June 26, 2012 – Foster Pepper PLLC trial lawyer Tom Ahearne was featured in Super Lawyers Washington / 2012 for his role as lead plaintiffs’ counsel in McCleary v. State of Washington, which held that all children in our State have a paramount constitutional right to an amply funded public education, and that the State is violating that constitutional right with respect to hundreds of thousands of children in our public schools today.

In its 2012 issue, Super Lawyers summarizes that that ruling “affirmed the English language. It ruled, among other things, that paramount duty means ‘first and highest priority,’ all means ‘each and every,’ and ample means ‘considerably more than just adequate.’ Somewhere, Merriam and Webster breathe a sigh of relief.”

“And leading the charge?” the article continues, “A man who admits he never would have become a lawyer if he'd known what it takes to be one. The man arguing in favor of greater school funding was someone who admits, without much prompting, that he actually hates to read.”

The trial’s lead witness “Mike Blair talks up the ‘volumes of evidence Tom and his team had to work with.’ He talks about the ‘30 three-ring binders full of evidence and expert witness testimony.’ It meant a lot of reading.” “I read a lot now,” Ahearne says. “Because the only thing I hate more than reading is losing.”

Ahearne’s practice at Foster Pepper PLLC emphasizes constitutional law cases, election disputes, ballot title challenges, and litigation over the enforcement or validity of statutes and Initiatives, as well as representing policyholders in insurance coverage litigation in federal and state courts, and related construction defect litigation.

With offices in Seattle and Spokane, WA, Foster Pepper PLLC provides a full range of legal services to businesses, municipalities and individuals, both regionally and across the country.