Executive Profile
Mary DePaolo Haddad is a Shareholder in Klinedinst PC’s Seattle office with over 20 years of experience defending employers, attorneys, and professionals in high-stakes, complex litigation. She is AV Preeminent rated and has been recognized as a Super Lawyer annually since 2020 in professional liability defense/employment litigation.
Practice Focus
Ms. Haddad focuses her practice on professional liability defense, with particular emphasis on legal malpractice, employment litigation, and general liability claims. She defends corporations, small businesses, law firms, and individual professionals in matters ranging from routine defense work to complex, high-exposure litigation involving multi-million-dollar claims.
Her employment practice includes defending employers in wage and hour class actions, discrimination class actions, and a broad spectrum of claims involving discrimination, harassment, wrongful termination, and retaliation. Her legal malpractice practice spans transactional matters, litigation-related claims, estate disputes, and conflicts of interest in M&A transactions.
Ms. Haddad manages cases from initial claim assessment through dispute resolution and trial, delivering practical, cost-effective defense solutions tailored to each client’s specific needs to protect their business interests, professional standing, and financial well-being.
Trial and Arbitration Experience
Ms. Haddad has substantial trial and courtroom experience, having first-chaired jury trials and complex arbitrations that resulted in favorable outcomes for her clients. She has been trained to prepare cases digitally and has expertise in modern courtroom technology for digital presentation.
Professional Liability Defense and Motion Practice
Ms. Haddad has extensive experience defending professionals across a range of industries, including attorneys, law firms, and C-suite executives. She developed her legal malpractice expertise alongside some of the best professional liability defense attorneys of their time in Seattle, and her track record includes two published legal malpractice appellate decisions, numerous summary judgment dismissals in cases involving multi-million-dollar claims, and successful defense of attorneys insured by the Attorneys’ Liability Assurance Society (ALAS).
Her employment defense practice extends to protecting executives and senior leadership facing high-stakes discrimination, harassment, and wrongful termination claims. She has successfully resolved sensitive matters at the C-suite level, achieving favorable outcomes while protecting her clients’ professional reputations and careers.
In addition to securing dismissals through summary judgment, Ms. Haddad’s aggressive motion practice has consistently positioned high-exposure cases for favorable settlement, often achieving resolutions for a fraction of the amounts demanded.
Professional Leadership
Ms. Haddad served as co-chair of the Northwest Chapter of the Professional Liability Underwriting Society (PLUS) from 2015 – 2018, where she collaborated with insurers, claims professionals, and industry stakeholders on emerging professional liability risk issues.
Ms. Haddad is a frequent speaker and moderator at national and regional conferences on topics including employment law, professional liability, workplace culture, and risk management. She has presented for organizations such as the Claims Litigation Management (CLM) Alliance, the International Association of Defense Counsel (IADC), the Professional Liability Underwriting Society (PLUS), the Association of Corporate Counsel (ACC), the Washington State Bar Association (WSBA), the National Business Institute (NBI), and the Risk Management Society (RIMS).
Education
- Gonzaga University School of Law (J.D.)
- Seattle University (B.A.)
Professional and Community Affiliations
- Legal Cyber Academy, Faculty
- International Association of Defense Counsel (IADC)
- Professional Liability Underwriting Society (PLUS), Former Co-Chair, Northwest Chapter
- Women of the Washington Athletic Club, Committee Member
- MAMA Seattle, former Board Member, introduced the Ladder Down program to MAMA Seattle
Recognition and Awards
- Best Lawyers, Commercial Litigation (2027)
News, Media, and Speaking Engagements
- Perrin Diversity & Inclusion Conference – Moderator on diversity and inclusion panel with Mary Ann Vorndan, Manager, The Navigators Group, Sheryl Axelrod, President, Axelrod Law Firm, PC, and Betsy Woudenberg, CEO @ IntelligenceArts, LLC. (November 3, 2016)
- National Business Institute (“NBI”) – Seattle, Washington – Speaker – “Advanced Employment Law: What You Need to.” (December 5-6, 2016 )
- Professional Liability Underwriting Society (PLUS) NW Chapter – Panelist – “Identifying Threat Concerns for Potential Workplace Violence.” (December 7, 2016)
- Helsell Fetterman Employment & Labor Group – Seattle, Washington – Speaker – “Equal Pay.” (June 21, 2017)
- PLUS Women’s Foundation Network – Seattle, Washington – Presenter – Ms. Shiza Shahid, Co-Founder of Malala’s Foundation Network. (November 10, 2017)
- Helsell Fetterman Employment & Labor Group – Seattle, Washington – Speaker – “Discussion on Equal Pay.” (January 16, 2018)
- Professional Liability Underwriting Society (PLUS) – Seattle, Washington – Moderator – “Natural Disasters – What to Expect and How to Limit Risks.” (February 7, 2018)
- Claims Litigation Management (“CLM”) Annual Conference – Houston, Texas – Speaker “The Minority Majority: A Look into Diversity and Women of the Future.” (March 15, 2018)
- Washington Education Forum of the Washington State Chapter of the Risk Management Society (“RIMS”) – Bellevue, Washington – Speaker “Changing Workforce Culture in the #MeToo Era.” (March 21, 2018)
- Ladder Down Panel Presentation – Seattle, Washington – Moderator “Corporate Counsel Decision Makers Share How to Earn and Keep Their Business and Succeed In-House.” (July 13, 2018)
- Washington DC Startup Week – Washington, D.C. – Speaker “Prepare Today for the Minority Majority of Tomorrow.” (September 24, 2018)
- Claims Litigation Management (“CLM”) 2018 Construction Conference – Chicago, Illinois – Speaker “Carriers Beware! Must-Knows about Employer Liability, the “Exclusivity Rule,” Precluding Third-Party Litigation, and Indemnification. (September 27, 2018)
- National Business Institute (“NBI”) CLE – Human Resource Law from A to Z – Seattle, Washington – Speaker “Workplace Privacy and Employee Monitoring.” (October 10, 2018)
- MAMA Seattle/FDCC/Ladder Down Presentation – Seattle, Washington – Moderator “Judicial Panel.” (October 12, 2018)
- Helsell Fetterman Employment & Labor Group – Seattle, Washington – Speaker “Paying Highly-Compensated Executives” whose compensation is impacted by multiple recent developments with tax reform, corporate ethics, and the #MeToo movement. (November 13, 2018)
- Washington State Bar Association – Seattle, Washington – Speaker “Sweet 16(th) Law of Lawyering” regarding the pitfalls of professional liability that attorneys face in their day-to-day practices. (December 14, 2018)
- The Association of Corporate Counsel – Second Annual Labor & Employment Summit – Bellevue, Washington – Speaker “Developments in Executive Contract Negotiations.” (January 17, 2019)
- International Association of Defense Counsel (IADC) – 2019 Midyear Meeting – Santa Barbara, California – Speaker “The Aftermath of the Supreme Court’s Decision in Masterpiece Cakeshop.” (February 26, 2019)
