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Sarah E. Derry

Admissions

  • Washington State Bar
  • U.S. District Court, W.D. Washington
  • U.S. District Court, E.D. Washington
  • Alaska State Bar
  • U.S. District Court, District of Alaska
  • U.S. Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit

Education

  • J.D., University of Washington School of Law
  • B.A., Economics, Scripps College, summa cum laude

Professional & Civic Engagement

  • WSBA Civil Rights Section Executive Committee; former Chair (2018-2019)
  • Member, Washington Employment Lawyers Association
  • Member, AFL-CIO Union Lawyers Alliance
  • Selected to Rising Stars by Super Lawyers 2019-2024
Bio

Sarah E. Derry joined the firm in March 2018. She represents public- and private-sector union clients in all aspects of litigation in court, arbitrations, and administrative proceedings. Sarah has experience representing workers in a variety of industries.

Sarah has represented unions since 2015. She has extensive experience litigating unfair labor practice cases for unions across Washington State before the Public Employment Relations Commission (PERC) and the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) and representing unions at grievance arbitrations. She also successfully defended unions against duty of fair representation claims. Sarah is an active member of the Washington State Bar, serving as the Civil Rights Section Chair for 2018-2019.

Sarah earned her J.D. from the University of Washington School of Law, where she graduated in the top 5% of her class. During law school, Sarah was involved with the Law Women's Caucus and the Street Law clinic. She interned with the Unemployment Law Project and in the Yakima County Prosecuting Attorney's Office. She earned her B.A. in Economics from Scripps College, graduating summa cum laude. After earning her J.D., Sarah clerked for Justice Winfree of the Alaska Supreme Court.

Representative Work:

  • Liang et al. v. Wash. Dept. of Soc. & Health Servs., No. 20-2-02506-34 (Thurston Cty. Super. Ct.); SEIU 775 v. Wash. Dep’t of Soc. & Health Servs., No. 97216-8 (Wash. Supreme Ct.); SEIU 775 v. Wash. Dept. of Soc. & Health Servs., No. 99659-8 (Wash. Supreme Ct.): Associate attorney in multi-year litigation that resulted in a $116 million class settlement on behalf of nearly 56,000 caregivers who provided personal care services to clients whose paid care hours were reduced by DSHS because of DSHS’s “shared benefit” rules and a settlement that ended administrative “shared benefit” rules that, according to home care workers and their union, shortchanged caregiver wages.