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About Washington Tree Law
Washington Tree Law was started by attorney Pat Lakey after leaving the practice of Public Defense in 2008. Although he learned a great deal during his years in the practice of criminal defense, he believes he can bring the trial skills developed there to great benefit in defense of our state's trees and tree owners.
Pat Lakey is most at home in the natural world. He believes strongly in protecting trees for their intrinsic beauty and preserving plant diversity to support humans and animals. He shares the outrage of people whose trees, or other large plants, are cut without their knowledge.
A well maintained landscape with mature trees can increase property values up to 25 percent. Trees can cool houses in the summer. A city lot with 30 percent plant cover provides the equivalent cooling necessary to air condition two moderately sized houses 12 hours a day in the summer.
- National Arborists.com
An innovative thinker who maximizes recovery of losses for his clients, Pat knows that people value their trees for different reasons, and works toward settlements that honor the individual situation.
Accessible and compassionate, Pat Lakey is also an accomplished court lawyer. Winning his first court case in 1987 as a law student intern, he has won trials in King, Snohomish, Skagit, Whatcom and Island Counties. He gets consistently good results in trials and settlements, and is skilled in dispute resolution.
Pat Lakey lives with his wife of 20 years, two children and a golden retriever on 5 acres of woods in a house he designed and built himself. Since buying his property, Pat has added over 200 trees and major plants.
Credentials
Law Degree: JD, University of Washington, 1987
Member of:
- Washington State Bar Association
- Federal Court, Western District of Washington
- Whatcom County Bar
- Skagit County Bar
Highlights of Previous Employment
- Senior Public Defender, Whatcom County
- Public Defender, Snohomish County
- Attorney General’s Office
- First tree trespass cases in 1988 with Raas, Johnsen & Stuen
- Successful jury trials and settlements in King, Snohomish, Whatcom, Skagit, Island, San Juan County
- English Teacher in China
