Raphael Gil is admitted in Washington and New York and is based in Seattle. Washington companies get counsel who practises under the rules that actually govern them, not a template written for somewhere else.
Washington's consumer health data law covers a far broader category of data than HIPAA does, applies to businesses well outside healthcare, and carries a private right of action. Companies that assumed they were out of scope because they are not a covered entity often are not.
Washington limits the enforceability of non-competition agreements by statute, including an earnings threshold that is adjusted annually. The timing of disclosure matters: an agreement presented after someone has already accepted an offer can fail for that reason alone.
Plenty of Washington companies incorporate in Delaware and then operate here. That creates a foreign registration obligation with the Washington Secretary of State, and leaves you governed by two sets of rules rather than one.
There is no state income tax, but the Business and Occupation tax applies to gross receipts, which means a business can owe it while unprofitable. The classification your activities fall under affects the rate. This is accountant territory, but it shapes entity and contract structuring decisions that are not.
Washington requires employers over a certain size to disclose pay ranges and benefits in job postings. The requirement is easy to overlook when a company starts hiring beyond its founders.
Seattle has local ordinances covering paid sick and safe time, scheduling and minimum wage that go beyond Washington state requirements. A company compliant at state level is not automatically compliant inside city limits.
Choosing between a Washington LLC, a Washington corporation and a Delaware entity qualified to do business here, and getting the registrations right from the start.
Customer and vendor agreements, MSAs and NDAs drafted with Washington's Consumer Protection Act and choice-of-law realities in mind rather than a generic template.
Offer letters, handbooks, restrictive covenants and classification reviewed against both state statute and Seattle's local ordinances.
Privacy policies, data processing terms and consent flows scoped for Washington's health data rules alongside GDPR and CCPA where those also apply.
Washington nonprofit corporations, bylaws, board structure and the governance practices funders and auditors expect to see.
A note on the above. Everything on this page is a general description of Washington law, not legal advice, and none of it is tailored to any particular business. Statutes change, thresholds are adjusted, and local ordinances vary inside the state. Whether any of it applies to you turns on your specific facts. Raphael is admitted in Washington and New York; questions governed by the law of another state get referred to counsel admitted there.