PULLMAN, Wash. — Washington State University Regent William Marler will discuss “Why You Shouldn’t Poison Your Customers,” during a guest lecture Jan. 24. A personal injury lawyer and partner in the law firm Marler Clark in Seattle, Marler will speak at a Food Science Club meeting at 5:30 p.m. in the Food Science and Human Nutrition building, Room 150.
Marler and his firm have formed a niche dealing with food poisoning cases and reforming food handling nationwide. In 1995 Marler represented 9-year-old Brianne Kiner who suffered from E.coli after eating tainted food at Jack in the Box. He garnered a $15.6 million settlement in this case then moved on to represent five children suffering from E.coli after drinking Odwalla juices. The Odwalla case resulted in a $15 million settlement and the pasteurization of Odwalla’s juices to prevent further outbreaks.
Marler founded the consulting firm, Outbreak Inc. The firm informs companies about how not to poison their consumers. He also has worked as the fund-raising chief for Washington state Gov. Gary Locke’s 1996 and 2000 gubernatorial campaigns. In 1998 Locke appointed him to the WSU Board of Regents.
Marler graduated from WSU with a bachelor’s degree in political science, economics and English in 1982. He was the first student ever elected to serve on the Pullman City Council. He received his Juris Doctor from Seattle University in 1987 and now serves on the Washington State Trial Lawyers Association, Bainbridge Youth Services Board, Senior Services Board and the Children’s Hospital Circle of Care.
