Bradley Rowland Marshall was born in Seattle on March 30, 1957, the youngest son of Melvin Harris Marshall and Thelma Jane (Searcy) Marshall. His father was born in Carthage, Arkansas and served for a period as pastor of a small family congregation. His mother was born in Stevensville, Texas and she and her family later moved to Portland, Oregon.

The senior Marshall was known by his children Patricia, Melvin Jr., Kenneth, Bradley and Sandra to be as strict a disciplinarian as he was in his interpretation of the scripture. His mother, a devout Christian, was as intellectually demanding of her children as the senior Marshall was in matters of the soul. Raised in Seattle’s Holly Park, a notorious housing project, Bradley would later be ordained as a minister in the Church of God in Christ. For awhile it looked as though he would follow in his father’s footsteps as a pastor, serving as an associate minister in Los Angeles, Tacoma and Seattle. An interpretive, dynamic speaker and talented soloist and musician, Marshall is one of many in a family of artistic clergy.
 

Education
He attended Franklin High School in Seattle, following with enrollment at the University of Washington where he studied literary classics and religion. He received his Bachelor of Arts degree in 1980.

An employment opportunity took him to Los Angeles to accept a position with the U.S. Department of Labor where he advised fortune 500 companies on the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA).

In 1982 he returned to Seattle to study law at the University of Washington. Marshall became known among his fellow law students for his principled desire to protect the rights of others. During a contract lecture a student made disparaging comments about Jews. Marshall politely interrupted the Socratic questioning to admonish the student on the importance of respect and human dignity.

Early Legal Career
In the early days of his legal career, Marshall served as a Rule 9 prosecutor with the City of Seattle. After graduation from law school his interest in international studies led him to join the international business law firm of Felix and Zimmar, PS. Marshall creatively developed solutions for the firm’s clients, proved to be a firm negotiator and tenacious fighter, while able to breach any division to engineer a settlement.

Sports Agent Career
Marshall first became well known through his work with NBA star Doug Christie, after he was selected by the Seattle Super Sonics as the 17th pick in the first round of that year’s draft. Following an eight month contract impasse, Marshall, through a series of formal and informal negotiations, won Christie’s right to sign a five year, $8.3 million rookie contract with the Los Angeles Lakers. Marshall later successfully negotiated a $22 million contract for Christie with the Toronto Raptors; a $40 million contract with the Sacramento Kings; a $9 million bonus buyout with the Orlando Magic; and a $16 million contract with the Dallas Mavericks.

Marshall also provided representation in some form to such players as Koren Robinson, James Edwards, Jerome Kersey, Kimo Van Olhoffen, Jason Terry, Clifford Robinson, Anthony Peeler, Yinka Dare, Lincoln Kennedy, Spencer Haywood, and many other professional athletes.

Legal Battles On Behalf of Professional Athletes
In professional sports circles, Marshall quickly became known as a capable litigator and a tough negotiator. Marshall represented Los Angles Lakers star Anthony Peeler in a federal court lawsuit in Missouri. Peeler was accused of brandishing a gun and biting his then girlfriend. The St. Louis jury returned a verdict in the amount of $2.4 million in favor of the plaintiff. Marshall quickly filed an appeal. Intense negotiations ensued. Marshall eventually settled the case for $1 million and arranged for the funds to be paid out of the proceeds of a newly consummated $13 million player contract he negotiated with the Minnesota Timberwolves.

One of the major challenges Marshall faced during this incredibly remarkable period was the number of times his athlete clients were subjected to deceptive practices by professionals and bogus legal claims by persons associated with athletes. In 1997 the future Hall of Fame player, Clifford Robinson, was the target of a $1 million insurance and construction scam by his former player agent. Robinson had executed an ill-advised durable power of attorney, giving his then agent complete control over large sums of money. The agent forged an insurance policy, embezzled funds (intended for the construction of Robinson’s home in Connecticut) and used those funds to order and pay for construction materials for the renovation of the agent’s home, all while Robinson was away playing for the Portland Trailblazers. Marshall filed a federal lawsuit and named the player agent, the insurance agent, the insurance company and a number of other defendants. After many months of litigation, Marshall negotiated a recovery of over $1.5 million in compensation to Robinson.

The same player agent was subsequently sued by Marshall on behalf of Yinka Dare, who had been similarly scammed, and was later expelled from the National Basketball Players Association.

In 2003 Clifford Robinson was named as defendant in a $20 million lawsuit filed in Michigan’s Oakland County Superior Court for allegedly infecting a Detroit woman, calling herself Jane Doe, with the herpes virus. The case received daily national media attention through press conferences conducted by attorneys for the plaintiff.

A year later the attorneys for Jane Doe produced a second woman, calling herself Jane Doe 2, who claimed Robinson had also infected her with the virus and she too wanted $20 million, but this time the attorneys filed the case in Michigan’s federal court.

An intense investigation was conducted by Marshall and his staff. After months of discovery and examination it was revealed that the plaintiffs were not credible. It was Robinson who had unknowingly been infected with the herpes virus. Four days of trial and hours of cross examination unearthed a sophisticated scam to bankrupt Robinson’s reputation and pocketbook. The attorneys for Jane Doe requested the judge allow them to withdraw from the case after the four days of testimony. Jane Doe 2 voluntarily dismissed her case with prejudice shortly thereafter.

