Firm Members - Cline Law Firm Attorneys at Law

James M. Cline

Jim received his B.A. with distinction in Political Science from the University of Washington in 1980, an M.A. in Political Science from UW in 1982, an M.A. in Economics from the University of Notre Dame  in 1986, and his J.D. from the University of Notre Dame Law School in 1986.

After passing the Washington State Bar, Jim served as an associate in a Seattle labor law firm and as a Deputy Prosecuting Attorney for the King County Prosecutor’s Office. Since leaving the Prosecutor’s Office in 1990, Jim has represented law enforcement labor organizations throughout the state. 

He has participated in hundreds of cases at every level of state and federal court and various administrative and arbitration tribunals. He has made over 30 appellate oral arguments between his appearances at the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, the Washington State Supreme Court and the Washington Court of Appeals.  He has been involved in the negotiation of nearly 200 labor contracts.  He has provided counsel in about 150 officer-involved shooting incidents.  He has participated in 15 Washington State interest arbitration proceedings.

Jim is a frequent speaker and the author of numerous articles and two books: The Rights of Washington Public Safety Employees: Member's Manual and  The Rights of Washington Public Safety Employees: Representative's Manual.   He is currently planning and developing a number of other public safety labor law books.

M. Katherine Kremer

Kate received her B.A. in Political Science from Fairfield University in 1983 and her J.D. from the State University of New York at Buffalo Law School in 1987.

After graduation from law school, Kate was admitted to the Pennsylvania Bar Association. She practiced several years at the Northwestern Legal Center where she was involved in a variety of civil litigation.

Kate has contributed to the Cline law practice since 1995. Kate’s responsibilities include legal research and writing, litigation and preparation of statistical analysis reports for labor negotiations and interest arbitration. She is responsible for digesting and summarizing more than a 1000 labor contracts within the Cline and Associates database. She has prepared the “Master Brief” that is the proprietary Cline and Associates brief used to develop interest arbitration arguments. She has testified a number of times about her database reports and is likely the most knowledgeable person in the state on the contents of public safety labor contracts.

Christopher J. Casillas

A 2003 graduate of the Seattle University School of Law, Chris distinguished himself academically, graduating with the high honors of Magna Cum Laude, reserved for the top students in the class. Upon graduation Chris was also nominated for the Faculty Scholar Award and was selected for the 2002-2003 Dean’s List for finishing in the top 10% of his class. Chris received his B.A. with honors in Political Science from the University of California, Santa Barbara in 2000.

Chris worked for Cline & Associates for a year as a law clerk prior to his successful passage of the 2003 Washington State Bar Exam. Prior to that, Chris was a legal intern in the Legal Department of Starbucks Coffee Company.

Currently Chris participates part time in the firm as he attends as he pursues a PhD in Government at Cornell University.Chris negotiates several labor contracts each year and is taking a lead role in the creation of the Cline and Associates proprietary Interest Arbitration case summary.  He has served as co-counsel or partisan arbitrator on several Washington interest arbitration cases.

Reba Weiss

Reba graduated from the University of California at Berkeley in 1976.   She attended the University of Oregon School Of Law, graduating in 1982. Upon graduation she became a Deputy Prosecutor for the King County Prosecutor’s Office serving as a Criminal Prosecutor until 1989.

Since 1989, using her extensive trial skills acquired as a Prosecutor, Reba has worked primarily as a trial lawyer in the labor and employment field. Her positions have included time as an associate at two of the leading employment law firms in Seattle, time as a sole practitioner and a 3 year stint in the City of Seattle’s law department.   Reba is a frequent speaker at employment law training seminars and is a recognized expert in several fields of labor law, including the Family Medical Leave Act and disability discrimination law.

Reba joined Cline & Associates in 2007. The firm heavily relies upon Reba’s recognized employment law expertise and her trial skills. Reba takes a lead role in much of the firm’s discipline representation and other litigation.

Shawn Siers

Shawn Siers is a Senior Paralegal for Cline and Associates. She has an extensive background as a law firm paralegal. Prior to joining Cline & Associates, Shawn worked as a paralegal for nine years, mostly in employment law, and has extensive in-trial and trial consulting experience. Shawn has also has served as a Consultant and Trainer in special litigation software, including Concordance, Summation and CaseMap Shawn is the former Assistant Director for the Seattle Chapter of Women in E-Discovery.

At Cline and Associates, Shawn performs a lead support role in preparing complex litigation or arbitration cases. Her paralegal duties include case organization and witness interviews. Shawn has been trained in Reid interrogation techniques which she uses in her case preparation duties. Shawn also serves as Office Manager.

Susan Burnett

Susan is a Senior Legal Assistant. She is responsible for day to day case management for the firm. Susan also publishes the firm’s newsletter and manages the website, including the Premium Content Materials. 

 Susan arrived at Cline and Associates in 2009 with a wealth of experience.  She has worked as a legal secretary and paralegal since 1982 after graduation from the Highline Community College Legal Secretary program. In addition to legal experience, Susan has acquired office management experience while managing the office of her family’s general contracting business.

Darrah Hinton

� Darrah is a Senior Office Assistant. Darrah is currently a junior at Seattle University where she is an English major, preparing to go to law school. As a Resident Assistant at Seattle University, Darrah has distinguished herself for her organizational and leadership skills. Darrah was a 2009 winner of the Seattle University Leadership Award. Darrah has lived in Seattle for three years and is originally from Anchorage, Alaska.

Darrah assists primarily with the development of premium content for the firm’s database. Additionally, she is responsible for special projects as needed and assists with office management and complex litigation tasks.