Agenda

Webinar instructions will be emailed 24-48 business hours before the date of the webinar.
Please log into the webinar 15 – 30 minutes before start time. 


Thursday, October 16, 2025

8:30 am – 4:30 pm PDT


Agenda:

Understanding Utility Easements and Rights of Way
Presented by Phil Neale

  • Current law on utility rights of way
    • Washington laws and regulations
  • Types of utilities affected
    • Electric, water, natural gas, telecommunications, satellite communications
  • Basis for and definition of the easement
  • Encroachments and interferences
  • Maintenance
  • Environmental issues
  • Condemnation law
  • Current issues involving utility easements

Trespass, Adverse Possession and Other Unauthorized Access to Land
Presented by Patrick Mullaney

  • Elements of civil trespass to land
  • Examining recent trespass cases
  • Elements of adverse possession
  • Examining recent adverse possession cases
  • Elements of timber trespass and boundary landscaping disputes
  • Examining recent timber trespass and boundary landscaping dispute cases

Identifying, Classifying, and Defining Easements
Presented by Babak Shamsi

  • What are easements?
    • Compare to licenses and leases
    • Common types of easements
  • How do you create easements?
    • Express grant or reservation
    • Prescription
    • Estoppel
    • Implication (necessity; prior use)
  • Best practices for creating easements
    • Scope, responsibilities, dispute resolution, etc.
  • Responsibilities for easements (maintenance, taxes, etc.)
  • Breaches and remedies pertaining to easements
  • Termination of easements

Regulations Applicable to Surface Mining and the Permitting Process
Presented by Keenan Ordon-Bakalian

  • Surface Mining Act (Act)
  • Rehabilitation of disturbed areas resulting from surface or underground mining
  • Appropriate future use of the site as determined by the local jurisdiction

Intersection Between Real Property Law and Land Use: The Tricks and Traps for the Unwary Practitioner
Presented by James D. Howsley

  • How land is developed and utilized within Washington state
  • Zoning regulations
  • Environmental protections
  • Community planning
  • Public and private restrictions

 

Webinar Instructions 
 
All attendees must log-on through their own email – attendees may not watch together if they wish to earn continuing education credit. HalfMoon Education Inc. must be able to prove attendance if either the attendee or HalfMoon Education Inc. is audited. 

Certificates of completion can be downloaded in PDF form upon passing a short quiz. A link to the quiz will be sent to each qualifying attendee immediately after the webinar. The certificate can be downloaded from the Results page of the quiz upon scoring 80% or higher. 

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Windows 10 or higher, macOS 11 or higher, Linux, Google Chrome OS 

Web Browser:  
Google Chrome (most recent 3 versions) 
Microsoft Edge (most recent 3 versions) 

Internet connection: 1 Mbps or better 

Hardware:  2GB of RAM (minimum), 4GB or more of RAM (recommended) 

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Credits

Engineers
7.0 Hour Learning Opportunity

Land Surveyors
7.0 PDHs

Attorneys
7.0 CLE Credits

 

Continuing Education Information

This webinar is open to the public and is designed to qualify for up to 7.0 PDHs for professional land surveyors in Washington. The webinar also offers a 7.0-hour learning opportunity to professional engineers licensed in Washington.

This webinar (live format only) has been approved by the Washington State Bar Association MCLE Board for 7.0 Law & Legal CLE credits.

Attendance will be monitored, and attendance certificates will be available after the webinar for those who attend the entire course and score a minimum 80% on the quiz that follows the course (multiple attempts allowed).

*On-Demand Credits*

The preceding credit information only applies to the live presentation. This course in an on-demand format may not be eligible for the same credits as the live presentation; please consult your licensing board(s) to ensure that a structured, asynchronous learning format is appropriate.

