“Judge Gould was the first person
with a disability appointed to the federal appellate courts,” Hager says. “He has MS and uses a wheelchair to get around, and is the greatest mentor I could have hoped for. He’s a role model not only to me, not only to lawyers with disabilities, but to the entire disability community. He’s truly my hero.” Hager says that Judge Gould
taught lessons that continue to serve his life and his career. “He showed me that it’s not about
disability, it’s about ability, that if we focus on the things we can do, we have a whole slate of opportuni- ties. He made me feel the sky was the limit, that there was opportunity regardless of what you look like or might be lacking. Te law is so much more mental than physical, and he showed me that and more and did it with such grace. He’s phenomenal.” After a year as an associate at
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Kirkland & Ellis LLP in Los Angeles, Hager returned to Seattle, taking a position at his current firm, Perkins Coie, where Judge Gould had been a partner before his judicial appoint- ment. Two weeks after joining the firm, Hager became part of the international commercial arbitration team represent- ing Te Boeing Company in matters related to Boeing’s six first-generation, high-power, HS702 concentrator-array, communications satellites. In one mat- ter, Telesat Canada, a global satellite operator based in Ottawa, sued for $395 million in damages and lost profits for Boeing’s alleged breach of contract, gross negligence, and willful misconduct in connection with the constructive total loss of the Anik F1 satellite. As a boy he had wanted to be an astronaut, so he found the intrica- cies of the subject matter fascinating. “It has occupied a lot of the last seven
years of my life,” Hager says of the case, which was recently concluded, resulting in no payment or admission of liability. Now an expert in international arbi-
tration as a result of the case, Hager has written several journal articles, devel- oped a course that he teaches at Seattle
University School of Law, and drafted legislation to establish more uniform rules in the state of Washington regard- ing international arbitration. “Te case also gave me an opportu-
nity to develop an expertise in export control regulations and the complex web of international, federal, and state law related to outer space,” he adds. Hager, the first attorney that self-
identified as disabled at Perkins Coie, spurred the recognition and express inclusion of disability within the firm’s diversity goals. In 2010 he helped organize and launch an affinity group for lawyers with disabilities at Perkins Coie, which he now co-chairs. “It has been very successful,” he
says. “We have just eight members but we keeping growing and what we lack in numbers we make up for with our passion. Our mission is twofold. We seek to increase the hiring, retention, and promotion of lawyers with disabili- ties at Perkins Coie, and also to raise awareness about disability diversity in the legal profession. We want to spear- head change for us and for others.” His group has hosted yearly panel
presentations at law schools and recep- tions at Perkins Coie offices, most recently in October at Lewis & Clark Law School and the Perkins Coie office in Portland, Oregon. “It’s positively transformative, not
only to show ourselves in the com- munity but to talk about the issues we face as lawyers with disabilities and to brainstorm strategies for increasing disability diversity in the profession,” he says. In March of 2013, the affin- ity group convinced the firm’s leader- ship to sign the ABA’s Commission on Disability Rights “Pledge for Change.” Hager also penned an article for
the ABA’s Commission on Disability Rights, documenting Perkins Coie’s successful experience with disability and diversity. In 2012 he spoke at the ABA’s annual convention about the promise of mentoring for those with disabilities. Mentors have played a huge role in his success, from his grandmother, to Judge Gould, to his boss at Perkins Coie, Steve
DIVERSITY & THE BAR® NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2013
Koh. A mentor in the ABA National Mentor Program for Lawyers and Law Students with Disabilities, Hager believes mentors are instrumental in helping young professionals succeed: “It’s absolutely essential to have a cham- pion, to have someone you can confide in, lean on, and learn from.” So what does the future hold for
the young attorney? Well, for one, he’d love to travel to outer space in one of the commercial spacecraft that are being developed by such compa- nies as Blue Origin, SPACE-X, and Virgin Galactic. Hager has actually done some of his own legal research assessing regulations for commercial space tourism. He also wants to be a grandfather, so he can pass on the love and guidance he learned from his grandmother. Of course, that means being a parent first, but with his significant other nearing the comple- tion of her dissertation, that goal looks to be within reach. Last, he’d like to follow in Judge Gould’s footsteps. “My dream job is to be a judge.” D&B
Tom Calarco is a freelance writer based in Wildwood, Fla.
MCCA.COM
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