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Rita L. Bender

1.0
4 reviews
Rating: 9.4

Licensed for 49 years

Family Lawyer at Seattle, WA
Practice Areas: Family, Adoption, Health Care, Ethics & Professional Responsibility

P.S. Rainier Tower, 1301 5th Avenue Suite 3401, Seattle, WA

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Overview Reviews Experience
Overview Reviews Experience

About Rita

Practice Areas

4

Practice Areas

Family 50%

50%
Adoption 20%

20%
Health Care 20%

20%
Ethics and Professional Responsibility 10%

10%

Fees and Rates

We have not found any cost information for this lawyer

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Licenses

Licensed in Washington for 49 years

State: Washington

Acquired: 1976

Voluntarily Resigned

No misconduct found

Location

Skellenger Bender, A Professional Service Corporation

P.S. Rainier Tower, 1301 5th Avenue Suite 3401, Seattle, WA, 98101-2630

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Rita L. Bender's Reviews

Avvo Review Score

1.0 /5.0

4 Client Reviews

Filter Avvo Reviews (4) Refine reviews to match your needs. Use the filters to quickly surface reviews that align with your case or priorities.
Star rating
5 stars 0
4 stars 0
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2 stars 0
1 star 4
Practice Areas
Divorce & Separation (3) Child Custody (1) Child Support (1) Family (1) Litigation (1) Mediation (1)
What Clients Mention
Advocacy (2) Case Results (2) Cost of Services (2) Professionalism (2) Character & Conduct (1) Recommendation (1)

Showing 1 - 1 of 1 review | Recommendation

Posted by Jeff | August 01, 2013 | Divorce & Separation

divorce client

My dissolution was very contentious. My spouse's attorney, Gordon Wilcox, made any expeditious and fair result impossible to achieve. Given this, Rita did attempt to keep things focused, professional, and moving toward resolution, but ultimately she was not up to the task. From the first, I neve...r felt she believed my story. In court with her (a hearing) she was disorganized, unprepared with my case and very ineffective at defending me against opposing counsel's accusations. I became very fearful of what would happen if my case actually proceeded to trial. She also seemed out-witted by Wilcox, who seemed to control the flow of events in such a way that she was surprised or at least not thinking ahead of the game. At one point, she actually blamed me for the time-crunch we were in, even though she had known for months about certain delays and had done nothing to maneuver for more time to prepare. Admittedly, our personalities clashed, but this was unprofessional! In the end, we came so close to the trial date (thanks to Wilcox) that mediation ended up being a forced, one-day affair and I accepted an agreement that I don't believe was fair. After paying more than $100,000, I still have things to fix, but I will be searching for another attorney for help.

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Rita L. Bender's Lawyer Endorsements

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Experience

Rating:  9.4 (Superb)

Honors

2011

50 Top Women Lawyers in Washington State, Washington Law & Politics Magazine

2011

Super Lawyer, Washington Law & Politics Magazine

2010

Super Lawyer, Washington Law & Politics Magazine

2009

Super Lawyer, Washington Law & Politics Magazine

2009

Super Lawyer, Washington Law & Politics Magazine

2009

Top 50 Women Lawyers in Washington, Super Lawyers, WA

2008

Super Lawyer, Washington Law & Politics Magazine

2008

50 top women attorneys in Washington, Washington Super Lawyers

2007

Super Lawyer, Washington Law & Politics Magazine

2006

Super Lawyer, Washington Law & Politics Magazine

2006

50 Top Women Lawyers in Washington State, Washington Super Lawyers

2005

Super Lawyer, Washington Law & Politics Magazine

2004

Super Lawyer, Washington Law & Politics Magazine

2003

50 Top Women Lawyers in Washington State, Washington Super Lawyers

2003

Super Lawyer, Washington Law & Politics Magazine

2002

Super Lawyer, Washington Law & Politics Magazine

2001

Super Lawyer, WA Law and Politics

1986

AV Rated, Martindale-Hubbell

Work Experience

1990 - Present

Attorney/Shareholder, Skellenger Bender, P.S.

2009 - 2010

Visiting Professor, University of Mississippi

1982 - 1990

Attorney, Law Office of Rita L. Bender

1976 - 1982

Regional Director, Legal Services Corporation

1975 - 1976

Attorney, Defender Association

1972 - 1975

Lecturer in Law, Rutgers Law School

1968 - 1972

Deputy Public Defender, N.J. Public Defender

Associations

2009 - Present

American Association of Assisted Reproduction Law

Fellow

1990 - Present

American Academy of Adoption Attorneys

Fellow

Association of Professional Responsibility Lawyers

Member

2002 - 2008

Washington Practice of Law Board

Board Member WA Supreme Court Appointee

1996 - 1997

ABA Commission on Homelessness and Poverty

Commission Member

1982 - 1988

Legal Foundation of Washington

Bd of Trustees, appointed by WA State Bar Ass., President 1987

Education

1968

Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey School of Law - Newark

JD - Juris Doctor

1964

City University of New York, Queens College

BA - Bachelor of Arts

Speaking Engagements

2010

Adoption Law in Washington

Assisted Reproduction and the Domestic Partnership Act

2008

Top Lawyers

Weaving Core Values into the Practice of Law

2008

Adoption Law in Washington

Assisted Reproductive Technology and the Uniform Parentage Act

2006

Symposium

Race, Poverty, and War

2006

Legal Ethics

Ethical Perplexities

Publications

2008

Souls-A Critical Journal of Black Politics, Columbia University Searching for Restorative Justice

2003

Appleton & Lange "Medical Legal Issues" in Primary Care of Women

1993

Washington Civil Practice Deskbook Adoption

1989

Washington Methods of Practice Adoption Practice
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