MEDIATOR

Expertise Areas:

• Employment Law and Class Actions
• Discrimination and Wage and Hour Claims
• Sexual Abuse
• Negligence
• Civil Rights
• Commercial and Contract
• Insurance Coverage and Bad Faith

WAMS Mediator Certification: 2021

Accomplishments:

Marc Cote is an experienced mediator with a proven track record for getting parties to resolution. For almost two decades as an attorney, his practice emphasized employment law and class actions. As a mediator, he has helped parties and their counsel successfully resolve more than 200 cases. He has vast experience mediating cases involving employment law, including wage and hour class actions, wrongful termination, discrimination and retaliation cases, sexual harassment claims, and other employment matters. Mr. Cote has also successfully resolved cases involving negligence, sexual abuse, insurance coverage, wrongful death, legal malpractice, civil rights, serious personal injury and property damage claims.

Mr. Cote has a knack for assessing risk and helping parties make reasoned decisions to reach pragmatic resolutions. His listening skills, creativity, business understanding, and empathy for all involved helps him guide parties toward settlement in challenging cases. His extensive litigation experience gives hm important perspective on how judges and juries see the legal issues parties are confronting, providing valuable insight that he is able to share through the mediation process.

As an experienced class action attorney, Mr. Cote also has a keen sense of the ins and outs of class action settlement structure and the settlement approval process under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 23 and Washington State Civil Rule 23.

In his previous career as an advocate, Mr. Cote has worked on the cutting edge of emerging employment law issues and achieved significant successes at the Washington Supreme Court that changed the legal landscape for employment rights in Washington. He has also advised small businesses on employment law issues and represented business professionals, lawyers, and doctors in employment and business negotiations and disputes. Mr. Cote has been named to the Washington Super Lawyers list several times, and before that was named a Rising Star by Super Lawyers for many years. He often speaks regarding mediation and employment law subjects for bar associations, legal aid organizations, law school classes, and CLE seminars.

Education:

Straus Institute for Dispute Resolution at Pepperdine University SOL, Mediating the Litigated Case Program; University of Washington School of Law, with high honors (2nd in class), JD; Seattle University, Sullivan Scholar, summa cum laude, BA

Affiliations:

Washington Arbitration & Mediation Service • King County Bar Association • Washington State Bar Association • Planning Committee of Pacific Coast Labor and Employment Law Conference • Co-Author Wage and Hour Law Chapter, Washington Association of Justice Employment Law Deskbook