Stephen M. Rummage
Senior Counsel
Steve Rummage represents clients in complex litigation and appeals, with an emphasis on commercial litigation and class action defense. In 41 years of practice, he has handled a wide variety of high-value litigation, including consumer class actions, securities fraud claims, employment class actions, complex contract disputes, and intellectual property claims. His work has included leading roles in some of the Pacific Northwest's most significant litigation, ranging from the Washington Public Power Supply System bond default in the 1980s, the Exxon Valdez oil spill litigation in the 1990s, and the Washington Mutual Securities Litigation in the most recent decade.
Steve represents clients from a broad variety of industries, including software, sharing economy platforms, telecommunications, cloud services, and financial services. In addition to his trial practice, Steve has argued dozens of appeals in state and federal courts, including high-profile cases that established Washington and federal law on issues ranging from class action procedure to securities to land use.
Class Action Experience
Baker v. Microsoft Corp.
Ryan v. Microsoft Corp.
Geier v. m-Qube, Inc.
Bleak v. Spotify
Cousineau v. Microsoft
Selected Securities Litigation Experience
FutureSelect Portfolio Management, Inc. v. Tremont Group Holdings, Inc.
Kuhnle v. Clearwire
Gordon v. Microsoft Corporation
In re SonoSite Shareholder Litigation
In re Washington Mutual Securities, Derivative and ERISA Litigation
Selected Appellate Experience
Leyse v. Lifetime Entertainment Services, LLC
Beijing Zhongyi Zhongbiao Electronic Information Technology Co. Ltd. v. Microsoft Corp.
Frias v. Asset Foreclosure Services
Volcan Group v. Omnipoint Communications, Inc.
Washington State Major League Baseball Public Facilities District v. Huber, Hunt & Nichols-Kiewit Constr. Co.
Admitted to Practice
- Washington, 1980
- U.S. Supreme Court, 1985
- U.S. Court of Appeals, 2nd Circuit, 2016
- U.S. Court of Appeals, 9th Circuit, 1983
- U.S. Court of Appeals, 6th Circuit, 2008
- U.S. District Court, Western District of Washington, 1980
- U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Washington, 1986
Education
- J.D., University of California, Berkeley School of Law, 1980
- Order of the Coif
- B.A., History & Creative Writing, Stanford University, 1977, with distinction
- Phi Beta Kappa
Professional Recognition
- Named one of "America's Leading Lawyers for Business" by Chambers USA in Litigation: General Commercial (Washington), 2004-2024; Received "Band 1" ranking, 2012-2024
- Named as one of the "Best Lawyers in America" by Best Lawyers in Commercial Litigation, 2006-present; in Bet-the-Company Litigation, 2010-present; in Appellate Practice, 2015-present; in Litigation - Intellectual Property, 2018-present; in Advertising Law, 2025-present
- Named "Lawyer of the Year" in Bet-the-Company Litigation (Seattle) by Best Lawyers, 2017, 2019, 2024
- Selected to "Top 100 Washington Super Lawyers," Thomson Reuters, 2003-2016
- Selected to "Washington Super Lawyers," Thomson Reuters, 2003-2024