Meet Your Experienced Team
Palace Law is built on the idea that every client deserves a competent team of legal professionals to handle all aspects of their case. At Palace Law, every client is assigned a team to work on each case. Our teams are comprised of attorneys and legal professionals. Please take a moment to learn about the attorneys at Palace Law and the legal professionals that make up our legal teams.
- Stefanie Carlton, Paralegal
- Debbie Crowl, Claims Negotiator
- Tia Curry, Paralegal
- Sandra Garrison, Paralegal
- Cheryl Gorder, Paralegal
- Anjuli Messmer, Litigation Paralegal
- Tanya Mitchell, Litigation Paralegal
- Kristi Richardson, Paralegal
- Brian Smalley, Paralegal
- Jonathan Tretheway, Paralegal
- Kimberly Vorheis, Claims Negotiator
Stefanie Carlton
Stefanie is a paralegal on the Workers’ Compensation team. Stefanie has a passion for helping others navigate injury claims. She has extensive experience in injury and medical claims and strives to be an advocate for her clients.
In 2018, after nineteen years in the insurance industry, she chose to pursue her passion in the legal field. In 2019, she completed the Paralegal Preferred Pro-Certification, in addition to her previous education which includes Masters in Business Management, Bachelors in Business Management, Associate in Insurance Services, Workers’ Compensation Claims Administration and several other claims/insurance related certifications.
Stefanie has several interests, but most importantly the love for her husband, son, and her pack of three dogs. When Washington weather allows Stefanie and her husband enjoy boating on the Puget Sound.
Debbie Crowl
Debbie has worked in the legal field since 1986, having handled a wide range of duties from litigation to management to her current position as a claims handler and negotiator. Debbie is primarily responsible for drafting and preparing settlement demands and negotiating with claims adjusters as well as managing a caseload of non-filed cases and helping clients with issues that arise on their claims. She also continues to handle management issues. She received her legal education from Highline Community College earning two Associate of Applied Science degrees while simultaneously completing the legal secretary program and the paralegal program. She’s been in the litigation field since 1982 having spent her prior years in asbestos litigation.
Tia Curry
Tia Curry was born and raised in Tacoma, WA, and has lived in Tacoma for over 30 years. After graduating high school, Tia attended Tacoma Community College while working in the medical industry. After working in the medical field for a number of years and seeing the difficulty some of those patients were having navigating the legal aspects of their injuries, Tia decided to pursue a career in the personal injury legal field. Tia is dedicated to helping injured individuals through this difficult time and enjoys the rewards of making a positive difference in their lives.
When Tia is not at work, her number one passion is her son, who is very active in a variety of sports. Tia loves cheering for him, and his teams and attending the various games. She is an avid Seattle Seahawks supporter and loves spending time with family and friends.
Tia also enjoys the outdoors (gardening, camping, and hiking), acrylic painting, cooking, Netflix and reading.
Sandra Garrison
Sandra Garrison was born in Montana, but soon after, her family moved to Aberdeen, Washington, where she lived until she moved to the Seattle area in the early 80s. Sandra has always been very creative and started her career sewing custom bridal gowns, eventually transitioning into retail sales of wedding dresses.
After the birth of her son, she re-evaluated what she wanted out of a career and decided it was time for a change. Sandra started working for a major insurance company as a customer service representative. Working for the insurance companies, she realized it was hard to make an impact and often felt like she was fighting an uphill battle. In 1994, Sandra enrolled in Lake Washington Technical College and obtained her Legal Secretary Certificate.
Sandra has been a workers’ compensation paralegal for over 20 years and provides endless knowledge to Palace Law. She is dedicated to customer service and has spent her career specializing in claimant’s workers’ compensation cases. Sandra works diligently to ensure that her clients receive all the benefits that they are entitled to from the Department of Labor and Industries. She successfully handles all issues in claims such as; back time loss, employability issues, vocational meetings, Board of Industrial Insurance Appeals mediation conferences and resolution of claims with appropriate permanent partial disability awards. Her favorite part of her job is being of service to our clients, and she loves the relationships she is able to build through helping people.
Although Sandra’s son is now grown, she was a single mother who understands the challenges of living off one income and the necessity of perseverance. In her spare time, she enjoys reading and spending time with her family and friends. But of course, she still loves to get her creative juices flowing with sewing, crafts, and scrapbooking.
Cheryl Gorder
Cheryl Gorder is a workers’ compensation paralegal at Palace Law. She is a member of the Washington State Association for Justice and also belongs to the Washington State Paralegal Association.
Cheryl is the Palace Law “black box” that gives our trial team the winning edge. There is no substitute for her decades of trial support. She is dedicated to, and passionate about, the work she does on behalf of client’s cases and the legal process itself. She enjoys the client contact and the day to day interaction with the attorneys and staff that she is working for and with, as well interaction with opposing counsel, court staff, various medical administrators, and physicians, as well as experts, brought in to assist in cases.
Outside of work, Cheryl is a grandmother to 3 and wants her grandchildren to grow up with two very important qualities: a sense of adventure and a commitment to the well-being of others.
