Oregon State Bar Bulletin January 2002
Among Ourselves
Paul Romain has been selected national chairman of Project Interchange, a national organization dedicated solely to providing travel seminars in Israel for America's political, ethnic and religious leaders. Founded in 1982, Project Interchange, an institute of the American Jewish Committee, educates American policymakers and opinion leaders through first-hand experience about Israel and the Middle East peace process. Romaine's term as national chair runs through May 2004.
Carl W. (Bill) Hopp Jr. formally announced his candidacy for circuit court judge for District 11, Position 7, on the steps of the Deschutes County Courthouse Oct. 16. Hopp is seeking the non-partisan position created by the 2001 Oregon Legislature as a result of the region's population increase and growing demands on the court system. Hopp's name will appear on the primary ballot May 21, 2002.
Bert P. Krages II is the author of Legal Handbook for Photographers: The Rights and Liabilities of Making Images, which was recently published by Amherst Media. His first book, Total Environmental Compliance: A Practical Guide for Environmental Professionals, was published by Lewis Publishers in 2000.
National Native American Bar Association members elected West Linn attorney Suzanne Townsend as NNABA president-elect at the association's annual meeting in Albuquerque, N.M. She will begin her term as president of NNABA April 5, 2002.
OSB member Kenneth Fox was recently elected Minnesota chapter president of the International Association for Conflict Resolution (formerly the Society of Professionals in Dispute Resolution) and named a senior fellow of the Hamline University School of Law Dispute Resolution Institute. Fox is a professor and universitywide Director for Conflict Studies at Hamline University in St. Paul, Minn.
Daniel J. Gatti's first fiction novel, White Knuckle, has been published by Blackmore & Blackmore, and is now available at bookstores. White Knuckle is being distributed nationally by Ingram Book Co. Gatti is co-author with his brother, Richard, of four legal texts published by Simon & Schuster.
Ralph F. Cobb has become a fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers. Cobb is a partner in the firm of Luvaas Cobb Richards & Fraser, and has been practicing in Eugene for 46 years. He is presently on the panel of the U.S. Arbitration & Mediation of Oregon and is a master at the bench of the American Inns of Court. In 1998 he received the American Board of Trial Advocates' Oregon Trial Lawyer of the Year award.
Lewis & Clark's law school honored Judge Roosevelt Robinson as its distinguished alumnus at a special awards banquet on Nov. 3. Robinson, a Multnomah County circuit court judge, is well known for his commitment to the drug court program, an alternative to adjudicating drug and alcohol offenses that focuses on participation in treatment programs. In addition, he has helped pave the way for future lawyers and judges of color. He co-founded the Minority Law Students' Association at the law school and was a founding member of the Association of Oregon Black Lawyers.
U.S. District Court Judge Ann L. Aiken and Lane County Court Judge Lyle C. Velure have been invited to be featured speakers for the Seventh Annual Conference on Employment Practices Liability Insurance in New York City on Jan. 31 and Feb. 1, 2002. This is the second time they have been speakers at the conference. They will do a joint presentation on the topic of 'The State and Federal Judiciary Join Forces on the Fast Track: A New Direction in Mediation and Settlement Conferences.' Other speakers at the conference include the chairperson of the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, lawyers, judges and insurance executives from throughout the United States.
Carl Bjerre, a commercial law professor at the UO School of Law, has been appointed by Gov. John Kitzhaber to the Oregon Commission on Uniform State Laws. Bjerre's responsibilities will include acting as one of Oregon's three voting representatives to the National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State Laws. The non-profit law reform organization has been active since 1892, untangling the problems caused by wide variations in state laws.
Barnes H. Ellis has retired as chair of the Metropolitan Public Defender Services Board of Trustees. Kristine Olson has joined as a new board member for a three-year term. Ellis, a partner at the law firm of Stoel Rives, was a member of the Metropolitan Public Defender Board of Trustees since its inception in 1971. He served on the board as chair since 1974. He was recently appointed by Oregon Supreme Court Chief Justice Wallace Carson to chair the new Oregon Public Defense Services Commission. She most recently was U.S. Attorney for the District of Oregon.
Stoel Rives partner Robert Van Brocklin has been elected to the Portland Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce board of directors and the board's executive committee. He has also been named counsel of the chamber board of directors. Van Brocklin, who has been with Stoel Rives for 15 years, has served on the legislative staff of U.S. Sen. Bob Packwood; on the professional staff of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science & Transportation; and as director of government affairs for the City of Portland.