Van Ness Feldman is honored to introduce our newest colleagues, Charlene Koski and Nick Sweeney, who join the firm's litigation and land use practices. 

“We are delighted to welcome Charlene and Nick to the firm,” said Seattle Managing Partner Jay Derr. “Their experience and commitment to excellence make them valuable additions to our litigation and land use teams. We look forward to their insights and contributions in serving our clients and community.” 


Charlene Koski joins our litigation team as Of Counsel with extensive appellate experience representing public and private clients in federal, state, and administrative proceedings. She has experience with a wide variety of environmental, land use, and Indian country statutes. Prior to joining the firm, she served as an Assistant United States Attorney in the Appellate Section of the Western District of Washington, where she represented the United States before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit in a wide range of criminal and civil matters. Before becoming an attorney, Charlene spent nearly a decade as a print journalist specializing in social issues and health care.

Nick Sweeney joins our land use practice as an associate where he will provide counsel to both public and private-sector clients on a wide-range of land use and environmental matters under SEPA/NEPA, the Growth Management Act, Shoreline Management Act, Endangered Species Act, and the Clean Water Act. He is highly-skilled at developing advocacy and litigation strategies and has experience collaborating with scientific experts to prepare comments and testimonies for administrative hearings, agency proceedings, and trial courts. Prior to joining the firm, Nick practiced land use and environmental litigation in Sacramento, California.