Event Details

South Puget Sound Member Appreciation Event

Pre-Register HERE for FREE Admission (for SPS SHRM Members)!

For our member appreciation event this year we are excited to have with us attorneys Bill Coats, Dan Montopoli, and Andy Saller from Vandeburg Johnson & Gandara, LLP.  Our program will focus on:

Dan Montopoli        
Social Media and Employees

Dan’s practice primarily involves representing school districts, as well as local and regional businesses in disputes involving commercial law, employment law, and real estate. An avid computer user for over 30 years, he is a member of his firm’s Technology Committee. For several years, Dan has been an Instructor of School Law for the education programs at the University of Washington at Tacoma and Pacific Lutheran University. Since 2015, Dan has served as a board member on the Tacoma Community Redevelopment Authority. He received his law degree from the University of Washington, where he was Managing Editor of the Law Review. Dan received his undergraduate degree from New York University, where he won an Academy Award for Best Student Documentary. Prior to attending law school, he was a writer, editor, and filmmaker in New York City, producing numerous books and films on medical and psychiatric issues.

Bill Coats                 
What Happened in Schools This Fall and the Impact of Janus v. AFSCME

Bill has represented school districts throughout the State of Washington for over 40 years.  He has also represented a number of other private and public entities, primarily on labor and personnel issues.  He is a graduate of the University of Washington Law School and is currently an adjunct professor at the University of Washington at Tacoma and Pacific Lutheran University.
 

Andy Saller
Paid Family Leave and Other Recent Legislative Changes

 Andy has been practicing law for more than 35 years.  He graduated from the University of Puget Sound School of Law, cum laude, in 1982, and then served as an Assistant Attorney General for the State of Washington in the Labor Industries and Tort Claims Division.  Andy has been in private practice since 1987 with VJG and one of its predecessor firms.  His practice is focused primarily on employment matters and civil litigation for both public and private sector clients.  On a daily basis, he provides employment advice on such matters as the Americans with Disabilities Act, Section 504, the Family and Medical Leave Act, and the Washington Law Against Discrimination and has handled numerous employment discrimination lawsuits on behalf of employers.

Many of Andy’s cases have involved civil rights.  Those include racial discrimination claims brought by 59 plaintiffs against Puyallup School District, First Amendment claims brought by employees of the Washington State House of Representatives against the Chief Clerk of the House and the House itself where Andy was appointed as a Special Assistant Attorney General in five separate cases, an age and gender discrimination claim against Franklin Pierce School District, and numerous similar cases against other school districts and private sector employers.