Elizabeth Berns

King County Superior Court

Department 25

Legal/Judicial Experience: Two decades of experience as a private practice attorney in civil litigation and three years as a Pro Tem Commissioner and Judge, presiding over civil and criminal matters.

Other Professional Experience: Owner, local law firm; Business law faculty member, University of Phoenix; Environmental consultant and research analyst, Nobel Industries.

Education: University of Puget Sound School of Law, Juris Doctor (1993); University of Washington, Bachelor of Science in Environmental Health and Law (1989).

Community Service: Long-term Small Business Administration SCORE volunteer assisting small businesses with legal issues; Vice President, Women’s Business Exchange; Member, Rotary International; Extensive pro bono representation of victims of domestic violence, families and minorities.

Statement: With two decades of experience as a private practice attorney and three years as a Pro Tem Judge, I have taken on some of the toughest legal issues – criminal and civil cases involving child abuse, sexual harassment, discrimination complaints and the disenfranchisement of minority communities. My breadth of experience prepares me well to be a Judge.

With the growing diversity in our community, our courts must meet the changing needs of our citizens. I care about people that come to the courts; I believe it is important that they understand the court proceedings and how the law is applied to their situation.

I also care deeply about my community, which is why I volunteer a significant amount of time assisting minority-owned businesses, representing victims of domestic violence, and mentoring our youth through sports and confidence-building activities.

Endorsements include: King County Labor Council, King County Democrats, Senator Ed Murray, Representative Jamie Pedersen, Bellevue Mayor Conrad Lee, Redmond Mayor John Marchione, Former Seattle Deputy Mayor Anne Levinson, Supreme Court Justices Bobbe Bridge (Ret.) and Faith Ireland (Ret.), Judges Anne Ellington, James Doerty, Mary Yu, Jean Rietschel, Kimberley Prochnau, Paris Kallas (Ret.), Janet Garrow, and Donna Tucker. See www.bernsforjudge.com for updated endorsements.

Candidate ratings:

ORGANIZATION	ELIZABETH BERNS	ROGER DAVIDHEISER	ERIC SCHMIDT
Cardozo Society	Well Qualified	*	*
Joint Asian Judicial Evaluation Committee	Well Qualified	Exceptionally Well Qualified	Well Qualified
King County Bar Association	Not Qualified	Exceptionally Well Qualified	Exceptionally Well Qualified
Latina/o Bar Ass'n of Washington	Qualified	Well Qualified	Well Qualified
Loren Miller Bar Association	*	*	Well Qualified
Municipal League of King County	Outstanding	Very Good	Very Good
Q-Law: the GLBT Bar Association of Washington	Well Qualified	*	Well Qualified
Seattle Metropolitan Elections Committee	Highly Recommended	*	Recommended
Washington Women Lawyers	No Rating	Highly Qualified	Exceptionally Well Qualified

Important note! Each of these organizations uses its own standards and rating terms when evaluating candidates; please check their pages for further information. We do not have ratings from all organizations for all candidates, and the reasons vary. Some evaluations may still be in process, or we might not have received them yet; some candidates may not have been offered an opportunity to participate, or they may have declined to participate. Again, please check the organizations' pages for further details.

Archived Version: August 7, 2012

King County Superior Court

Department 25