Tiffany M. Cartwright

Tiffany is dedicated to helping her clients stand up for their rights against powerful institutions, whether a corporation, a police department, or a prosecutor.

Since joining MacDonald Hoague & Bayless in 2014, she has focused on civil rights and employment litigation, with an emphasis on cases involving police misconduct, gender discrimination, and sexual harassment.

Tiffany is a strong believer in the power of preparation and is committed to knowing the facts of her cases inside and out. Her clients appreciate her attention to detail and ability to translate complicated cases into compelling legal arguments.  She is a passionate written and oral advocate for her clients at all stages of a case, whether in pre-trial settlement negotiations, at trial, or on appeal.

Tiffany graduated from Stanford Law School in 2010, where she was a member of the Stanford Supreme Court Litigation Clinic, gaining a wide range of appellate experience writing petitions for review, merits briefs, and amicus briefs filed in the United States Supreme Court. During law school, Tiffany also worked at the Federal Public Defender’s office in Seattle and at the United States Department of Justice Public Integrity Unit, which prosecutes public corruption cases.

After law school, Tiffany served as a judicial clerk to the Honorable Betty Binns Fletcher of the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals and the Honorable Dana Fabe of the Alaska Supreme Court. Prior to joining MacDonald Hoague and Bayless, Tiffany was a litigation associate at Jenner & Block in Chicago, where she litigated a variety of cases at the state and federal level and maintained an active pro bono practice focusing on death penalty appeals.  She was a member of the trial team for two multi-week federal jury trials that resulted in complete verdicts for Jenner's clients, and she was the co-author of an important amicus brief relied on by the United States Supreme Court in Hall v. Florida, which held that Florida’s definition of intellectual disability in death penalty cases violated the Eighth Amendment’s ban on cruel and unusual punishment.

Tiffany joined MacDonald Hoague & Bayless in 2014 and has been a partner since 2018. She has tried cases in state and federal court, argued twice before the Washington Supreme Court, and served as lead counsel in numerous state and federal employment and civil rights matters. As an associate in 2017 she delivered the opening statements on behalf of the family of Leonard Thomas in Thomas v. Cannon, a police shooting case that resulted in a $15 million plaintiff's jury verdict, one of the largest civil rights verdicts in Washington state history. Since then she has served as lead or co-lead counsel in complex federal civil rights cases including Dunlap v. King County, which resulted in a $2.25 million settlement for the family of a teenager shot in the back by King County Sheriff's deputies, and West v. City of Montesano, which resulted in a $3 million settlement for the family of a man shot in his home while experiencing a mental health crisis.

Tiffany also frequently represents employees experiencing sexual harassment and gender, pregnancy, or disability discrimination, whether in severance negotiations, confidential pre-litigation settlements, or litigation in state and federal court. Her employment clients range from restaurant and health-care staff to sheetmetal workers and prison guards to video game artists and corporate managers, and she is committed to ensuring her clients' rights are respected regardless of how much money they were paid or their power in the workplace.

Tiffany believes in devoting substantial time to professional and civic involvement as well as the practice of law. She has advocated for women's rights by serving on the Board of Directors for Legal Voice, worked to improve civil practice in the Western District of Washington by serving on the Local Rules Committee of the WDWA Federal Bar Association, and written pro bono amicus briefs on behalf of the Washington Employment Lawyers Association and Legal Voice. From 2019 - 2021, she served as pro bono Washington state counsel in Aguilar v. Yakima County, the first case litigated under the Washington Voting Rights Act, which resulted in a historic settlement on the eve of trial in which Yakima County agreed to adopt a new system for electing County Commissioners and redraw district boundaries to provide Latino voters with equal opportunity to elect candidates of their choice.

In her free time, Tiffany enjoys being outdoors with her family gardening, hiking, and watching for birds.  She was raised in Kitsap County and is a proud graduate of Central Kitsap High School.

Tiffany has been recognized by Super Lawyers as a "Rising Star" in Washington for 2019, 2020, and 2021.

Results

A sample of Tiffany’s achievements include:

• A $15 million federal jury verdict for the family of an unarmed Black man killed by a SWAT sniper while he held his four-year-old son in his arms.
• A $2.25 million settlement for the family of a Black teenager shot in the back by police.
• A $3 million settlement for the family of a man shot by police in his own home while experiencing a mental health crisis.
• A voting rights settlement requiring Yakima County to adopt a single-member district general election system for electing County Commissioners and redraw district boundaries to create a majority-minority Latino district.
• A $549,000 federal jury verdict for a prisoner who was denied pain medication for multiple sclerosis.

News Coverage

The Seattle Times, "Jury awards more than $15m to family of unarmed black man killed by SWAT sniper in Fife"

Crosscut, "After $15m verdict, a Q&A about police shootings"

The Seattle Times, "King County agrees to $2.25M settlement with family of teen killed in misguided sheriff's sting operation"

The Yakima Herald-Republic, "Judge OKs new map, rules in Yakima County voting rights settlement"

The Seattle Times, "Washington prison inmate awarded $549,000 after he's denied pain medication for multiple sclerosis"

Professional and Civic Involvement

• Legal Voice - Past Treasurer and Member, Board of Directors, 2018 - 2022
  
• Federal Bar Association for the Western District of Washington – Member, Local Rules Committee
• Washington State Association for Justice, Eagle Member
• Washington Employment Lawyers Association
• Washington Bar Association
  

Education

• BA Political Science, with distinction, Stanford University (2007)

• JD Stanford Law School (2010)

Honors and Awards

• Super Lawyers "Rising Star," 2019, 2020, 2021