Marc Cote

Partner

Email: mcote@frankfreed.com

"I am committed to a pragmatic approach to dispute resolution—whether I am serving as a neutral mediator or representing a party in high-stakes litigation"

 

Marc serves on the mediator panel for the Washington Arbitration and Mediation Service (WAMS). As a mediator, he works tirelessly to get parties to resolution so that they can avoid the expense, uncertainty, stress, and emotional toll of litigation. He has a knack for assessing risk and helping parties make reasoned decisions to reach pragmatic resolutions of their disputes.

Marc has successfully mediated over a hundred cases in the areas of employment discrimination, wrongful termination, sexual harassment, class action litigation, sexual abuse, wage and hour law, and civil rights. He has significant experience in matters involving all aspects of the employment relationship, civil rights, negligence, class actions, and disputes involving closely held businesses.

Marc’s considerable experience litigating class action cases has given him a keen sense of the ins and outs of class action settlement structure and the settlement approval process under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 23 and Washington State Civil Rule 23. He has successfully mediated several class action cases, helping parties to get closure and end high-risk and expensive litigation. He also speaks Spanish and welcomes the opportunity to serve as a mediator for cases involving Spanish-speaking parties. 

Marc successfully completed the “Mediating the Litigated Case” program through the Straus Institute for Dispute Resolution at Pepperdine University School of Law. He is a certified neutral on the ADR panel for the United States District Court for the Western District of Washington and has served as a pro bono mediator for the EEOC. 

As a lawyer, Marc has practiced throughout Washington, representing people from all walks of life. He has successfully litigated several groundbreaking class action cases on behalf of farmworkers, dairy workers, delivery drivers, restaurant workers, construction workers, fruit packing workers, and catering servers. He has also successfully represented lawyers, doctors, tech professionals, and other individuals in severance negotiation and employment exit matters. He has also advised small businesses on employment policies and employee discipline. 

Before entering private practice, Marc served as a law clerk to the Honorable Walter L. Carpeneti of the Alaska Supreme Court. He graduated second in his class at the University of Washington School of Law, where he served as Executive Articles Editor of the Washington Law Review. While in law school, he also served as a judicial extern to the Honorable Ricardo Martinez of the United States District Court for the Western District of Washington.

Client Comments about Marc:

"Marc has great patience and excellent listening skills which are hallmarks of an outstanding attorney. He helped resolve a very complex business partnership through [mediation]. At the conclusion, even the [mediator] commented on how excellent Marc was. I couldn’t agree more."

Legal Industry Client

Notable Work

Marc’s appellate successes include the following published cases:

• Martinez-Cuevas v. DeRuyter Brothers Dairy, Inc., 196 Wn.2d 506, 475 P.3d 164 (2020).
• Lopez Demetrio v. Sakuma Bros. Farms, Inc., 183 Wn.2d 649, 355 P.3d 258 (2015).
• Carranza v. Dovex Fruit Company, 190 Wn.2d 612, 416 P.3d 1205 (2018).
• Hill v. Xerox Business Services, LLC, 868 F.3d 758 (9th Cir. 2017) (certified to Washington Supreme Court).
• Becerra v. Expert Janitorial, LLC, 181 Wn.2d 186, 332 P.3d 415 (2014) (amicus curiae on behalf of Washington Employment Lawyers Association).
• Brady v. Autozone Stores, Inc., 188 Wn.2d 576, 397 P.3d 120 (2017) (amicus curiae on behalf of Fair Work Center).

In the past fifteen years, he has also served as lead or co-lead counsel in several class action cases, achieving the following results:

• A $10.5 million settlement for delivery drivers in a joint employer class action suit alleging overtime and break claims against FedEx Ground
• An $8.2 million settlement for delivery drivers in a joint employer class action suit alleging overtime, unpaid wage, and break claims against Amazon
• A $3 million settlement for farm workers in a wage and hour class action against Stemilt Ag Services
• A $3 million settlement for fruit packing workers in a wage and hour class action against Borton & Sons, Inc.
• A $2.5 million settlement for piece-rate farm workers in a wage and hour class action against Auvil Fruit Company, Inc.
• A $2.4 million settlement for restaurant workers in a service charge and rest and meal break class action against Tom Douglas Restaurants.
• Over $1.6 million in settlements for dairy workers in a class action against DeRuyter Brothers Dairy, Inc. alleging failure to pay overtime under Washington’s unconstitutional exclusion of farmworkers, failure to pay for all time worked, and failure to provide proper rest and meal breaks
• A $1.225 million settlement for farm workers in a wage and hour class action against Dovex Fruit Company
• A $1.2 million settlement for catering and suite workers in a service charge and rest and meal break class action on behalf of McCaw Hall and ShoWare Center catering and suite workers
• A settlement for over $1 million on behalf of restaurant workers in a class action suit alleging service charge and break claims against Huxley Wallace Collective.
• Over $1 million in combined settlements and judgment for piece-rate farm workers in a wage and hour class action against Sakuma Brothers Farms, Inc.
• A $1.1 million settlement for construction workers in a rest break class action against IMCO General Construction, Inc.
• A $996,000 settlement for fruit-packing warehouse workers employed by Frosty Packing Co., LLC in a wage and hour class action involving alleged failure to pay for all hours worked and failure to provide proper rest and meal breaks.
• A $900,000 settlement for Maggiano’s Little Italy restaurant workers in a class action involving alleged violations of Washington’s service charge disclosure statute and rest and meal break regulations.
• A $900,000 settlement for Central Washington University faculty who alleged failure to timely pay for overload and summer work units.

Education

Pepperdine University School of Law, Straus Institute for Dispute Resolution – “Mediating the Litigated Case” program 

University of Washington School of Law – with high honors (2nd in class) – J.D.

• Executive Articles Editor, Washington Law Review
• Order of the Coif
• Vivian Carkeek Award for Best Student Contribution to Washington Law Review (for comment on NLRA protection for employee blogs)

Seattle University – summa cum laude – B.A.

Bar Admissions

Washington USDC for the Eastern District of WA            
USDC for the Western District of WA            
USDC for the Eastern District of CA            
Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals

Professional & Civic Involvement

Marc often speaks at continuing legal education seminars on mediation and employment law issues, with strong reviews. He is the co-author of the Wage and Hour Law chapter of the Washington Association for Justice Employment Law Deskbook, and he has served on the Planning Committee of the Pacific Coast Labor and Employment Law Conference. Marc is a member of the Labor and Employment Law Sections of the Washington State Bar Association and King County Bar Association. Marc is on the Washington Super Lawyers list and previously had been named a “Rising Star” by Super Lawyers several times. He received the 2015 Columbia Legal Services Pro Bono Honoree for work on behalf of Washington farm workers.

Personal

When he’s not practicing law, Marc enjoys spending time with his wife and two young boys. He also plays basketball, coaches youth basketball, and cheers for Seattle Celtic youth soccer, Leeds United, the Mariners, Seahawks, and Gonzaga Bulldogs. Marc is a member of St. Catherine parish in Seattle.