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Overview
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Experience
Introduction
Stewart is a highly regarded adviser to global and local businesses, as well as a longtime leader in the firm and the community.
Stewart Landefeld has counseled corporations, boards of directors, and major family offices and enterprises for more than 25 years in the areas of corporate governance, securities compliance, M&A, public offerings, private equity investments, and venture capital.
Stewart has provided corporate governance and general corporate counsel to dozens of leading companies, including Microsoft, Costco, and the Seattle Mariners, among many others. His guidance to clients is informed by his experience as interim chief legal officer of Washington Mutual Inc. during the global financial crisis, as well as his decades of board leadership, including the Pike Place Market PDA, the Seattle Foundation, Plymouth Housing Group, and the Seattle Art Museum.
Stewart advises leading family offices and high net worth families in business, personal, and philanthropic matters. He has advised on the formation of new family offices as well as wide-ranging matters for mature family offices and businesses.
Stewart is a founding editor and co-author of the seventh edition of The Public Company Handbook: A Corporate Governance and Disclosure Guide for Directors and Executives. Previously the co-founder of training initiatives for public companies, Stewart is now a leading contributor to BoardReady Initiative, a program dedicated to training new directors in public company board service. He is also a co-author of Washington Business Entities (LexisNexis), the leading treatise on Washington corporate law.
Stewart has been recognized every year since 2005 as one of “America’s Leading Business Lawyers” by Chambers USA.
Education & credentials
- The University of Chicago Law School, J.D., 1980
- Yale University, B.A., 1976
- Washington
- U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
- Washington Mutual Inc., Interim Chief Legal Officer, 2007-2008, Interim Chief Compliance Officer, 2008, Executive Vice President, General Counsel during seizure of Washington Mutual Bank and Chapter 11 filing of Washington Mutual Inc.
Professional recognition
Lifetime Achievement Award and Director of the Year, Puget Sound Business Journal, 2023
Received the Burton Award for Legal Achievement, 2009
American Law Institute, Member
Ranked by Chambers USA as "America's Leading Lawyer" in Corporate/Mergers and Acquisitions, 2005-2026; Named "Star Individual", 2026
Named Best Lawyers' Seattle, "Mergers and Acquisitions Law Lawyer of the Year," 2015, 2025; "Corporate Governance Law Lawyer of the Year," 2016, 2025; "Corporate Law Lawyer of the Year," 2011, 2019
Listed in Best Lawyers in America: Corporate Governance Law; Corporate Law; Mergers and Acquisitions Law; Private Funds / Hedge Funds Law; Securities / Capital Markets Law; Securities Regulation, 1993-2026
Listed in Super Lawyers Magazine, "Washington's Super Lawyers", 1999-2023, 2025
Named a “Leading Lawyer” by The Legal 500 for M&A/Corporate and Commercial - M&A: middle market (sub-$500m), 2015
Recommended by The Legal 500: Industry Focus: M&A/Corporate and Commercial - M&A: middle market (sub-$500m), 2015
Impact
- Seattle University, Berle Center Governance Colloquium, Co-Chair, 2011-2013
- SEC Hot Topics, Seattle Co-Chair, 2001-2016, co-sponsored by RR Donnelley and Society of Corporate Secretaries and Governance Professionals
- Seattle Cancer Care Alliance (SCCA), Past Director/Board of Directors, Vice Chair of the Board
- Seattle Art Museum, Chair, Board of Trustees Member and 2017-2020; Immediate Past Chair of the Boards of Directors
- Seattle Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce, Former Member, Board of Trustees
- Plymouth Housing Group (Permanent Housing for the Homeless), Immediate Past President, Board of Trustees
- Seattle Foundation, Past Chairman of Board of Trustees
- Henry Art Gallery, Past Chairman of Board of Trustees
- Pike Place Market Preservation and Development Authority, Past Council Chair
- Seattle Symphony Foundation, Former Vice President, Board of Trustees
- Norman Archibald Charitable Foundation, Board Member
Tribune Publishing Company
Acquisition of the San Diego Union-Tribune.
Acquisition of the Seattle Mariners
Continued representation of The Baseball Club of Seattle, LLC.
Acquisition of Seattle SuperSonics and Seattle Storm
Represented The Basketball Club of Seattle, LLC in its acquisition of Seattle SuperSonics and Seattle Storm.
Laundry Services Inc. - Sale to ARAMARK Uniform and Career Apparel Inc.
Represented Overall Laundry Services in a sale of the business to ARAMARK Uniform and Career Apparel Inc.
Sale of Wizards of the Coast Inc.
Represented Wizards of the Coast Inc. in its sale to Hasbro Inc.
Acquisition by Microsoft Corporation
Represented Microsoft in its acquisition of AVIcode Inc.
Acquisition by Microsoft Corporation
Represented Microsoft in its acquisition of Yammer Inc.
Hollister-Stier Laboratories, LLC
Represented private equity firm Windward Capital Partners in its purchase and sale of Hollister-Stier.
Callison Architecture Inc.
Represented Callison Architecture in its recapitalization with private equity fund, Blue Point Capital Partners.
PetSmart, Inc.
Corporate governance counsel.
Tribune Publishing Company
Corporate governance counsel.
Microsoft Corporation / Yahoo! Inc. Search Agreement
Represented Microsoft in aspects of its Internet search agreement with Yahoo!
Microsoft Corporation Acquisitions, 2010 - 2016
Ongoing counsel to Microsoft in a variety of transactions, from its 2010 acquisition of healthcare software provider, Sentillion Inc., to ongoing transactions in 2016.
Cardiac Science Corporation Sale
Represented Cardiac Science Corporation (NASDAQ:CSCX) in its $54 million sale to Opto Circuits (India) Ltd.
Aircastle Limited
Counsel to independent directors.
Quinton Cardiology Systems Inc. Public Offerings
Represented Quinton Cardiology Systems in initial public and secondary equity offerings.
Quinton Cardiology Systems Inc. - Merger with Cardiac Science Inc.
Represented Quinton Cardiology Systems Inc. in its merger of equals with Cardiac Science Inc. to form Cardiac Science Corporation.
AT&T Wireless Services Inc. - Sale of Fixed Wireless Business
Represented AT&T Wireless Services Inc. in its sale of fixed wireless division assets to Netro Corporation.
Orbitz LLC
Counsel to independent directors.
Costco Wholesale Corporation
Ongoing special representation of public company.
Ragen MacKenzie Group Inc. IPO
Represented Ragen MacKenzie in its initial public offering and subsequent sale to an affiliate of a large national bank.
Starbucks Corporation IPO
Represented the underwriters, Alex. Brown and Wertheim Schroeder & Company, in Starbucks initial public offering.
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