In 2005, Doug and Jackie Christie were the focus of a $4.5 million lawsuit by a former employee of the Sacramento Kings. The plaintiff alleged that she was the victim of gender discrimination and a hostile work environment. The plaintiff claimed that Christie was not allowed to talk to female employees by his wife Jackie; she asserted that this prevented her from performing her duties because Christie ignored her questions and instructions.

Marshall constructed a harsh interrogation during plaintiff’s deposition. Her testimony revealed she had not attended and graduated from Sacramento State University; she had not served as manager of the basketball team; she was not a recipient of the prestigious NAACP student award nor the Miss Sacramento award, all as claimed in her résumé. Following the deposition, attorneys for plaintiff withdrew, followed by a complete dismissal of all claims.

Marshall’s Pursuit of Civil Rights
From early 2000 through 2006, Marshall became the civil rights legal standard bearer of Seattle’s African American community. Marshall saw the rise in police racial profiling, police wrongful death shootings and a further erosion of the community’s confidence in the police generally.

He served the underrepresented, which included female flight attendants in their quest to gain fairness in employment from both management and labor; female and minority immigration officers in their fight to eradicate sexual orientation discrimination in the workplace; and provided needed assistance to Caucasian dock workers, nurses, teachers and the unemployed.

100 Million Dollar Racial Profiling Case Seattle
Marshall’s filing of a $100 million racial profiling class action lawsuit against the City of Seattle and the Seattle Police Department brought about needed change. The City of Seattle mandated the installation of video tape recorders in all patrol vehicles and the completion of an ethnic sensitivity survey after each traffic stop. Marshall’s actions further led to a nationwide speaking tour and presentations before the Congressional Black Caucus.

The Jefferies Case
In 1998 Marshall was retained by a group of 14 black and Hispanic dock workers to prosecute a Title VII Civil Rights action against the Pacific Maritime Association, four labor unions and 100 maritime companies. After years in litigation and nearly two weeks of trial, Marshall successfully negotiated a settlement that included promotions, training, certifications, an improved, expedited grievance system and nearly $1 million in compensation. He later won a 9th Circuit Court of Appeals case against Local 98 for discriminatory treatment by supervisors of minority dock workers.

The Robert Thomas Case
One year later, Marshall was retained to serve as legal counsel to the Robert Thomas Sr. family in a police wrongful death shooting case. In that case, which gained national attention, an off-duty police officer demanded Robert Thomas Sr. and his son Robert Thomas Jr. leave his neighborhood. When they did not drive away quickly enough, the unidentified man pointed his weapon and again demanded the driver leave. Seconds later three shots rang out, killing Robert Sr. and maiming Robert Jr.

Thousands marched onto Interstate 5 and later to City Hall demanding change. Marshall handled both the criminal inquest and later a federal wrongful death case against the officer, the King County Sheriff’s office and King County.

The Harold McCord Jr. Case
In 2005, Marshall handled a public inquest case involving the wrongful death of Harold McCord Jr., who had escaped from custody while on trial in Pierce County. McCord was ultimately located in an apartment by the Monroe Police Department and the Snohomish Sheriff’s Office. No effort was made to negotiate a surrender. When asked why not, the Chief of the Monroe Police Department said there was concern that McCord could possibly escape by going through a wall. McCord was unarmed, shot seven times in the backside, while on his knees…..

Marshall’s goal in handling these cases was to bring public scrutiny to these shootings, while exacting a cost to the police departments for a pattern of wrongful shootings that dated back over a period of three decades. Wrongful death shootings involving African Americans in King County had grown to alarming numbers, with seemingly no accountability. Marshall’s strategy to end the pattern of wrongful police shootings was to use the Thomas and McCord cases each as a touchstone for change. He hypothesized that the light of day and extensive costs (through public inquests and federal lawsuits with full legal discovery, public civil trials and as much media coverage as possible) would serve to mandate more police training and attention to the disparate treatment of African Americans, which in turn would result in a marked reduction of wrongful police shootings.

Marshall’s theory proved to be correct. There has not been another wrongful police shooting of a black person in King County in five years. From 2001 through 2006 Marshall handled police shooting cases throughout the southern United States, parts of the Midwest and the west coast.

Bridging the Gap
Marshall was named to the FBI’s Seattle Citizens Academy, where he offered insight into bridging the divide between law enforcement, Seattle’s African American, and the legal and illegal immigrant communities. Marshall lectured at institutions nationwide, provided scholarships to the economically disadvantaged and worked as a community activist on such issues as educational opportunity, “Ethics in Ministry,” “God’s Love for Short People” and a variety of other subjects and continues to work as a community activist.

Adjunct Professor
Marshall served as adjunct professor at the University of Washington School of Law and Seattle Pacific University’s School of Business and Economics, where he taught Sports Law and the Legal Environment of Business respectively. Marshall was named the 2005 Teacher of the Year at Seattle Pacific.

Family
Marshall married Cynthia (Hankins) Marshall in 1986, the daughter of Carl and Shirley Hankins of New York. The Marshalls have two sons, Bradley Stewart, age 7, and Rowland Harris, age 5.

As faithful members of the New Beginnings Christian Fellowship of Renton, Washington, the Marshalls are active in a variety of programs and ministries, including children’s education, men’s chorus, bible study and steering committees aimed at expanding both the spiritual and physical terrain of the church. Marshall has undertaken to actively pursue his calling in music and the ministry.

Click here for the PDF Proceedings Against Marshall (Bradley R.)

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