Remembering Michael Wrenn

Michael Wrenn, a Partner in the Litigation Practice Group in Nossaman's Seattle office, passed away on June 3, 2018. 

Mr. Wrenn joined Nossaman in 2017.  He was an experienced litigator who practiced for over 35 years and was a nationally recognized expert in the field of insurance recovery.  Over the course of his career, he served as lead counsel in more than 20 multimillion dollar lawsuits seeking coverage for environmental, business interruption, and construction defect claims against insurance companies. 

He started practicing law in 1980, after receiving his J.D., with honors, from the University of Washington Law School (he also received his B.S., magna cum laude, from the University of Washington).  Mr. Wrenn served as a Shareholder in Heller Erhman's Washington office from 1988-2008, and then served as the Managing Partner of the Wrenn Law Group; a Partner at Wrenn Bender McKown & Ring LLP; and a Partner at Nellermoe Wrenn before joining Nossaman. 

Mr. Wrenn was a frequent speaker on the subject of business litigation and insurance coverage law for various organizations, including The American Bar Association, Risk Management Insurance Society, and many Continuing Legal Education providers.  He was also a trained mediator with experience helping parties reach agreements to business disputes outside the formal litigation process.  

Nossaman Environment and Land Use Partner, Leslie Nellermoe, who founded Nellermoe Wrenn with Mr. Wrenn and has known him for over 30 years, said "Mike loved being a lawyer because he liked helping people.  In addition to his work, he quietly volunteered as a board member for the Northwest Immigrants' Rights Project, was President of the King County Bar Foundation, worked every week for years at a free legal clinic, served on the judicial evaluation committee for the County, and on and on.  He was a mentor to new and not-so-new lawyers.  He donated outings on his boat to many charity auctions and entertained the recipients with charm.  He was a great lawyer and a great friend.  I will miss him."

Linda Larson, a Partner in the Firm's Environment and Land Use Group, knew Mr. Wrenn for over 35 years, and remembers him fondly.  She said "When I first went into private practice, Mike was the only other associate in our very small firm and went out of his way to show me the ropes.  Throughout his career, he approached practicing law with great generosity, humor, and intellectual firepower.  This is a loss not only to the firm but to the Seattle community."

"I met Mike in 1993, when I started private practice and had the pleasure of working with him on several cases.  Mike always had an independent streak and enjoyed questioning authority.  But he also built lasting connections with his colleagues and other attorneys spread across the Seattle legal community," added Svend Brandt-Erichsen, a Partner in Nossaman's Environment and Land Use Group.  Mr. Brandt-Erichsen worked with Mr. Wrenn at Heller Erhman's Seattle office for many years before the two were recently reunited at Nossaman. 

Mr. Wrenn is survived by his children, Bailey, Parker, and Sawyer, and his granddaughter Wrenn, and three brothers and two sisters.