Judge Ken Schubert - Superior Court

• Courtroom Number: W-813
• Bailiff: Kellie Parrish     
• Department: 40
• Assignment: Unified Family Court

Biography

Following his election to an open seat in 2012, Judge Schubert joined the King County Superior Court bench on January 14, 2013. He was re-elected in 2016, 2020, and 2024. He is currently assigned to Uniform Family Court. He previously served as the Chief Civil Judge, presided in the Ex Parte and Probate and Civil Departments for two years, and was the presiding judge for the Involuntary Treatment Act Court during the year that court went to all-video hearings. He served on the King County Superior Court’s Executive Committee, Budget Committee, and Commissioner Selection Committee. He Co-Chaired the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee and has previously chaired the Alternative Dispute Resolution Committee. He also served on the Personnel, Courts and Community, and Sealed Files/Adoption Committees. He is active in the Superior Court Judges Association and was the treasurer and an officer on the Board of Trustees from 2022 to 2024. He chaired the SCJA Public Outreach Committee for three years and served on the SCJA Equality and Fairness Committee.

Judge Schubert, a Seattle native, has worked in both civil and criminal law before his election to superior court. His criminal experience includes working as an investigator for The Defender Association before attending law school, working as an extern for the United States Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Washington during law school, and later serving short stints as a special deputy prosecutor for both the Multnomah District Attorney’s Office and the King County Prosecutor’s Office. After law school, he clerked for Justice Gerry Alexander in Olympia and then began his career with and became a partner at Garvey Schubert Barer, where he resolved a wide variety of disputes on behalf of individuals and institutions, including complex civil litigation, fiduciary claims, and trust and estate contests in court and through mediation and arbitration. He also donated free legal services on behalf of civil rights claimants and domestic violence victims. During the two and a half years before becoming a superior court judge, Judge Schubert worked primarily as a pro tem judge in municipal and district courts throughout King County.

Judge Schubert has been and remains active in the community and the bar. He served on the Pretrial Reform Task Force and the Race and Criminal Justice Task Force. He spent four years as the Treasurer for the Washington Judges’ Foundation and has long been the Content Editor for the Washington Lawyer’s Practice Manual, Chapter 4 (Guide to County Courthouses) and the primary author for the King County Courthouse subchapter. He served two terms as the Secretary on the Executive Committee of the Latina/o Bar Association of Washington and is a former Treasurer for his daughter’s public elementary school PTA. He was twice elected President of his neighborhood’s community council and has served on the boards of a half-dozen non-profit organizations as well as the KCBA Judicial Officer Survey Committee.

Judge Schubert has taught trial advocacy at the University of Washington School of Law and the National Institute for Trial Advocacy. He also has served as a senior advocacy fellow for Seattle University’s Korematsu Center for Law and Equality. Judge Schubert earned his bachelor’s degree with distinction at Occidental College, where he majored in politics, and his law degree from the UW School of Law.

Requests

Parties must note all hearings for motions, including stipulated motions, pursuant to LCR 7(b)(4).

Non-dispositive motions

Parties must comply with all the requirements of LCR 7(b)(4)(A) when setting motions without oral argument. Please provide a copy of all proposed orders in Word format to the Court by emailing them to the bailiff.

Courtesy copies of signed orders will be provided through e-filing for those who sign up for e-service. If a self-represented party has not signed up for e-service, they may receive orders via an email address they provide to the bailiff. If no email address is available for an attorney or a party, please provide preaddressed, stamped envelopes to the Court for its use in sending the order by mail.

Dispositive motions and hearing requests

Judge Schubert hears dispositive motions on Fridays. Requests for hearing dates are accepted by emailing or telephoning the bailiff consistent with LCR 7(b)(4)(B). Judge Schubert expects that you check with opposing counsel before scheduling any hearing to make sure that the date works for all counsel; doing so reduces the need to reschedule hearings due to conflicts and provides a professional courtesy. You must also file and serve a Note for Hearing for your summary judgment motion within five days of receiving a hearing date and time. Failure to do so may result in the Court releasing your reserved hearing date and time. Parties must promptly notify the Court and each other if the Court no longer needs to hear the noted motion.

Any email request for a dispositive motion hearing must include

Case name and cause number

Names, phone numbers, and email addresses of all counsel

Type of hearing and dates requested

Judge Schubert may provide additional time on hearings involving multi-party cases or complex litigation. Please advise the bailiff of your request for more time when scheduling your hearing. Please also let the bailiff know if anyone will need an interpreter.

Working copies

Department 40 is a paperless court and Judge Schubert requests that parties file a working copies submission list identifying by Sub. (docket) No. where each filing for the hearing can be found. The parties do not need to incur the expense of submitting e-working copies. Please do not email, snail mail, or messenger hard copies of working papers.

Civil trial continuances

Requests to change the trial date should be by motion, filed and noted for hearing on a nine-court-day calendar. Stipulations or agreed motions may be submitted on a two-court-day calendar pursuant to LCR 7(b)(4)(H). The Court grants timely motions to continue trial based on good cause. The motion should be accompanied by a declaration as to the nature of the case, the discovery and trial preparation that have been completed, what remains to be accomplished, and an explanation of why the case could not be completed within the original case schedule.

LCR 40(e)(2) applies to untimely motions filed after the final date to change trial date set forth in the Case Schedule. That rule provides that “the motion will not be granted except under extraordinary circumstances where there is no alternative means of preventing a substantial injustice.” Given that stringent standard, parties should be mindful of the deadline to change the trial date. They should make sure a motion filed after that date addresses that standard by setting forth extraordinary circumstances that require a continuance to prevent a substantial injustice. The failure to address that standard and set forth such circumstances may lead to the denial of the motion.

Civil trial exhibits

Pursuant to Local Rule 16(5), the Joint Statement of Evidence is to be filed, not later than five court days before the scheduled trial date. Except in criminal cases, the parties should upload exhibits to Case Center using the instructions attached to the Pre-Trial Conference Order.

Depositions are not to be marked as an exhibit since they are part of the court file. Exhibits to the deposition may be marked as exhibits in evidence. Otherwise, all unattached exhibits in a deposition should be stapled or secured inside the back cover of the deposition.

Please contact Judge Schubert's bailiff regarding any further questions.

Trial procedures

Please review these general Trial Preparation Guidelines. Please also review Judge Schubert's Trial Procedures. They are intended to ensure an efficient trial.