In the mid-1990s, Eric Roy and Bret Simmons were members of the Seattle law firm Julin, Fosso, Sage, McBride & Mason. The firm had a satellite office in Bellingham which was focused on insurance defense litigation, primarily for State Farm and Allstate. On January 1, 1999, Eric and Bret formed the Bellingham law firm, Roy & Simmons, P.S. In the following years, the firm’s practice shifted from almost entirely insurance defense to a combination of insurance defense and municipal defense, including the representation of numerous school districts, cities, fire districts and non-profits. Jill Smith joined the firm in 2004 and the firm later became Roy, Simmons, Smith & Parsons, P.S.
We collectively have tried more than 400 arbitrations and 100 jury trials in state and federal courts in Washington as well as argued numerous times to the Washington Court of Appeals and once to the Supreme Court of Washington.
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Life often throws unexpected curveballs. In July 2015, Eric was diagnosed with glioblastoma, an aggressive form of brain cancer. After an 8-month battle, he passed away on March 1, 2016 at the age of 52.
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On May 1, 2018, Bret and Jill welcomed Kelley Sweeney as a partner to the firm. Kelley brought with her 23 years of legal experience, including significant trial experience in the areas of personal injury, discrimination and employment law. With the addition of Kelley, the firm underwent a name change and added a second office - located in Bellevue - and additional staff to better serve clients up and down the I-5 corridor as well as east of the Cascades and west to the Kitsap and Olympic Peninsulas. What has not changed is a commitment to excellence and eternal gratitude to our former partner and dear friend, Eric Roy. Throughout his legal career, he proved to be a true example of what every lawyer hopes to be: an intelligent, ethical and hard-nosed advocate who respected the judicial system and everyone involved, including opposing counsel. Simmons Sweeney Smith is committed to honoring Eric by continuing to practice law in the manner in which he did throughout his legal career.
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