GRIFFITH F. FLAHERTY, Partner
Griff Flaherty focuses on transactions, litigation and alternative dispute resolution in the following areas:
- Business formation and dissolution
- Commercial transactions
- Commercial and residential real estate, including leases
- Construction, including liens
- Contract disputes
Griff has been with the firm (formerly Seligmann, Dreiling
and Beckermann) since 1987. He started as an intern while still in law school,
eventually becoming a partner. His practice is divided evenly
between litigation and transactional work. He represents individuals and small
businesses in drafting documents as well as avoiding and resolving disputes over
commercial transactions, construction projects, real estate transactions,
easements and business dissolutions. He has substantial experience litigating
disputes through trial, as well as resolving disputes through alternative
dispute resolution processes, such as mediation and arbitration. He served for
ten years as an arbitrator for the King County Superior Court Mandatory
Arbitration system.
Personal
Griff Flaherty grew up in Corvallis, Oregon where his father was a math professor at Oregon State University. As a child, Griff travelled extensively while his father was on sabbatical. He spent third grade attending school in Germany and later lived in Cambridge, England for a semester with his family. He returned to England during college to study abroad at the London School of Economics.Griff moved to Seattle in 1985 to attend the University of Washington Law School where he and his wife Lovie Bernardi were in the same graduating class. Griff loves to travel and he and Lovie have been fortunate to travel together to places like Brazil, Guatemala and Turkey.
Education
Bachelor of Arts, Cum Laude – Pomona College
Bar Memberships
Washington State Bar Association
Construction Law Section
Education
Bachelor of
Arts, Cum Laude, Pomona College, 1985
Juris Doctorate,
University of Washington, 1988
Bar Memberships
Washington State Bar Association
Construction Law Section
LOVIE L. BERNARDI, Partner
Practice
Lovie Bernardi focuses her practice on estate planning and probate. In 2009, Lovie became office manager of the firm after taking a break from the practice of law to raise her son. In 2011, Gene Seligmann, one of the firm’s partners, began winding down his practice and asked Lovie assist him in his estate planning and probate practice. Lovie took over Gene’s practice as of January 1, 2016.Early in her legal career, Lovie worked for several years as a public defender, representing criminal defendants in district and superior court. She also worked as an appellate attorney, and argued appeals before the Washington State Court of Appeals, Division One, and the Washington State Supreme Court.
Personal
Lovie Bernardi grew up in the Pacific Northwest. She spent her early elementary school years in Juneau, Alaska before moving to the Seattle area in 1971. She graduated from Monroe High School in Monroe, Washington. Throughout college, she worked a local fashion retail store, Jay Jacobs, and eventually became a store manager. In law school, she met her future husband and law partner, Griff Flaherty.Lovie has served in leadership positions in her community: School Commission President of St. Benedict Catholic School, Chair of St. Benedict Church Pastoral Council, Chair of St. Benedict School’s Five Year Strategic Plan and president of her neighborhood’s homeowner’s association.
Lovie shares a love for fitness with her husband Griff and their son, Finn. She also loves to cook and has taken numerous classes at a local cooking school. Travel is another passion; she and Griff most recently returned from a trip to Turkey. She managed to combine her love of cooking and travel by taking a cooking class while in Istanbul.
Education
Juris Doctor - University of Washington School of Law
Bar Memberships
Real Property Probate and Trust Section
King County Bar Association
Real Property Probate and Trust Section