James Oswald is of counsel to the firm. He is a graduate of the UC Berkeley School of Law, where he was on the staff of the California Labor & Employment Law Quarterly (1976-77). Over the past two decades, his practice has been devoted exclusively to the areas of employee benefits and campaign finance. His employee benefits work includes representing labor trustees on Taft Hartley Trust Funds, representing employees who have been denied employee benefits, and class action litigation on behalf of employees. His campaign finance work includes representing labor organizations before the Washington Public Disclosure Commission and consulting with organizations regarding campaign finance compliance. He regularly conducts trainings for labor representatives regarding campaign finance issues.

Representative Work

• Navlet, et al v. Port of Seattle 164 Wash.2d 818 (2008) (Class action establishing right of Port of Seattle retirees to receive retiree medical benefits despite provision in plan stating that benefit could be eliminated).
• Serres v. Washington Dept. of Retirement Systems 163 Wash. App.2d 569 (2011), rev. denied, 173 Wash.2d 1014 (2012) (Class action requiring that back pay awarded in equal pay lawsuit be included in computation of pension benefits).

• State ex rel Evergreen Freedom Foundation v. Washington Educ. Ass'n 140 Wash.2d 615 (2000) (Submitted brief on behalf of Washington State Labor Council in support of successful argument that labor organizations may use dues receipts to fund political contributions without obtaining annual written consent from members).