GordonDerr LLP is a preeminent Pacific Northwest law firm concentrating in Real Estate, Land Use, Environmental, Water Law, and Civil Litigation.  An intentional focus on both the pricate and public sectors provides a unique perspective that benefits a diverse clientele throughout the Region.  Land Matters.

  • Spotlight

    Washington Supreme Court Victory!

    On December 15, 2011, the Washington Supreme Court affirmed the right of GordonDerr's client, JZ Knight, to challenge five large residential subdivisions in the City of Yelm based on legally erroneous conditions of approval regarding the availability of water to serve the proposed developments. The Supreme Court agreed that Knight had established that the City's preliminary plat approvals were likely to prejudice her senior water rights.

    The Court not only agreed that Knight had the right to challenge the City of Yelm's approval of these subdivisions, it agreed that the City had failed to meet the water availability requirements of state law.

    The Court cited evidence presented by Knight's consultants and the Department of Ecology that Yelm had been exceeding its water rights since 2001 and described the City's evidence of water supply for these subdivisions as "conjectural."

    The Court reinstated the decision of Thurston County Superior Court Judge Chris Wickham which reversed the City's approval of the five plats and remanded the matter to the City with directions to modify the subdivision approvals to conform to the water availability requirements of state law.

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  • Spotlight

    GordonDerr Combines Practices with Van Ness Feldman



    GordonDerr is excited to announce that the firm is combining with Van Ness Feldman, a nationally and regionally recognized energy, environment, transportation and natural resources law and public policy firm with offices in Seattle and Washington, DC. The combined firm will help a broad, national range of clients to successfully navigate the next generation of real estate, land use, natural resource, energy, infrastructure, and sustainable development projects.

     

    Jay Derr, GordonDerr's Managing Partner, will lead the combined firm's Seattle office.

     

    "Our clients and prospective clients – be they developers, investors, municipalities, port authorities, special use districts, or other entities – will benefit from Van Ness Feldman's substantive expertise and its prominent position with policymakers and regulators in Washington, DC."

     

    Press Release

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