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Karen Southworth Weaver
Karen Southworth Weaver received her undergraduate degree from Yale College in 1976 and her J.D., cum laude, from the University of Minnesota in 1981. While at Yale, she was coxswain for the men’s heavyweight crew.
Ms. Weaver is admitted to practice before state and federal courts in Washington and Oregon, as well as before the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. She focuses her practice primarily on insurance coverage and bad faith issues, with a secondary focus on civil appeals. Areas of expertise include, among other things, property & casualty policies of all types, professional errors and omissions coverage, coverage opinions, coverage and bad faith litigation and appellate representation, policy drafting, environmental law, construction defect coverage, and reinsurance recoverables. Ms. Weaver has testified before the Washington State Legislature regarding insurance-related bills and participated in the Washington Insurance Commissioner’s rule-making process for publishing environmental claim-handling and lost policy regulations. Key appellate cases include Tank v. State Farm Fire & Cas. Co., 105 Wn.2d 381, 715 P.2d 1133 (1986); Unigard v. Leven, 97 Wn. App. 417, 983 P.2d 1155 (1999), review denied, 140 Wn.2d 1009 (2000); and Rodriguez v. Williams, 107 Wn.2d 381, 729 P.2d 627 (1986). She has both prosecuted and defended against actions for insurance coverage and bad faith.
Since 1993, Ms. Weaver has also been adjunct faculty at the University of Washington School of Law, teaching the upper class course on insurance law. She acts as an expert regarding bad faith and coverage issues and offers alternative dispute resolution services in insurance coverage disputes. She is a frequent author and lecturer on insurance topics, including co-editor-in-chief of and/or chapter author for the Washington Motor Vehicle Accident Insurance Deskbook (Wash. State Bar Assn. 1989, 1995 and 2008) and chapter author for Arbitration and Mediation in Washington (Wash. State Bar Assn. 1st and 2d eds., 1989 & 1995), as well as having presented countless lectures and papers for professional continuing education seminars. She is a past board member of the King County Chapter of Washington Women Lawyers, of the statewide board of Washington Women Lawyers, and is a member of the Northwest Insurance Coverage Association, Defense Research Institute, Washington Defense Trial Lawyers Association, the King County Bar Association, the Federal Bar Association of Washington, the Washington State Bar Association and the Oregon State Bar Association. She is “A-V” rated by Martindale-Hubbell.
Outside of law practice, Ms. Weaver is principal harpist of the Everett Symphony Orchestra, an active supporter of Rotary International service projects, and has held leadership positions in many school, church and community activities. She and her family enjoy travel, music and the outdoors.
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