Speakers

James D. Howsley

Attorney with Jordan Ramis in Portland

Land use law is not only Mr. Howsley’s career, but his passion. He had the great fortune of growing up around land use and eventually following in the footsteps of his father, who was a respected planner and land use attorney. He is known for finding creative, cost-effective solutions to challenges that could hamper a project. Mr. Howsley represents companies, developers, and builders throughout the Pacific Northwest. He is widely recognized for the depth and breadth of his knowledge of the law around real estate development. Mr. Howsley has successfully represented clients in a range of complex land use/development projects, including advocacy for large scale master planned developments throughout Washington and Oregon, getting new land into urban growth areas, and working with local governments on complex and creative financing tools to build necessary infrastructure.

Patrick Mullaney

Of Counsel with Schwabe in Seattle

Mr. Mullaney provides practical and strategic guidance to public entities and private companies regarding land development and permitting matters, spanning various property types such as residential, office, industrial, retail, healthcare, large public infrastructure projects and natural resource lands. He works closely with clients to provide cost-effective service that helps save time and money while achieving their development goals. Mr. Mullaney has extensive experience in all facets of land development, including managing and coordinating consultant teams, negotiating with government agencies, representing public and private developers in land use litigation, and defending project permits in administrative and judicial appeals. Additionally, he assists clients in negotiating development agreements and resolving disputes concerning boundary lines, easements, covenants, or regulatory compliance issues.

Phil Neale

Attorney with Holmquist & Gardiner, PLLC in Seattle

Mr. Neale chose to pursue a legal career because it allows him to help clients find practical solutions to real world challenges. He finds it satisfying to strategize and reach business solutions which benefit his clients. Closely interacting with clients and understanding their needs underlies everything he does. For Mr. Neale, it is very satisfying to finalize a deal, resolve a dispute, or devise a legal strategy that benefits his clients and reflects the outcome that they want. His practice has given him the opportunity to serve clients in a variety of settings. Although his current focus is on business transactional work, Mr. Neale also has experience in litigation, so he understands how to deal with and, if possible, avoid legal conflicts. His broad experience allows him to successfully pursue his client-focused practice. After graduating from law school in California, he decided to relocate to Washington. Mr. Neale has family in Washington and has always loved the beauty of the state. He enjoys hiking and snowboarding in his free time. Washington’s outdoor lifestyle and Seattle’s sophisticated business environment make it a perfect place to practice law and thrive.

Keenan Ordon-Bakalian

Attorney with Jordan Ramis in Portland

Mr. Ordon-Bakalian is a member of the firm’s land use and development practice group. He focuses his practice on land use and environmental law, with experience handling a variety of regulatory and legal compliance matters at the intersection of these two fields of law. His experience includes representing developers and homeowners in local and state land use zoning, permitting, code enforcement, and environmental compliance for development projects and existing land uses. An attorney is an asset to any development team. Mr. Ordon-Bakalian is dedicated to helping clients navigate the complex regulatory environment surrounding land development. He specializes in proactively identifying and addressing potential challenges that could hinder the progress of a project, as well as managing the intricate personal and political relationships characteristic of land development. While earning his J.D. from Lewis & Clark Law School, Mr. Ordon-Bakalian clerked for the Snohomish County Prosecutor’s Office located in northwest Washington, in the County’s Land Use and Environmental Unit. In addition, he clerked for Western Resources Legal Center, where he assisted in drafting pleadings in Federal District Court and the Ninth Circuit relating to Federal forest practices and ranching.

Babak Shamsi

Attorney with Beresford Booth in Bothell

Mr. Shamsi has an extensive background in real estate law and civil litigation. He has assisted clients in a variety of areas, including but not limited to construction litigation, boundary disputes, enforcement of easements and covenants, title litigation, commercial litigation, real estate transactions and commercial lease negotiations, business disputes, and trusts and estates litigation. After earning his J.D. from Georgetown University Law Center, Mr. Shamsi started practicing law in 2011, and joined Beresford Booth in 2015, where he has served a diverse array of individuals and entities, including financial institutions, community associations, contractors, creditors, individuals, and small businesses.