TRUSS FABER - Key Persons
Andre brings to Truss Faber almost two decades of complex civil litigation experience that he acquired while working at a number of preeminent, nationally recognized litigation law firms, such Susman Godfrey LLP and Byrnes Keller & Cromwell LLP. Andre is a seasoned litigator who has been engaged in the private practice of law since 2004. Most of the cases Andre has worked on involved millions of dollars in claimed damages. Throughout his litigation career, Andre has represented a substantial number of companies engaged in the construction industry. Andre is a zealous and business-savvy advocate who always strives to resolve his clients' legal problems in a cost-effective manner and is keenly aware of the clients' business goals.
Experience
Andre Egle has represented large companies, small businesses, and individuals in federal and state court cases that involved claims for breach of a variety of commercial contracts; violation of federal antitrust statutes and Washington state's Consumer Protection Act; misappropriation of trade secrets; insurance coverage and bad faith; legal and medical malpractice; employment discrimination and violation of wage and hour laws; defective construction; municipal liability; breach of real estate purchase and sale agreements; various business torts; and personal injury.
Throughout his litigation career, Andre has represented a substantial number of companies engaged in the construction industry. Andre has assisted various builders, developers, general contractors, and contractors specializing in certain trades to prevail in disputes involving complex insurance coverage issues, issues of breach of contract and failure to pay for completed construction work, as well as claims for defective construction, wage and hour violations, and serious construction site injuries. In addition, Andre has helped the owner and operator of a landfill gas processing plant located in Maple Valley, Washington to prevail in an insurance coverage dispute with its property insurer and recover more than $10 million in compensation for the damage to the plant caused by the accidental failure of the plant's components. Andre is a zealous and business-savvy advocate who always strives to resolve his clients' legal problems in a cost-effective manner and is keenly aware of the clients' business goals.
Andre graduated with High Honors from the University of Washington School of Law, where he served as an Articles Editor on Washington Law Review and was a member of the Moot Court Honor Board. Upon his graduation from law school, Andre was awarded memberships in the Order of the Coif and the Order of Barristers. Prior to engaging in the private practice of law, Andre served as a term judicial law clerk to the Honorable John C. Coughenour, a U.S. District Judge for the Western District of Washington.
Andre is a long-time resident of the Greater Seattle area and a member of the Washington State Bar. In addition, Andre is admitted to practice in the federal district courts for the Western and Eastern Districts of Washington and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.
DALE MARTIN, PS (formerly Barokas Martin & Tomlinson) Alaska Office, Remote, ANCHORAGE, AK | January 2018 - October 2022
Job Titles:
- Certified Paralegal
- Senior Litigation Paralegal
Emily, an ABA certified paralegal, brings extensive industry knowledge through her unique background in the oil and gas industry. Emily has vast experience in drafting, negotiating, and finalizing supplier and vendor related agreements. She has firsthand experience in case management of construction litigation, and she has significant trial experience in numerous high-profile suits involving professional liability, construction delay, construction defects, and bid protests in both state and federal courts around the United States.
Holly Theiss brings over two decades of excellent client service and legal experience, working as an administrator, paralegal and legal assistant for some of the top law firms in the Puget Sound area. Holly oversees all business operations for Truss Faber, in addition to managing the firm's legal team. Her extensive experience with construction and manufacturing legal matters positions Holly as a highly valued resource and a thoughtful and intelligent leader at Truss Faber.
Holly went to University of Wisconsin Eau Claire in Eau Claire, Wisconsin and continued her education at Central Washington University, studying criminal justice/psychology. Most recently, she attended Edmonds Community College for its paralegal associate degree program.
Job Titles:
- Founding Partner
- Legal Expertise of a Partner
John Theiss brings the legal expertise of a partner at a large firm paired with the first-hand industry experience running an international construction business. He has been a client himself and understands the CEO's perspective. He founded Truss Faber because he is passionate about providing smart, practical legal solutions to the construction and manufacturing industries.
John earned his B.A. in Economics and Mathematics from Middlebury College in Vermont in 1988 and his J.D. from DePaul University College of Law in Chicago in 1992. Driven by his interest in the construction industry, he completed his Master's in Construction Management from the University of Washington in Seattle in 1996. He is licensed to practice law in Illinois and Washington. John is also the new Co-Regional Director for the Seattle Region for Society of Construction Law North America.
