Michael Iaria

Most of my clients are referred to me by other lawyers who know my work. If, however, you have gone online to conduct your preliminary search for a lawyer, this brief professional history and the more detailed history found in my curriculum vitae (or resume) will give you some sense of my education, training, and experience. Still, before deciding whether to retain me or any lawyer, you would be well advised to talk, if you can, with other lawyers about the work ethic and reputation of the lawyer under consideration. Also of great importance is whether you feel you can work with a particular lawyer, which you can assess only by meeting and talking with the lawyer.

For almost thirty years, Michael Iaria has defended clients – including lawyers, prosecutors, physicians, politicians, professional athletes, corporate executives, business entities, and everyday people – accused by the government of serious crimes. He has substantial trial, appellate and post-conviction experience, and his current practice emphasizes the defense of white collar, health care fraud, death penalty, homicide, and other serious felony and misdemeanor cases in state and federal courts. Additionally, he represents professionals in disciplinary matters and victims of sexual abuse, police misconduct, and other traumatic events as plaintiffs in civil cases.  He also coordinates and conducts mitigation investigations and presentations for clients who, in any type of case, but particularly in the sentencing or disposition phase of criminal or professional licensing cases, need critical decision makers – prosecutors, judges, jurors, licensing board members – to understand their lives as a whole.   He has appeared in courts throughout Washington, and has handled or been involved in matters in Alaska, Oregon, New Jersey, California, Utah, Texas, and Idaho.  He is licensed in Washington and New Jersey.

An accomplished and successful trial and appellate advocate, he has received the Washington Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers President’s Award for “distinguished service in the highest traditions of the criminal defense bar”.  The announcement for the award noted that Mr. Iaria, “known for his fearlessness in the courtroom, is a dedicated, talented and accomplished criminal defense attorney,” a “drum major for justice,” and that his “death penalty work is well- known and highly-regarded, as is his white-collar defense work.” A colleague noted that when “Michael speaks, he has a sense of authority that makes you want to believe what he says.”

In the announcement, another colleague pointed out that many of his death penalty cases “were resolved through extensive pretrial prep and behind-the-scenes negotiations – things that often don’t get much publicity or appreciation.”  Another called him an “artist” in the courtroom, and yet another noted that simply watching Mr. Iaria perform a witness examination “challenges you to raise your quality of practice.”

Some of his other awards are:

  • Selected as one of the 100 best trial lawyers in Washington by the National Trial Lawyers Association
  • Ranked “at the highest level of professional excellence” in Martindale-Hubbell’s confidential peer survey
  • Voted by peers to the "Super Lawyers list" each year since Washington Law & Politics magazine began the award in 1999
  • Recognized as one of the best lawyers in Seattle by Seattle Business Monthly
  • “Superb” 10.0 rating on avvo.com

Robert Gombiner

Robert Gombiner is Of Counsel to the firm. Mr. Gombiner practices criminal defense in Seattle, with an emphasis on motions, sentencing, appeals, post-conviction challenges, and death penalty cases. In his Of Counsel position, he brings his substantial federal and state court expertise in these areas to the firm.

For seventeen years, from 1993-2010, Mr. Gombiner was a federal defender in the Western District of Washington. He has considerable experience representing individuals in federal court at both the trial and appellate levels on a wide variety of federal crimes, including white-collar crimes, fraud, drug crimes, sex offenses, child pornography, and violent offenses. Before becoming a federal defender, Mr. Gombiner was a state public defender and in a private criminal defense practice in which he represented clients in both state and federal court.

He graduated from the University of Chicago, New York University Law School, and also holds a master’s degree from St. John’s College.

Lisa Kopecky

Lisa Kopecky is the firm’s paralegal and investigator. She is a graduate of the University of Iowa and received a masters degree from the University of Washington. From 1991 to 1999, she was a private investigator at C.D. Beck & Associates, where she worked on both criminal and civil cases. Ms. Kopecky, a charter member of the Washington Association of Legal Investigators, started her own investigation firm in 1999, working mostly on criminal cases. Additionally, she has experience conducting death penalty mitigation investigations. In 2002 she started Kopecky Legal Services and shifted her focus to providing contract paralegal and other support services to lawyers, including the general counsel of Airbiquity, a Seattle software company. She is now employed at the Law Office of Michael Iaria PLLC.