Accomplishments:
During Mr. Harris’ 30+ years as a trial
lawyer, he represented plaintiffs and
defendants in many types of cases. He
began his law practice at Merrick
Hofstedt & Lindsey in 1973, serving
as trial counsel for major corporations,
physicians, hospitals, law firms,
insurers and other entities throughout
the Pacific Northwest. Tom Harris
co-founded the Perey-Harris firm in 2004
and represented plaintiffs in medical
malpractice, products liability and
other serious personal injury and
insurance matters. He tried and managed
cases throughout Washington and in the
U.S. District Courts for the Eastern and
Western Districts of Washington. He has
argued before the Washington Supreme
Court, the Court of Appeals and the
Ninth Circuit and has served as Special
Disciplinary Counsel for the WSBA.
Mr. Harris
authored the 60-chapter textbook Washington
Insurance Law and has continued to
update it on a regular basis. He is
listed in Best
Lawyers in America and was voted
one of the Top Ten Lawyers in Washington
in a WA Law & Politics peer
poll. Tom Harris began serving as a
neutral in 2001, when he mediated the
6-death Anacortes refinery fire,
followed by the Olympic Pipeline
explosion. In 2007, he completed the
transition from his role as litigator
and part-time neutral to full-time
mediator and arbitrator at WAMS. Since
then, he has been appointed as mediator,
arbitrator, appraiser, private judge or
Special Master in many different types
of disputes, including construction
defect and products liability cases,
class actions, business/contractual
claims, intellectual property disputes,
auto/UIM and premises liability claims.
He
is certified to serve as a Rule 39.1
mediator for federal court cases and
occasionally accepts appointments to
serve as the sole arbitrator in
commercial disputes.
Education:
Basic Mediator Training (Alan Alhadeff,
2006); Cornell Law School, JD, 1973;
Harvard College, BA, cum
laude, 1970.
Affiliations:
Washington Arbitration & Mediation
Service; WSBA; Federal Bar Association;
Washington Association of Justice;
Washington Defense Trial Lawyers; American
College of Trial Lawyers, American Board
of Trial Advocates, International Society
of Barristers.
Harris Bio