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Jennifer S. Divine
phone (206) 689-2497
jdivine@helsell.com

AREAS OF PRACTICE
• Employment and Labor
• Trials and Appeals
• Commercial Disputes and Class Actions
• Public Interest and Civil Rights

PROFESSIONAL AFFILIATIONS
Ms. Divine provides advice and litigates cases for individuals, businesses, non-profits and school districts in a wide range of employment matters, including employment contracts and policy manuals; severance packages and non-competition agreements; state and federal discrimination laws; disability accommodation; FMLA and other leave issues; drug-testing and employee privacy issues; harassment and misconduct investigations; wage and hour claims; and wrongful termination actions.

In addition to her extensive experience in the employment arena, Ms. Divine tries cases, and briefs and argues appeals in other areas ranging from complex commercial disputes to plaintiffs’ class actions. Ms. Divine was a key part of the ratepayer class action against Seattle City Light which resulted in a unanimous decision from the Washington Supreme Court, Okeson v. Seattle, 150 Wn. 2d 540 (2003), and ultimately led to a $25 million judgment against the City and substantial refunds to ratepayers. Ms. Divine was also a vital member of the legal team representing eight couples in Andersen v. King County, in which the King County Superior Court held Washington’s ban on marriage between same-sex couples unconstitutional.

PROFESSIONAL AFFILIATIONS
American Bar Association, Labor
and Employment Law Section
Washington State Bar Association, Employment Law Section
King County Bar Association, Employment Law Section
Pacific Coast Labor and Employment
Law Conference organizing committee
Washington Women Lawyers (former chair,
King County Judicial Evaluation Committee)
Greater Seattle Business Association (former
board member and director of Programs)
Washington Council of School Attorneys

COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT
Volunteer attorney with Northwest Women’s
Law Center and Lambda Legal Defense Fund
Hearing examiner, Seattle Civil Service Commission
Pro bono work for the King County Bar
Association Homeless and Newcomers Project
Tutoring and other volunteer work with
Seattle Public Schools
Volunteer activities with FCC-NW (Families
with Children From China)
Volunteer driver for Senior Services
Service on Board of Greentree/Little
Eagles Child Care Centers

PRESENTATIONS OR AWARDS
Ms. Divine has presented on constitutional law and employment law issues at continuing legal education seminars, and regularly speaks on employment and personnel practices matters to client groups, human resources professionals and other organizations, including the Washington Association of School Business Officers, Greater Seattle Business Association, and the Washington Schools Risk Management Pool. She also provides individualized managers and supervisors training to business clients and other employers focused on preventive counseling designed to avoid problems that lead to litigation and reduce the time and cost spent on resolving employee lawsuits.

EDUCATION
University of Chicago Law School (J.D., cum laude, 1986)
University of Toronto Faculty of Law
(Dean's List, 1983 – 1984)
Harvard University (A.B., magna cum laude, 1982)

Prior to moving to Seattle and joining Helsell Fetterman in 1993, Ms. Divine practiced with the law firm of Covington and Burling in Washington, D.C., and clerked for the Honorable Danny J. Boggs of the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit in Cincinnati, Ohio.

ADMITTED TO PRACTICE
Washington State Bar, 1993
New York State Bar, 1987
District of Columbia Bar, 1988
Admitted before the United States District Court for the Western District of Washington and the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals.

PERSONAL
Ms. Divine enjoys relaxing with family and friends, reading, cooking, hiking, yoga and gardening, plays and movies, Chinese culture and literature. She is currently studying Mandarin, and organizes monthly meetings of an adoptive parents’ group. She is a black belt in Tae Kwon Do.