SHRM, 2007
• “The New Federal Rules on Electronically Stored Information,” Federal Bar Association –Western District of Washington, Moderator, 2006
• “Minority Shareholder Disputes,” Washington Society of CPAs, 2006
• “Intellectual Property and Antitrust, Patent Settlements as a Basis for Antitrust Litigation,” Holland & Knight Institute, 2005
• “Reciprocal Discipline and Changes to the Local Federal Rules,” Volume 62, No. 9, Washington State Bar News, 2008 (with Felice Congalton and Joanna Plitcha)
• “Gerlinger v. Amazon.com, Applying Brick and Mortar Antitrust Principles to Internet Business Models,” ICARUS, Winter 2004, American Bar Association
• Antitrust Evidence Handbook, Contributing Editor (2nd Ed., 2002), American Bar Association 

Representative Trial Matters

• Cypress Ins. Co. as subrogee of Microsoft Corp. v. SK Hynix America, Inc. (U.S. District Ct., Western District of WA 2019). Obtained a favorable defense verdict after a 10-day jury trial before US District Judge Richard A. Jones in $175 million breach of contract action involving breach of a DRAM semiconductor chip manufacturing contract. 
• Grego et. al. v. Med-Data, Inc. et. al. (U.S. District Ct., Eastern District of WA 2018). Obtained summary judgment on behalf of Med-Data in a putative class action seeking damages for violation of Consumer Protection Act and related claims. 
• Evergreen Moneysource Mortgage Co. v.  Axis Insurance Co. (U.S. District Ct., Western District of WA 2018). Obtained a favorable settlement of an insurance coverage action, on behalf of an insured, for wage and hour class action costs through early case assessment and early mediation.
• Red Lion Hotels Franchising Co. v. First Capital Real Estate Investments, LLC, et. al. (U.S. District Ct., Eastern District of WA 2018). Secured a favorable summary judgment ruling awarding $1.3 million for a breach of contract claim.
• Teck Cominco Metals v. Pakootas (U.S. Court of Appeals, 9th Circuit 2007). Represented the Province of British Columbia as amicus in appeal and before the US Supreme Court seeking certiorari with regard to an underlying CERCLA claim involving contamination and clean-up of the Snake River.
• Lam Research Corp v. Deshmukh: (U.S. District Court, Western District of WA 2005) Secured a 13-month preliminary injunction based on inevitable disclosure of trade secret doctrine on behalf of a semiconductor wafer manufacturing company.
• UAP Holding Corp. v. Maitoza, et al.: (U.S. District Ct., Western District of WA 2006). Resolved non-competition, corporate raiding and trade secret claims alleged by a competitor in the chemical fertilizer industry.
• Expedia Australia Pty Ltd. v. Travel Holdings, Inc., et al.: (U.S. District Ct., Western District of WA 2006). Resolved non-compete and trade secret litigation against a competitor through pursuit of multi-jurisdictional litigation in New South Wales, Australia, and Seattle, Washington.
• In Re Jean Gardner Amended Blind Trust, 117 Wn.App. 235 (2003) Represented a trustee in breach of fiduciary duty litigation pursued by a beneficiary.
• Evelyn Egtvedt v. Wells Fargo Bank (King County Superior Court 2002) Represented a trustee in fiduciary duty and related TEDRA litigation involving capacity of a beneficiary regarding $150 million charitable and revocable trusts.
• Greenpeace et. al. v. National Marine Fisheries Service, et. al., (U.S. District Ct., Western District of WA 1998). Represented a trade association intervenor group in Endangered Species Act injunction litigation.

Corporate and Real Estate

• Negotiated a $450 million, four-currency credit facility on behalf of a borrower.
• Provide outside general counsel services for a low-earth-orbit satellite manufacturing joint venture.
• Managed development of FCPA and UK Bribery Act policy, an internal training program and related investigations.
• Managed and developed strategy for the organization of an offshore captive insurer to insure company errors and omissions risk with approximately $3 million in net income over a two-year period.
• Provide employment law advice in the United States and direct negotiation of executive-level employment agreements.
• Managed and conducted M&A and related due diligence on more than 25 transactions across the United States, France, United Kingdom, Germany and Brazil.

Infrastructure & Energy

• Resolved more than $800 million in integrated disputes involving construction of a $12 billion petrochemical facility via International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) arbitration in London, England.
• Managed drafting of RFP, pro forma direct and EPC contracts, and related negotiations with regard to the development of 1000 MW gas-fired cogeneration power plants.
• Managed contractual compliance matters involving four project-financed BOOT cogeneration power plants.
• Negotiated power-purchase agreements (PPAs), installation and joint venture agreements for a company’s solar energy pilot projects team.
• Negotiated a multi-year, framework-level procurement agreement for turbines and pumps with multinational corporations located in Italy, Japan and Germany.
• Managed financial compliance for a $6 billion project financed b traditional and Sharia lending facilities for construction of a petrochemical plant.
• Resolved a $750 million delay/change order dispute with the prime EPC LSTK contractor on construction of a $4 billion, graduate-level science and engineering institution.