SEATTLE (July 10, 2007) – The international law firm of Dorsey & Whitney LLP today announced that Alexander Baehr and Carllene Placide have been named to the Washington State Minority and Justice Commission’s Technical Support Group. The Washington Minority and Justice Commission has a 20 year history of working to identify and eradicate all racial, ethnic, and cultural bias in the state court system, and its members mostly consist of state district, superior, appellate and supreme court judges.
The Commission has sponsored research efforts dating back to the late 80’s and early 90’s. The Commission's findings indicated that such problems exist in Washington courts and must continue to be addressed. As new members of the Commission, Baehr and Placide embrace the group’s goal of taking creative steps to identify, prevent and overcome racial and ethnic bias in Washington courts. Baehr and Placide are also partners in Dorsey & Whitney’s Seattle Labor and Employment practice and have been appointed to serve on the Technical Support Group of the Commission through December 31, 2007, subject to renewal for an additional one-year term.
Ms. Placide’s employment law experience includes counseling and litigating cases involving race, gender, age, disability, religious and national origin discrimination, retaliation, wrongful termination, wage and hour violation, safety and health issues and workers compensation and international business immigration matters. Mr. Baehr has extensive trial experience handling complex commercial matters, including employment discrimination, employee mobility, trade secret and antitrust and unfair competition litigation.
Dorsey & Whitney has a rich tradition of encouraging excellent attorneys to pursue their interest in community service, including former United States Supreme Court Justice Harry Blackmun, former United States Vice President Walter Mondale, former Iowa Governor Tom Vilsack, Minnesota Attorney General Warren Spannaus, and former United States Attorneys Bob Bundy (AK) and Zach Carter (NY).