Jean Boler

Jean Boler Of Counsel

Jean Boler is an experienced lawyer who has worked tirelessly for equity and fairness both as counsel for individuals and for organizations. As a plaintiffs’ employment lawyer, Ms. Boler has used class action litigation to expose discriminatory patterns in workplaces. As counsel to the City of Seattle, Ms. Boler was at the forefront of helping a willing City government embrace systemic change in its police department. Ms. Boler has a unique ability to turn conflict into an avenue for improvement, whether through advice, negotiation or litigation. Ms. Boler works in all areas of employment law as well as in the area of police accountability. She is a trained mediator.

Ms. Boler started her legal career clerking for the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals and then moved to the Minnesota Attorney General’s Office as a trial lawyer. In 1988, she joined the Sprenger & Lang law firm, working on class action discrimination cases, including the first sexual harassment class action: Jenson v. Eveleth Mines, which later became the subject of the book Class Action and the movie North Country. A move to Seattle brought her back to the public sector, working in the Seattle City Attorney’s Office Employment Section. Her most recent position was Civil Division Chief, supervising over ninety attorneys and staff handling all legal matters facing the City. She was lead counsel in the negotiations with the Department of Justice over excessive force allegations against the Seattle Police Department and helped negotiate a consent decree that changed police practices and has become a national model.

Court Admissions:

• Minnesota
• U.S. District Court District of Minnesota
• U.S. Court of Appeals 8th Circuit
• U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington
• U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit

Education:

• Juris Doctor, Magna cum Laude, University of Minnesota, 1979-1982
• BA, Anthropology, University of Minnesota, 1973-1977
• Certificate of Completion, Professional Mediation Skills Training Program, University of Washington School of Law, 2012