Phil A Olbrechts

I have worked with Mr. Olbrechts as a colleague for the past 8 years. Mr. Olbrechts is, foremost, an ethical and hard working attorney. He is very professional and is amongst the most knowledeable land use attorneys in the state of Washington. Mr. Olbrechts is fair and works hard to ensure that every... party has an opportunity to be heard. His work is of high quality and defensible. His rates are reasoanble, particularly in light of his experience. In working with Mr. Olbrechts both in the capacity of City Attorney and in his role as a Hearing Examiner for various cities, I have always been impressed with Mr. Olbrechts attention to detail, easily understandable and well written documents and decisions, and his accessible personality. Mr. Olbrechts truly cares about his clients - the staff, the electeds, the lay bodies and the citizens they represent. Smaller cities can often be difficult places to work because of entrenched idiologies or politics or simply because of a lack of experience with development. Despite the often persistent pressure to acquiesce to a large developer, a grandstander or an agenda, Mr. Olbrechts brings a personal commitment to providing fair, balanced, legally defensible decisions that meet both the intent and the spirit of the law.

Mr. Olbrechts would not return my phone calls, he would not perform the work as directected. He was very adept at billing, however. Absolutely incredible. He accomplished virtually nothing up until the time he left his position at Ogden Murphy Wallace Law Firm. He is not the type of lawyer I would ev...er use again. Clients beware.

Phil Olbrechts is the best land use attorney in Washington State. I have never met anyone so knowledgeable in the land use area. He is also pragmatic and uses common sense to come to workable solutions. He is personable and highly respected. Whether representing a municipality, a private client, ...or acting as a hearing examiner, Phil is smart, responsive, timely and thorough.

I am a current client of Phil Olbrechts, but I am also an attorney. Phil’s work on my case has been of the finest quality. Phil has generated thorough, well-researched and beautifully written briefs. I attended a motion hearing which Phil argued and as a litigator, I was impressed by Phil’s level ...of preparation and the quality of his presentation. I would unhesitatingly characterize Phil as “brilliant”. The overall management of my case has been excellent. Phil has developed a long term strategy which he has clearly articulated to me, and as the case progresses, it is evident that his reasoning has been sound. He has also done a great job of keeping me apprised regarding the day-to-day details of my case. I particularly appreciate the clarity of Phil’s vision and advice. Moreover, Phil has been available whenever I have had questions. Considering the quality of the representation I have received, Phil’s fees have been more than reasonable. Last, but not least, Phil has been kind and supportive throughout my case. I would highly recommend Phil Olbrechts for any matter which he would be willing to undertake.

Phil Olbrechts would not respond in a timely manner, nor would Phil communicate with the other side as requested. Phil spent his time doing unnecessary and unauthorized research and giving premature advice (we wanted response from the other side first, which he ignored). Something definitely missin...g there. Seemed too full of himself and not very user friendly.