Bio
Luke is committed to achieving justice for vulnerable persons. He focuses his practice on helping persons who have suffered catastrophic personal injuries, including persons harmed by exposure to toxic substances.
Luke is an accomplished trial lawyer. He is at home in the courtroom and thrives on the challenge of litigating complex cases. Before joining SGB, Luke worked as a public defender with the King County Department of Public Defense, where he tried dozens of cases to verdict and earned a reputation for both creativity and diligence. As trial counsel in civil practice, he has the highest asbestos verdict–in excess of $16 million–ever awarded in King County. He has taught evidence and trial advocacy to other attorneys.
Luke is also a capable appellate attorney, having argued appeals on a variety of topics in both state and federal courts. Luke is well-regarded for his written and oral advocacy, and he has a track record of appellate success.
In law school, Luke worked as an editor for the Journal of Law and Inequality, represented low-income individuals in disputes with their employers, helped a Guatemalan torture victim seek asylum in the United States, and researched school and housing segregation for the Institute on Race and Poverty. After law school, he served as a law clerk to the Honorable Judge Joan N. Ericksen in the federal district court of Minnesota and to Justices Alan Page, Helen Meyer, and Sam Hanson in the Minnesota Supreme Court.
Bar Admissions & Education
Admissions
- Washington State, 2006
- U.S. District Court, Western District of Washington, 2015
Education
- University of Minnesota Law School, J.D., magna cum laude, 2006
- Yale University, B.A. Economics, with distinction, 2002
Civic & Professional
Professional and Civic Involvement
- After Jasper; Real Life Applications of the Right to Confrontation (April 2012)
- Washington Impaired Driving Legislative Work Group (2011- 2012)