Anjuli Messmer
Anjuli received her legal education from the Paralegal Certification Program at Highline Community College, Des Moines, Washington. She has been working in civil litigation since June 2001. Anjuli works closely with clients, addressing client needs, issues and concerns while ensuring compliance with the rules of civil litigation. Her duties include coordinating and securing service of process, locating and interviewing fact witnesses, reviewing and analyzing documentary evidence, researching and compiling factual and legal case information, creating medical chronologies and reports, drafting legal documents and mediation briefing, producing trial notebooks and organizing trial exhibits. She is committed to effective and timely management of litigated cases from initial filing, through the discovery phase and into trial and post-trial proceedings.
Tanya Mitchell
Tanya Mitchell is a worker’s compensation litigation paralegal at Palace Law. She is the right-hand supporting attorneys in appeals and other litigation. Tanya is a fierce defender and strong advocate for the injured people she works for. She is the “momma bear” for the many injured people whose case she helps manage. She is the indispensable force that runs the Palace Law litigation schedule and supports our attorneys in trial. With over a decade of service to injured workers, Tanya represents Palace Law’s Core Value of “Relentless, Persistent and Self-Motivated.”
Tanya was born and raised in Tacoma, Washington and graduated from Pierce College. Tanya and her husband raised two sons in Tacoma and now have the pleasure of spending time with their grandson.
Tanya loves to read, do puzzles and has a love for all animals.
Kristi Richardson
Kristi Richardson was born and raised in Tacoma, Washington. After graduating from high school, she had a strong interest in the nursing field and completed two years of college while working in the office of an orthopedic surgeon. Kristi worked her way up through the doctor’s office for 10 years, learning how to file, do reception work and to deal with all types of patients and injuries. Ultimately, she attained the position of orthopedic assistant and got a real-world view of medicine and patient care. It was during these years that Kristi also began to see the hoops the workers’ compensation patients had to jump through just to see a doctor and to get their bills paid.
As a result, in 1999, Kristi made the decision to leave the medical field and join the legal field where she thought she could have a greater impact on her patient’s lives. She was right. Kristi has been a paralegal now for over 15 years now, almost exclusively managing workers’ compensation cases on behalf of injured workers. She manages all aspects of a workers’ compensation case.
She participates in cases at all levels including at the Department of Labor and Industries, before Board of Industrial Insurance Appeals, and in the Superior Court. She has worked on and been an integral part of the settlement of cases in excess of six figures. Kristi is well-respected by the claims managers of both state and self-insured companies and those in the medical profession because of her years of working in the medical field and because of her understanding of medicine and medical conditions. Outside of work, Kristi manages a five-acre farm with chickens and ducks, has a wonderful husband who runs a construction company and joyfully raises her baby daughter.
Brian Smalley
After leaving school, Brian spent the next 30 years in the commercial real estate finance industry in Seattle and New York City. In 2010, after returning to Chehalis to care for a family member, he made a career change to the legal industry to help injured workers receive their entitled benefits in workers’ compensation claims. His well-developed negotiation and organizational skills allow him to stay on top of his client’s claims and to effectively manage the increasingly complex nature of claims with the Department of Labor and Industries. He manages State and self-insured claims from beginning to end.
Brian Smalley graduated from high school in Chehalis, WA, and attended Washington State University where he graduated with honors with a Bachelor of Science degree from the School of Engineering and a Bachelor of Arts degree in Finance. While at the university, he was elected to Tau Beta Pi, the National Engineering Honor Society.
Brian is an avid touring cyclist and traveler. He has traveled the world by bicycle, logging over 25,000 miles through 13 countries on his trusty touring bike. He also enjoys hiking, cooking and reading.
Jonathan Tretheway
Jonathan is a paralegal in the personal injury department of Palace Law with a focus on litigation. In 2006, after several years in the building materials industry, he chose to pursue a career in the legal field. In 2008, after graduating from Tacoma Community College with an Associate of Applied Science in Paralegal Studies (with honors), he began his career fighting for plaintiffs in matters concerning workplace discrimination, civil rights, and personal injury.
Jonathan has diverse skills and extensive experience in the litigation process and is the perfect team member to help guide our clients through the challenges of taking a case to court. He can explain the often-difficult litigation process in a down to earth way helping to put our clients at ease.
When Jonathan is not hard at work for his clients, he enjoys playing guitar, having a beer at newly discovered Northwest craft brewery, and hiking in the PNW trails with his wife, Kelsey, and their little dog Bailey.
Jonathan and Kelsey met in December 2016 at Doyle’s Pub in Tacoma watching the Seattle Sounders win the MLS cup. They are both avid soccer fans and Sounders FC season ticket holders.
Kimberly Vorheis
Kim has worked in the legal profession as a Legal Assistant since November of 2000. Kim began as a legal receptionist and worked her way up to handling non-filed cases and helping clients with any of the many issues that arise. Since 2007, Kim has been managing a caseload of non-filed claims that she follows all the way from intake through settlement. She drafts and prepares settlement demands and then negotiates settlements with claims adjusters. She also manages all of the insurance coverage issues typically seen in personal injury claims.
