Kolbo, Kirk O.

Mr. Knudsen was born in Detroit, Michigan, on November 7, 1944. He received his A.B. degree in Economics with honors from Stanford University and his J.D. from the University of California at Berkeley School of Law (Boalt Hall). He was admitted to the California bar in 1970 and the Washington bar in 1973 and is authorized to practice before all Washington and California state courts, the U.S. District Courts for the Western and Eastern Districts of Washington and the Northern, Central and Southern Districts of California, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second, Fourth and Ninth Circuits, the U.S. Tax Court and the U.S. Supreme Court.

Mr. Knudsen served as the Majority Counsel to the Eleventh Guam Legislature. Prior to working with Smith & Hennessey PLLC he had his own antitrust and securities litigation firm in San Francisco, was a partner in Jones Grey & Bayley and Stoel Rives in Seattle and, most recently, practiced on his own in Seattle. He is currently a member of the Washington State Bar Association (Member, ADR Section), the Federal Bar Association (Western District of Washington) and the American Bar Association (Member, Litigation and Antitrust Sections).

Mr. Knudsen has focused his practice for over 30 years in the area of business-related litigation. He has extensive experience in handling complex issues arising in a wide variety of litigation matters, including tax, securities, franchising, failed financial institutions, trade secret, trade name, antitrust and other competitive business torts. He has argued cases before federal and state courts at both trial and appellate levels, including before the United States Supreme Court where he successfully argued in a securities case involving the application of the in pari delicto defense to securities fraud actions.