Overview
Before becoming an attorney, Seth Rosenberg spent two decades working in roles that gave him a close-up view of how legal, governmental, and institutional systems affect people’s lives. He investigated criminal cases for the Pima County Superior Court, managed Health Care for Homeless Veterans programs for the Department of Veterans Affairs and served as executive director of agencies supporting low-income families and adults with disabilities. While attending law school, he continued that work through the Innocence Project Northwest. Together, those experiences gave Seth an unusually broad perspective on the people behind legal disputes and shaped the kind of lawyer he wanted to become.
Today, as Managing Member of Seattle Litigation Group, Seth represents employees, licensed professionals, students, and families in employment, administrative, and school law matters. His practice is devoted almost entirely to individuals, often at moments when a legal problem threatens something they have spent years building, whether a career, a professional license, a livelihood, or a child’s future.
Seth’s commitment to administrative law also extends beyond his representation of individual clients. Through the King County Bar Association, he formed a committee to advance administrative law reform in Washington and helped move proposed legislation through the State Senate. That work reflects a broader commitment to strengthening the administrative process for the professionals whose careers depend on it.
His background as an investigator remains central to the way he practices. Seth looks beyond the initial narrative, tests assumptions, and digs into the evidence to understand what actually happened. His years in social services bring another dimension to that approach. He understands that a legal matter does not exist in isolation from the person experiencing it, and that the outcome can have consequences reaching far beyond the case itself.
That perspective is backed by extensive experience. Seth has represented clients in more than 100 adjudicative hearings before professional licensing boards, Social Security tribunals, unemployment agencies, and other administrative bodies. He has litigated regulatory compliance matters in multiple states and developed a significant practice representing professionals in matters affecting their licenses and careers. His advocacy has also taken him to the Washington Supreme Court.
In 2014, Seth argued Kumar v. Gate Gourmet, Inc. before the Washington Supreme Court, advocating for greater protection of employees whose sincerely held religious beliefs conflict with workplace requirements. The Court’s decision expanded the scope of an employer’s obligation to reasonably accommodate an employee’s religious practices under Washington law.
Seth’s Approach to Complex Cases
Seth describes his approach as aggressive and thorough, but litigation itself is never the objective. He begins with what the client needs to accomplish and builds the strategy around that goal.
For some clients, that means taking a difficult case through a hearing or trial. For others, it means developing the facts and leverage necessary to reach a meaningful resolution without prolonging a dispute. Seth is willing to fight when the case requires it, but he is equally focused on recognizing when there is a better path forward.
That focus comes back to something Seth learned long before becoming a lawyer. The case may be one matter on a court or agency docket, but for the person sitting across from him, the outcome can determine what comes next in their life. His job is to understand those stakes, give the client a clear path through the legal process, and work toward a result that allows them to move forward.
- Washington State Supreme Court, Kumar v. Gate Gourmet. Argued before the Washington State Supreme Court in a landmark employment case addressing the scope of an employer’s duty to accommodate religious beliefs in the workplace. The ruling resulted in a meaningful extension of protections for Washington employees whose sincerely held religious practices conflict with workplace requirements.
- “Boy in a Cage,” Seattle Public Schools. Represented an African American student with disabilities after a school principal used a cage as a behavior management tool. The case was the subject of a feature story in Super Lawyers magazine and has contributed to documented changes in how Seattle Public Schools approach the treatment of students with disabilities.
- Northwest Soil Program, Fairfax Hospital MultiPlaintiff (Ongoing). Serving as lead counsel in a 118-client matter arising from Fairfax Hospital’s operation of the Northwest Soil program, a school-based program for disabled youth that was shut down as a result of an investigation by the Department of Justice in 2024. The hospital failed to provide required educational services and subjected children to unnecessary physical restraints. Rosenberg personally contacted every member of the affected class to build the evidentiary foundation of the case.
- Washington State Association for Justice, Member
- Washington State Bar Association, Member
- Washington State Bar Association, Administrative Law Section, Executive Committee Member
- King County Bar Association, Member
- Protect Our Judges, Founding Member
- MOMMAS, Member and Sponsor
- Super Lawyers, Rising Star, 10 consecutive years
- Martindale-Hubbell Peer Review Rating, AV Preeminent, 10 consecutive years
Outside the office, Seth is a single father to a teenage son and has spent nearly a decade coaching youth flag football. Travel is another important part of his life, and when he gets the opportunity, he tends to go far. Recent trips have taken him to Rome, Oaxaca, and Istanbul. Ask him which one should be next on your list, and he will recommend Istanbul without hesitation.
Recognition
