Criminal Law

• Criminal Defense
  Objectivity. In more than 40 years of practicing criminal law – as an Assistant United States Attorney, as an Assistant Federal Public Defender and as a private practitioner – we have found that the most successful attorney-client relationships are those characterized by mutual respect, trust and honesty. When lawyer and client work together as a team, good results most often follow. We recognize that one of the things that clients want from their counsel is an assessment of the odds, based on a thorough review of the facts and the law. We are comfortable making such assessments, and we do not allow the affection we frequently develop for our clients to prevent us from offering frank and unbiased advice.
• Fraud
  Experience. The practical experience of Allen R. Bentley is unrivaled. He has tried more than 70 jury trials in criminal cases, both as a prosecutor and as a defense attorney. He has repeatedly achieved not guilty verdicts in trials conducted in the Western District of Washington. The bulk of his experience as a trial attorney emphasizing criminal defense has been in federal court in Seattle, but during his time as an Assistant United States Attorney, he tried numerous jury cases in New York and one extended non-jury trial in Miami. Recently (2013), he successfully defended a potato grower in a seven-week crop insurance fraud case tried in Richland, Washington. He has also represented clients in grand jury proceedings and other matters in the federal courts in Anchorage, Portland and Los Angeles. He has represented the accused in complex criminal tax and fraud cases in the Washington Superior Courts. He has litigated dozens of appeals in the federal appellate courts.
• Misdemeanors
  Bentley represented the lead defendant, Lynn Olsen, and his closely-held corporation. Bentley played a major part in what was a cohesive and coordinated defense, drafting mid-trial briefs for the defense team successfully arguing, among other issues, that the prosecution could not bring up an important defense expert’s vacated misdemeanor conviction (for criminal impersonation); that the government’s proposed rebuttal evidence (damaging testimony by two defendants at an administrative hearing) was not proper rebuttal; and that the court should instruct the jury on defendants’ theory that they were merely engaging in good faith business practices.

Employment Law

• Sexual Harassment
  In July 1994, a Lieutenant who flew EA6-B electronic warfare aircraft based at the Whidbey Island Naval Air Station was summoned to the offices of the Naval Investigative Service and questioned about an allegation that he had committed sexual improprieties a few days earlier with a female enlisted person, while preparing his aircraft for take-off on the flight line at Andrews AFB. The flier admitted that he had been at Andrews AFB when the alleged misconduct occurred but denied having had sexual contact with the enlisted person. After making his statement to the investigators, the flier was hospitalized with a mental breakdown. The flier spent several days at the Naval Hospital in Bremerton and then was discharged. After being discharged from the hospital, the flier returned to the Naval Investigative Service and admitted committing the sexual acts, while asserting that they were consensual. The flier was then charged with sexual misconduct, fraternization, violation of a general order against sexual harassment, assault and false official statements.

Finance Law

• Tax Law
  The investigation ended in 1995 when the entrepreneur waived indictment and entered a plea of guilty to income tax evasion. The guilty plea attracted little media attention and did not reflect adversely on the accounting firm's tax preparation services.