About Lisa Wogan
Articles written by Lisa Wogan
Mix Masters
In appellate law and jazz, Ken Masters lives up to his nameOne morning in the late 1990s, Ken Masters found himself in a Muzak-filled elevator in Los Angeles, on his way to a settlement meeting. He was representing ZZ Top in a lawsuit against Chrysler Corp., which had used the song “La Grange” for promotional purposes. Chrysler had argued that the riff was similar to the work of earlier artists and therefore not protected by copyright. Masters and then-boss Charlie Wiggins (now a state Supreme Court justice) secured a partial summary judgment in …
Righting Wrongs and Keeping Things Simple
Darrell Cochran has taken on the state of Washington, an insurance powerhouse and Apple with his special brand of ‘inefficiency’Darrell Cochran paces in front of an empty jury box in Courtroom 315 at the Pierce County Courthouse on a drizzly February morning. His auburn hair and goatee are close-cropped; his complexion bright. He seems younger than his 49 years. Whispering to himself, he stretches his neck from side to side, like an athlete eager for the bell. Once the jury is seated, Cochran dives straight into his opening for the case against the Washington State Department of Social and Health Services. Using a …
‘If I’ve Helped Some People Along the Way, That’s Enough’
An oral history of practicing law in the days when Dictaphones were cutting-edge, women in the office were secretaries, and attorneys worked for as little as $275 a monthSix legal lions who cut their teeth in the tumultuous ’50s and ’60s talked with us about forging partnerships in the transformative ’70s and building celebrated careers over the decades. They reflected on what’s been lost (collegiality, community, a sense of mission) and what’s taken its place (increased complexity, competition, focus on the bottom line). And on how, despite these changes, they are eager to go to work every morning. Some were born to the profession; others …
Over the Horizon
Starbucks' Paula Boggs isn't intimidated by 1,200-ft. drops, military brass or sitting presidentsIn jump school at Fort Benning, Ga., future paratroopers learn that plenty can go wrong when you leap out of a cargo plane traveling 120 knots, more than 1,200 feet in the air. The lines of the main parachute can become tangled, the chute can wrap around your body or simply fail to open, or myriad other stomach-turning possibilities may require cutting away the main chute and deploying a backup while descending through the atmosphere. Not surprisingly, weeks of ground school and leaping off …
Mac Attack
Michael McKay is John McCain’s man in SeattleTanned and handsome, Michael and John McKay stand behind tandem podiums at a 2008 Legal Foundation of Washington luncheon. Fifty members of their extended family, several current and former state Supreme Court justices, retired Sen. Slade Gorton, U.S. Rep. Jay Inslee, William H. Gates II, U.S. Attorney Jeffrey Sullivan and many more VIPs have turned out to fete the brothers as they receive the Charles A. Goldmark Distinguished Service Award. Honored for their efforts to expand access to the …
Who Says Nice Gals Finish Last?
Karen Jones launched her career in good-old-boy Dallas in 1981, at age 25. In her first sweltering day on the job, decked out in a blue skirt-suit, “goofy” bow tie, pumps and pantyhose, she did her best to fit in with the men and ended up carrying one of their briefcases. (This was after interviewing for another firm, where she learned that “equal opportunity” meant Playgirl would be available for lady lawyers.) When she finally appeared on her own to argue motions in a case, she …
Representing the Reprehensible
With a trusting face, sensible shoes and hair pulled back in a no-nonsense ponytail, Lisa Ludwig looks more like the book editor she planned to be as an undergraduate than a high-stakes trial attorney. The approachable, self-deprecating 36-year-old has a cat, bad-hair days and caring parents who try to attend whenever she appears in court. She is not the sort of person you’d imagine—or even want to imagine—in a tête-à-tête with a serial killer. But she’s been there, and she’s …
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