Yale Metzger is of counsel with Keesal, Young & Logan in the firm’s Anchorage office.
Prior to completing an enlistment in the U.S. Air Force as a criminal investigator, Yale’s education and work experience primarily involved law enforcement, criminal investigation and the study of criminal justice. Yale graduated from University of Alaska Anchorage with a B.A. in justice and a minor in journalism & public communication in 1987. He obtained his J.D. cum laude from Gonzaga University School of Law in 1995.
Yale returned to Anchorage in 1995 and after clerking for U.S. District Court Magistrate Judge Harry Branson, he opened his own law practice in 1997. Since then, Yale has been a member of the admiralty section of the Alaska Bar Association with a diverse practice which includes representing vessel owners in various matters involving commercial and property damage claims, and representing various parties in personal injury and wrongful death claims.
Yale has significant maritime and admiralty casualty investigation experience including on‐site and shipboard investigations, personal injury claims, cargo claims, dock damage claims, oil spills and collision claims. He worked for a major Alaska law firm for more than five years prior to obtaining his law degree and was involved in numerous investigations including the grounding of the M/V HYUNDAI No. 12 in the Shumagin Islands, the collision between the M/V ISLAND PRINCESS and M/V REGENT SEA in Skagway, and the grounding, spill and litigation involving the T/V EXXON VALDEZ in Prince William Sound. He is also currently acting as general counsel to the largest charter boat operator in Prince William Sound.
Yale and his wife Susan have endowed a scholarship at Gonzaga University School of Law primarily for Alaska residents who are required to leave Alaska to attend law school.