Public Records Act Deskbook: Washington's Public Disclosure and Open Public Meetings Laws

Ramsey Ramerman (Editor-in-Chief) is a deputy city attorney with the City of Everett, where he works on open government issues, advises the police department on records issues, and works on general municipal law issues. He also does a limited amount of legal consulting and open government training through his firm, Ramerman Law Office PLLC. He has litigated numerous PRA cases, including several in the Washington Supreme Court, and regularly submits amicus briefs in PRA cases. Mr. Ramerman has trained thousands of state and local government employees and officials on PRA compliance. He is also one of the founders and the first president of the Washington Association of Public Records Officers and has served on the state Sunshine Committee since it was formed in 2007.

Mr. Ramerman graduated from the University of Washington School of Law with high honors in 2000, where he was a managing editor of the Washington Law Review and was awarded the Carkeek Award for the best student article. Before joining the City of Everett in 2009, he served as a law clerk for the Honorable Elaine Houghton in the Court of Appeals and then joined the municipal group at Foster Pepper PLLC (now Foster Garvey PC).

Eric M. Stahl (Editor-in-Chief) is a partner in the Seattle office of Davis Wright Tremaine LLP. He represents members of the news media in public records and open court matters. He successfully moved to open dozens of sealed court files on behalf of The Seattle Times in connection with its Pulitzer Prize-finalist investigative series, "Your Courts, Their Secrets," and has handled numerous public records disputes and appeals. He also advises media, entertainment, advertising, and communications companies in copyright, First Amendment, and other content-related matters. He is a director and member of the legal committee of the Washington Coalition for Open Government.

Mr. Stahl graduated from the University of Pennsylvania and received his J.D. from University of Washington School of Law, where he was executive articles editor of the Washington Law Review. Prior to law school, he worked as a news reporter in Washington and Massachusetts.