"I love working for construction and manufacturing clients because it gives me the opportunity to contribute to large-scale projects and lasting end results. Every time I go through the Beacon Hill Tunnel in Seattle, I point it out to my kids because I am proud to have supported the team that built it. This work is important, and I feel privileged every day to partner with clients to build the future and help our society thrive and grow."
Kevin Fowler is an experienced and skilled litigator who has successfully navigated his clients' best interests in the areas of government contracts, construction litigation, commercial real estate lease disputes, breach of contract, Eighth/Fourteenth Amendment federal rights defense and personal injury. He has effectively represented general contractors, owners and subcontractors in every phase of a construction project. He has experience with both bench and jury trials, hearings, arbitrations, and mediations, having appeared in state and federal courts and U.S. Government Boards of Contract Appeals.
Experience
Prior to joining Truss Faber, Kevin spent 10 of his previous 13 years working in a complex construction litigation practice. During that time, Kevin gained invaluable experience working with clients on all types of construction cases, lien claims, surety bond claims, breach of contract disputes, termination issues, Equal Access to Justice Act applications and Little Davis Bacon Act payment issues.
One government contract case that Kevin litigated as "second-chair" involved a harbor built in the Aleutian Islands at False Pass, Alaska that culminated in a four-week bench trial in front of the Armed Services Board of Contract Appeals ("ASBCA"). From submission of the certified claim through motions practice, depositions, negotiations and trial, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers ("USACE") was steadfast that the government had not breached the contract and was unwavering in its belief that the contractor may recover neither cost overruns incurred due to the government's bad-faith administration of the contract nor the cost of funds borrowed to complete the project. After the bench trial, the three-member panel unanimously awarded Kevin's client a $30 million judgment against USACE (approximately $21 million in damages and $9 million in interest). The case (Kelly-Ryan, Inc., ASBCA No. 57168 (2017)) was later described by the American Bar Association Forum on Construction Law as "so significant" and "a huge milestone for government contractors." See Meredith R. Philipp, A Turning Point: The Award of Damages For the Government's Breach of the Duty of Good Faith and Fair Dealing, Vol. 4, Issue 4 ABA Gov't. Constr. Div. 13 at p. 8-9 (Jan. 2018). The case has been cited for the proposition that an unilateral contract change by the government can support recovery of damages for the government's breach of the duty of good faith and fair dealing and the contractor is not simply limited to recovery under the "Changes" clause of the contract.
During the three-year stint where he was not working in construction law, Kevin worked with an insurance defense firm in Albuquerque, New Mexico from 2015 to 2018, while his wife completed a medical residency at the University of New Mexico Hospital. During that time, Kevin defended doctors and nurses against federal claims asserted by prisoners for alleged "deliberately indifferent" violations of Eighth/Fourteenth Amendment constitutional rights. He successfully "first-chaired" numerous depositions, drafted motions in limine, motions to dismiss, motions for summary judgment and attended hearings, mediations and arbitrations.
Suzanne Garner brings extensive experience in international law and governance as a consulting attorney to Truss Faber, drawing on more than 15 years of federal and private practice. Suzanne enhances the firm's services with her deep expertise in government, international trade policy and disputes. She advises on domestic and international regulation, compliance and dispute resolution, leveraging her work in cross-border commercial policy and arbitrations involving procurement processes, municipal contracts and measures affecting import and export. Suzanne prides herself in delivering efficient, effective, common-sense solutions. Most importantly, she is driven by her passion to create value that helps advance her clients' businesses. Her approach focuses on using each client's business objectives to guide the advice, work and results she delivers.
Before launching a business as a solo practitioner and consultant, Suzanne practiced in Washington, D.C., in the global compliance group of a leading international law firm, followed by serving as an associate general counsel for the United States Trade Representative for seven and a half years, spanning two presidential administrations. Suzanne has taught at the University of Southern California Gould School of Law, advised for the UN Conference for Trade and Development and participated as a presenter at numerous academic conferences. She earned her J.D. from Boston College Law School in 2006 and is barred to practice in Washington State, California and Washington, D.C.