For more than a century, Foster Garvey has advised our municipal government clients on the state and federal constitutions and laws affecting their organizations and operations. Washington state has a long tradition of open government and was one of the first states to adopt the appearance of fairness doctrine for the conduct of public officials in public hearings. 

Foster Garvey has extensive experience advising and assisting public entities concerning the Open Public Meetings Act, Public Records Act (formerly known as the Public Disclosure Act), and state and local ethics laws that carry forward the tradition of open government. We provide our clients with a full range of services in open government, including developing policies on disclosure, management and retention of public records, advising on responses to public records requests, evaluating applicability of exemptions and providing litigation counsel when needed.