Kevin J. Hamilton Partner

Kevin J. Hamilton is one of the nation’s leading election lawyers. In 2020, Kevin led teams of lawyers involved in dozens of voting rights cases across the country, including Arizona, Georgia, Iowa, Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, Montana, Nevada, and Texas. Kevin led a team of a dozen lawyers representing the Biden-Harris campaign in managing the recount of nearly five million ballots in the U.S. presidential election in Georgia, the second largest recount in American history, and in post-election litigation in Georgia, Nevada, Michigan, Minnesota, and elsewhere. His deep experience with election and political law also includes recounts, election contests, redistricting, Voting Rights Act litigation, campaign finance issues, and the administration of elections. Kevin has represented numerous candidates in statewide recounts, including President Joe Biden in the 2020 recounts in Georgia, Arizona Senator Kyrsten Sinema (2018), North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper (2016), Virginia Attorney General Mark Herring (2013), Minnesota Governor Mark Dayton (2010), Minnesota Senator Al Franken (2008), Washington Governor Christine Gregoire (2004), and Washington Senator Maria Cantwell (2000). Kevin represented both Senator Franken and Governor Gregoire as trial counsel in election contests in 2005 (Gregoire) and 2009 (Franken). Kevin also represented President Joe Biden in multiple election contests over the 2020 election in Georgia, Nevada, and Minnesota.

Kevin has represented Democrats in litigation challenging congressional and state legislative redistricting plans in Florida, Minnesota, Nevada, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Texas, and Virginia. In the 2016 election cycle, Kevin was involved in litigation over voter registration deadlines in Arizona, Florida, and North Carolina.

Other election law clients have included U.S. Senator Kyrsten Sinema (2018), the Washington State Democrats (ongoing), Jay Inslee for Governor (2012, 2016, and 2020), Jay Inslee for President (2020), U.S. Senator Patty Murray (2004, 2010, and 2016), U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell (2000, 2006, 2012), Darcy Burner for Congress (2006 and 2008), Suzan DelBene (2010), Washington Families Standing Together (supporting Referendum 71, 2009), King County Executive Dow Constantine (2009), and various other federal, state, and local candidates.

Kevin, in addition, is a Chambers-ranked labor and employment lawyer who has advised some of the largest and most sophisticated clients in the country, including Amazon.com, Starbucks, Microsoft, The Boeing Company, Puget Energy, the Seattle Seahawks, the Portland Trail Blazers, Vulcan Inc., Eddie Bauer, Intellectual Ventures, F-5 Networks, Outdoor Voices, Helly Hansen, Alpha Technologies, and J.Crew, among many others. Kevin has practiced law with Perkins Coie for more than 34 years and has been a partner for more than 28, addressing through counseling, negotiation, or litigation, a broad range of key issues critical to the modern workplace. Kevin has extensive experience with noncompetition, trade secret, discrimination, multiple-plaintiff, and wrongful discharge litigation.

Kevin chairs the firm's nationally recognized Retail & Consumer Products industry group, including more than 250 lawyers throughout the firm who focus on issues across the spectrum confronting the retail and consumer products industry.

Kevin has broad and significant trial experience, having represented clients in litigation in Arizona, California, Florida, Georgia, Iowa, Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, Montana, Nevada, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Texas, Virginia, and Washington. In 2021, Kevin led a team of lawyers in pursuing trade secret misappropriation, breach of contract, and related claims against a group of six scientists on behalf of one of the firm’s largest clients. After two and a half years of litigation and a three-week trial, the team secured a sweeping victory, including injunctive relief, an attorneys’ fee award, and dismissal of the wrongful discharge counterclaims.

Kevin’s extensive trial experience earned him election as a Fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers at a relatively young age and to the prestigious American Law Institute.