Abigail Pearl DeWeese
Attorney
Direct: 206.470.7651
Main: 206.623.1745
Fax: 206.623.7789
Legal Assistant: Debbie Chewning
Phone: 206.470.7659
Professional Overview
Abigail provides critical insight and advice to residential, commercial, and institutional developers. She has devoted her career to understanding the challenges faced by developers, land owners, and architects throughout Washington in all aspects of land acquisition and development, from initial due diligence to full entitlement and defending appeals. Abigail takes great pride in offering an integrated suite of services, including providing land use, environmental, and real estate advice.
With a depth of experience in the Puget Sound Region, including in Seattle, Bellevue, Redmond, Kirkland, and Renton, clients benefit from Abigail’s solution-oriented approach and deep insight into their business challenges. Abigail’s practice has been particularly active in Bellevue since the Downtown zoning code update. Since then, she’s been involved with projects in Bellevue that total over 2.9 million square feet of commercial development and provide over 1000 residential units, with more in the pipeline.
Additional areas of focus include:
- Office
- Multi-family residential
- Academic
- Non-profit
- Religious
- Historic preservation/ Adaptive re-use
- Panelist, "Residential Housing," Bellevue Chamber's Eastside Real Estate Symposium, 2024
- Moderator, "Live, Work, and Play," Bisnow’s The Future of Bellevue Event, 2023
- Presenter, “How do we produce housing to meet Washington’s needs?," May 2023.
- Instructor, "Entitlements, Permitting, Land Use Legal," University of Washington Commercial Real Estate Class, January 2023.
- Panelist, “Housing: Opportunities and Obstacles,” Bellevue Chamber’s Eastside Real Estate Symposium, 2023
- Moderator, “Planning for Growth: Residential and Retail,“ Bisnow’s The Future of Bellevue Event, 2022
- Moderator, "The Rise of the East Side," NAIOP Washington State Chapter January Breakfast, 2021
- Speaker, "New Developments in Real Property," Washington State Bar Association CLE, August 2018
- Author, Ask a Legal Professional, Puget Sound Business Journal (Redevelopment of a Property in Seattle and Special Tenant Protections), November 2018
- Author, Ask a Legal Professional, Puget Sound Business Journal (Historic District Regulations), December 2016
- Co-Author, Real Property Deskbook, Washington State Bar Association (State Environmental Policy Act - Programmatic/Planned Actions/SEPA-GMA), 2016
- Author, Ask a Legal Professional, Puget Sound Business Journal (Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act), December 2015
- Author, Ask a Legal Professional, Puget Sound Business Journal (Tree Cutting Permits), December 2014
- Bellevue Chamber of Commerce, Board of Directors
- Bellevue Downtown Association, Board of Directors
- NAIOP Washington, Governmental Affairs Chair
- Bellevue Chamber of Commerce, Planning Land Use Housing & Sustainability Committee
- Bellevue Downtown Association, Land Use Committe; Transportation Committee
- Commercial Real Estate Women (CREW) Seattle
- Boys and Girls Club of King County, Ballard Club Advisory Board Member
- Repeatedly recognized by Best Lawyers in America®: Ones to Watch in the fields of Land Use & Zoning Law and Real Estate Law, most recently for 2024.
- Extern to the Honorable James L. Robart, Federal District Court for the Western District of Washington.
- Legal Intern, Sexual Violence Law Center.
- Legal Intern, Snohomish County Legal Services.
- Extern, Earthjustice.
- Moot Court Honor Board 1L Mock Trial Competition quarterfinalist, 2011.
- Gates Public Service Law Scholarship finalist, 2011.
- J.D., University of Washington School of Law, Concentration in Environmental Law, 2014
- Executive Editor of Notes and Comments, Washington Journal of
Environmental Law and Politics - Co-Author, Washington Environmental Law Year in Review,
3 Wash. J. Envtl. L. & Pol’y 347, (2013) - President, UW Law Women’s Caucus
- Global Outreach Coordinator, Law Students for Reproductive Justice
- Captain, Inter-American Sustainable Development Moot Court Team
- Treasurer, GreenLaw
- Executive Editor of Notes and Comments, Washington Journal of
- B.S., Public Health, B.A. with Distinction, Women Studies, University of Washington, 2010
- New Leadership Institute of Puget Sound, UW Women’s Center
- President and Founder, Students for Civic Engagement on Homelessness
- Peer Educator, ASUW Committee Organizing Rape Education
I love to travel and I've been lucky to explore some amazing parts of Indonesia, Ghana, and Colombia. In my free time, I enjoy exploring Seattle's restaurants with my husband and friends, practicing yoga, and watching Husky football.