by Jake Goldstein-Street, Washington State Standard
May 18, 2026
Theo Angelis is Washington’s newest state Supreme Court justice.
While he has been on the court for about six weeks, Angelis was formally sworn in Monday in a ceremony at the Temple of Justice in Olympia. Gov. Bob Ferguson appointed him to the role in March.
“Anyone who’s ever worked with Justice Angelis will say the same thing,” Ferguson said Monday. “For such a brilliant legal mind, he’s also the nicest guy you will ever want to meet.”
Angelis is replacing retired Justice Barbara Madsen, who had been on the court since 1993. She was the first woman elected to the court and served as chief justice from 2010 to 2017.
“I pledge to you, as a justice, I will be prepared and thoughtful,” Angelis said. “I will approach each case with passion and dedication. I will care deeply, always, about how every decision impacts people in Washington, and I will respect everyone who appears before this court.”
“Our work is not just deciding cases, though, it also is in supervising our justice system in the state, and that work, in some ways, is even more important,” Angelis continued. “I am dedicated to continually re-examining, rebuilding, and reforming our justice system.”
Angelis joins the high court from private practice at K&L Gates, where he specialized in intellectual property and appellate litigation. In that work, he represented many companies, including numerous based outside the United States.
He has also worked pro bono extensively, including representing children denied counsel, immigrants and people experiencing homelessness.
Julie Anne Halter, managing partner at K&L Gates in Seattle, said she realized Angelis was “wicked smart” when she first met him 25 years ago. She said he had made clear early in his tenure at the firm that the only thing that could take him away from it was becoming a judge.
“As Justice Angelis steps onto the court, he is exactly where he is supposed to be,” Halter said. “He is principled, yet open-minded, well-informed, yet intensely curious. He is an independent critical thinker, but very much in touch with the realities of everyday people.”
Angelis is the child of an immigrant father from Greece and a mother whose parents were refugees from Turkey. His father John Angelis, a reverend, delivered the invocation and benediction at Monday’s ceremony. Angelis is active in the Greek Orthodox Church and has served as a Sunday School teacher.
Angelis holds degrees from Claremont McKenna College, the London School of Economics, Oxford University and Yale Law School. He also clerked on the District of Columbia Court of Appeals for a judge appointed by Ronald Reagan.
He joins the court as a monumental legal fight looms over the future of a state income tax on high earners. The Legislature approved the tax earlier this year. It’s expected the justices will need to decide whether to follow nearly century-old precedent that found such a levy unconstitutional.
Angelis is headed for an election battle to retain his seat. He faces retired Federal Way Municipal Court Judge Dave Larson, who narrowly lost a campaign for the high court in 2024; Sharonda Amamilo, a family and juvenile court judge in Thurston County; and Greg Miller.
The campaign is sure to be expensive. Angelis has raised $144,000, while Larson, who has support from the state Republican Party, has brought in $136,000 and Amamilo has raised $15,000, according to campaign finance filings.
The winner will serve the remainder of Madsen’s term, which runs until January 2029. Full terms on the court run six years.
Angelis is Ferguson’s second appointment, after Justice Colleen Melody was tapped for the court late last year. Their two appointments and other departures are resulting in significant turnover on the court.
Ferguson had worked with both of his appointees: Melody at the attorney general’s office and Angelis early in his career at K&L Gates. Neither of them had prior judicial experience.
In her retirement from the court, Madsen will be teaching state constitutional law at Gonzaga University.
Angelis, who is married with two kids, splits his time between Seattle and Olympia.
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