Gov. Jay Inslee announced today the appointment of Tsering Cornell to the Clark County Superior Court. Cornell will replace Judge Scott Collier, who plans to retire on June 30.
Cornell is currently an Assistant Attorney General with that agency’s Vancouver regional office. In that role, which she has held since 2018, Cornell represents the Department of Children, Youth, and Families, as well as Clark College, Lower Columbia College and the Center for Childhood Deafness and Hearing Loss/School for the Deaf. Before joining the Attorney General’s Vancouver office, Cornell worked for the Attorney General and the Washington Secretary of State in Olympia. She began her legal career as a business associate with Cooley LLP, advising corporate clients.
Cornell has deep roots in Clark County, having grown up and attended K-12 school there before later returning to raise her own family. She remains involved in the community. She is a board member of the Clark County Volunteer Lawyers Program, and she volunteers with the Clark County Food Bank and YMCA youth mock trial program. Since 2000, Cornell has also been a member of the Northwest Tibetan Cultural Association.
“Tsering is an impressive individual, attorney, and leader, who is has spent the bulk of her professional career serving the public,” said Inslee. “She has a collaborative mindset, and she approaches her work with empathy and compassion. I expect that she will excel on the bench.”
Cornell earned her bachelor’s degree from Dartmouth College and a master’s degree from Alliant International University. She earned her law degree from the University of California, Hastings College of the Law.