Among Ourselves |
Tara
M. Hendison has completed a weeklong course with Cannon Trust School with
honors at Nortre Dame University. She is an assistant trust officer with Allen
Trust Company.
Portland
lawyer Paul R. Hribernick, partner at Black Helterline, has received
the 2000 Art Heizenrader Award from the Oregon Concrete and Aggregate Producers
Association. The award was presented at the association's annual meeting in
June, granted in recognition of outstanding service in the industry.
The
Federal Bar Association of Oregon has elected its officers for 2001-2002: president
is Bob Barton, Cosgrave, Vergeer & Kester; president-elect is Nancy
Moriarty, Chernoff, Vilhauer, McClung & Stenzel; vice president is Kathleen
J. Hansa, Cosgrave, Vergeer & Kester; secretary is Katherine Somervell,
Bullivant Houser Bailey; treasurer is Jacqueline Tommas; and past president
is Greg Miner, Preston, Gates & Ellis. New board of directors elected
to serve 2001-2004 are: Michelle A. Blackwell, Hutchinson, Cox, Coons
& DuPriest; Marilyn Litzenberger, Bullivant Houser Bailey; Kevin
S. O'Scannlain, Hagen, Dye, Hirschy & DiLorenzo; Patricia Sullivan,
Corey, Byler, Rew, Lorenzen & Hojem; and Michael L. Williams, Williams,
Dailey & O'Leary.
Nelson
D. Atkin II of Barran Liebman has been inducted as a fellow of the College
of Labor and Employment Lawyers. Elected by colleagues, fellows represent the
highest level of sustained outstanding performance in the profession, exemplifying
integrity, dedication and excellence. The sixth installation of fellows was
held in Chicago at the annual meeting of the American Bar Association.
The
Ad Hoc Committee of Newport, Ore., was honored with the 2001 Public Justice
Award from the Oregon Trial Lawyers Association at OTLA's annual convention
in Sunriver. OTLA presents the Public Justice Award each year to an individual
or group who uses creative litigation and innovative work for the best interests
of the community. The Ad Hoc Committee opposed and prevented the local health
district's affiliation with Providence Health System. OTLA also honored two
individuals for professionalism, service and courage in the civil justice arena,
naming Portland attorneys Jeffrey P. Foote and Judy D. Snyderas
Distinguished Trial Lawyers for 2001. OTLA presents this award each year to
a plaintiff's attorney who has led a distinguished career, exemplified by a
deliberate pursuit of justice and high ethical standards. Following passage
of the federal 1991 Civil Rights Act, Snyder became one of the first Oregon
attorneys to specialize in representing victims of gender discrimination and
sexual harassment. Foote is best known as the lead attorney in McCathern
v. Toyota, a case that culminated this year with the Oregon Supreme Court
upholding a 1997 Multnomah County jury verdict against the automaker. Linda
McCathern is a quadriplegic as the result of an accident in a Toyota 4-Runner.
Foote convinced the jury that the 4-Runner was defective because of its tendency
to roll over. Soon after the verdict, Foote voluntarily lobbied U.S. and Libyan
authorities to allow McCathern to travel to Tripoli, where she was reunited
with her two teenage daughters she hadn't seen in nine years.
Portland
attorney Rick Yugler has been named president of the Oregon Trial Lawyers
Association (OTLA) for the 2001-2002 membership year. Other new OTLA officers
are president-elect Mic Alexander, Salem; secretary-treasurer Kathleen
Dailey, Portland; parliamentarian Jane Paulson, Portland; and immediate
past president Steve Piucci. The membership elected three new members
to the OTLA Board of Governors: Michael Wise, Portland; Steve Hill,
Pendleton; and Robert Carlson, Albany. Shelley Russell, Portland,
was appointed to fill a vacancy on the board.
Salem
lawyer Gerald L. Warren has been appointed as the state judge advocate
for the Oregon National Guard by Gov. John Kitzhaber. The 1981 Willamette College
of Law alumnus began his legal career as a judge advocate on active duty in
the Army from 1981-86 where he was stationed in Germany and the Pentagon before
returning to Oregon and private practice. His military service began in 1971;
he joined the Army National Guard in 1986 as a part-time soldier-lawyer. He
currently holds the rank of lieutenant colonel. Warren is an in-house litigation
attorney for City County Insurance Services defending cities, counties and community
colleges in state and federal courts.
Ted
E. Runstein, senior trial lawyer at Kell, Alterman & Runstein, has another
little known professional role: Honorary Consul to the Netherlands. Appointed
by Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands and approved by the U.S. State Department
in 1996, Runstein represents the interests of the Dutch government in Portland
and the Northwest. His responsibilities include assisting Dutch citizens in
obtaining U.S. passports, providing assistance to Dutch businesses doing business
in the U.S. and American companies doing business in Holland, and providing
assistance and information to U.S. citizens who are traveling to the Netherlands.
This summer Runstein attended a worldwide meeting of 250 Honorary Consuls General
in Amsterdam. There, he and his wife, Sandra, met the queen at the royal palace
along with government officials who thanked him for his assistance.
Brad
C. Stanford, a shareholder with Farleigh, Wada & Witt, is now a certified
member of the National Board of Trial Advocacy, having met all the requirements
for board certification in civil trial advocacy. The NBTA is the only national
certification program for trial attorneys. Stanford also has been selected for
membership in the Federation of Insurance and Corporate Counsel. Founded in
1936, the FICC selects its members exclusively by nomination and after thorough
peer review investigation, including judges, clients and opposing counsel. Stanford's
practice focuses on business and tort litigation, including ski area defense.
Portland
attorney Robert S. Banks Jr. was an invited faculty member for the Practicing
Law Institute's program on Securities Arbitration 2001, held in New York City
Aug. 15. Banks contributed a chapter to the PLI textbook and spoke on issues
relating to clearing firm liability and successful trial strategies for attorneys
representing investors. Banks represents clients throughout the United States
in securities arbitrations and is on the board of directors of the Public Investors
Arbitration Bar Association
Trial
attorney Edwin Skoch hopes to put his computer science education and
litigation experience to work in the intellectual property field, and is pleased
to announce that he has officially qualified to sit for the U.S. Patent &
Trademark Office's Oct. 2001 exam.
Retired lawyer Robert Weiss, of Weiss, Jensen, Ellis & Howard, was featured recently in a television program on the History Channel. The program, 'Dangerous Missions: Forward Observers,' recounted the Weiss's account of the 'Lost Battalion' at the Battle of Mortain in Normandy in World War II. Weiss was a field artillery forward observer with an infantry battalion of less than 700 men which, surrounded by a German Panzer division, held out against overwhelming forces for nearly six days with almost no food or medical supplies, little ammunition and no anti-tank weapons or mines. His book, Enemy North, South, East, West, was published in 1998 by Strawberry Hill Press in Portland.