Philip Cutler

Over 30 years experience serving as arbitrator, mediator, judge pro tem, and special master in several hundred business and commercial disputes involving a wide variety of industries and substantive legal areas.

Experience

Over 30 years experience serving as arbitrator, mediator, judge pro tem, and special master in several hundred business and commercial disputes involving domestic and international public and private parties in areas such as agriculture, agricultural cooperatives and regulated commodities; class action settlements; communications; construction; consumer protection; contracts; licensing and intellectual property protection and enforcement (copyrights, trademarks, patents and trade secrets); corporate affairs and governance; discovery under federal and state rules; franchising and distributor termination; Indian tribes and sovereign immunity; international law; securities; Olympic sports; and UCC sales and warranty. Frequent service as chair or member of 3-arbitrator panels. Amounts in controversy have ranged from mid-5- figures to 9-figures.

Work History

Since 2019 practice has exclusively been service as arbitrator. Prior (1973-2019) law practice emphasized business and commercial problem-solving and dispute resolution through trial, appeal, mediation and arbitration in areas of antitrust/business torts; franchising and product distribution; internal and external business and corporate disputes; e-commerce domain name disputes; employment discrimination and termination; government relations; intellectual property (licensing and enforcement of copyrights, trademarks, trade secrets); insurance; UCC negotiable instruments, sales and warranty disputes; financial institutions (mortgage brokers and lenders); and securities (customer/broker and broker-dealer/broker-dealer). Since 2012 has focused on work as neutral mediator and arbitrator and ADR consultant. Present and previous law firm affiliations:

1990-2021: Cutler Nylander & Hayton PS, Seattle WA (and predecessor firms – Cutler & Nylander, Talmadge and Cutler, Talmadge Cutler & Friedman)
1986-89: Karr Tuttle Campbell, Seattle WA (merger with Sax and MacIver)
1979-85: Sax and MacIver, Seattle WA
1973-79: Perkins Coie, Seattle WA

Cases

Movie Gallery Inc. v. Greenshields, 648 F.Supp.2nd 1252 (M.D. Ala. 2009) Washington Water Jet Workers Assn v. Yarbrough, 148 Wn.2d 403, 61 P.3d 309 (2003), reconsidered and reversed, 151 Wn.2d 470, 90 P.3d 42 (2005)
Author, amicus brief on behalf of JAMS, Boyd v. Davis, 127 Wn.2d 256, 897 P.2d 1239 (1995); position advanced adopted by concurring opinion of Justice Utter, 127 Wn.2d at 266
Citizens Alliance v. City of Auburn, 126 Wn.2d 356, 864 P.2d 1300 (1995)
Washington State Hop Producers v. Goshie Farms, 112 Wn.2d 694, 773 P.2d 70 (1989)
Boeing Co. v. Sierracin Corp., 108 Wn.2d 38, 738 P.2d 665 (1987)
Bar-T Ranch Dairy v. Consolidated Dairy Products, 97 Wn.2d 167, 642 P.2d 1240 (1982)
Golob & Sons v. Schaake Packing Co., 93 Wn.2d 257, 609 P.2d 444 (1980)

Training

Facilitator, AAA Core Fundamentals for New AAA Arbitrators, Seattle, March 2017; Facilitator and Materials Co-Author, AAA ACE-8 (Principled Deliberations), Seattle, September 2014; Facilitator, AAA ACE-9 (Conducting Research & Investigations), Seattle, September 2014; AAA Arbitrator Updates/ACE 2001-2010; College of Commercial Arbitrators annual meetings, Chicago (2006), San Francisco (2008), Laguna Niguel (2010); ABA DR Section Conferences, Seattle (2002), San Antonio (2003), Los Angeles (2005), Atlanta (2006), Washington DC (2007), Seattle (2008), Denver (2011), Washington D.C. (2012), Chicago (2013), Miami (2014); Northwest ADR Conferences, Seattle (1994-2017); AAA Neutrals Conferences – Orlando (October 1998), Palm Springs (March 2005), Philadelphia (September 2005), Orlando (November 2010); AAA Commercial Arbitrator II Training, Seattle (March 2001); AAA Commercial Arbitration Train the Trainer course (Arb I), Denver (August 1998); NASD Arbitrator Chairperson Training, Seattle (1998); NASD Basic Arbitrator Training, Seattle (1996); AAA Basic Arbitrator Training, Seattle (1992).

License(s)

Washington State Bar Association (all Washington courts), 1973
United States District Court for the Western (1973) and Eastern (1979) Districts of Washington
U.S. District Court, Northern District of California (1985)
U.S. District Court, Middle District of Alabama, 2007 U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Pennsylvania, 2011 United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit (1991)
U.S. Court of Federal Claims (1976)
United States Supreme Court (2005)

Education

Georgetown University (Washington DC), College of Arts & Sciences, AB History (1970)
Northwestern University School of Law (Chicago IL), JD with honors (1973)

Publications

Speaker/presenter at and/or materials author for numerous lawyer and/or neutral education programs on arbitration and mediation practice, procedure and skills training sponsored by the American Arbitration Association; American, King County and Washington State Bar Associations; Federal Bar Association/Western District of Washington; U.S. Department of Justice; and University of Washington. Also, guest lecturer on Negotiations, San Diego State University Executive MBA Program.

Author:

DISCOVERY IN ARBITRATION, King County Bar Bulletin, October 2016

Awards

’AV Preeminent’ rating, Martindale-Hubbell Law Directory
SuperLawyer, 1999-2021, Washington Law & Politics
ADR All-Star, WSBA DR Section, 1998-2002
Who’s Who in America
Who’s Who in American Law.

Panels

American Arbitration Association, national roster of Commercial Arbitrators and Large Complex Case Panel
Bering Sea Fishery and Alaska Crab Processors Arbitration Organizations

Associations

ADR Roundtable (by-invitation-only association of Seattle-area lawyers and law teachers active in arbitration and mediation)
College of Commercial Arbitrators
Federal Bar Association/Western District of Washington, ADR Committee (Chair/Co-Chair, 1986-98)
King County Bar Association, Section on Dispute Resolution (Chair, 2002-2003)
FINRA Dispute Resolution (1992-2020)
American Bar Association (1973-2019), Section on Dispute Resolution (2000-2016) Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, Standing Committee on ADR (1997-2010)
Washington State Bar Association, Section on Dispute Resolution (Chair, 1998-99)

Miscellaneous

Special Master, In re Weyerhaeuser HBS Class Action Settlement (Williams v. Weyerhaeuser Co.), San Francisco Superior Court (2000-2011)
Citizen, United States of America
Additional information: