Karen A. Willie

Karen Willie is a member of Terrell Marshall Daudt & Willie PLLC (“TMDW”), a Seattle law firm. After managing her own law firm for fourteen years, she merged with TMDW in 2011. Ms. Willie concentrates her practice in water law, including landslides, floods, dams, drainage problems, riparian rights, sewage back-ups, wetlands, developments and storm water. Ms. Willie has represented both plaintiffs and defendants, including private owners, neighborhood groups, homeowners’ associations, municipalities, private and public corporations, and developers. She has successfully tried cases and obtained favorable and precedential appellate decisions, including two seminal water law opinions from the Washington State Supreme Court.

Before starting her own firm she was a partner for six years at Smith, Smart, Tabler, Hancock and Schwensen which was a small real estate and banking firm in Seattle. Prior to entering private practice, Ms. Willie was a deputy prosecuting attorney for King County. While at King County, she was a criminal prosecutor and trial attorney in the Special Assault Unit. She moved to the Civil Division and advised the Surface Water Management Division and defended its cases. She was instrumental in the development of a Surface Water Design Manual that was adopted by the state and eventually adopted by most of the counties and cities in Washington.

Also a trained Mediator, Ms. Willie understands the technical side of disputes and conflicts. Prior to entering law school, Ms. Willie obtained a degree from Antioch University with a specialty in clinical psychology. She was a therapist for ten years and was Chief of Staff at a non-profit, residential treatment center in New York City for heroin addicts. Ms. Willie brings the skills from her prior career to her general law practice and mediation practice. She has completed a forty-hour certification course, the Alhadeff basic and advanced mediator course in Seattle and the Advanced Attorney Mediator training in Dallas, Texas.

Ms. Willie is a frequent speaker at CLEs on water law topics, including surface water, riparian rights, landslides, wetlands, rockeries and lateral support. She has been repeatedly recognized by Washington Law & Politics magazine as a “Super Lawyer.” Ms. Willie has been fondly known as the “Water Witch” since her time at King County.

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