Oregon Lawyers Against Hunger announces that Megge Van Valkenburg of Bullivant Houser Bailey has been elected Oregon Lawyers Against Hungers new president. Natalie Hocken, senior counsel at PacifiCorp, has been elected secretary/treasurer.
U.S. Attorney Michael W. Mosman has been nominated to serve on the U.S. District Court for the District of Oregon. If confirmed, he would fill a vacancy created in May 2000 when Judge Robert E. Jones took senior status. Mosman joined the Department of Justice in 1988 as an assistant U.S. attorney, District of Oregon. He became a U.S. attorney for Oregon in 2001. He engaged in private practice in Portland from 1986-88 and previously served as judicial clerk to Judge Malcolm Wilkey of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit (1984-85) and to U.S. Supreme Court Justice Lewis F. Powell (1985-86).
Leonard DuBoff has completed work on the book, The Art and Antique Collectors Legal Handbook, published by Sourcebooks, a division of Sphinx Publishing. This book is now on the spring list and was released at Book Expo held in Los Angeles earlier this year.
Gregory E. Struxness, chair of Ater Wynnes corporate finance practice, has been appointed to the OMSI board of trustees. Struxness specializes in corporate and securities law, advising corporate officers and directors on general corporate issues, SEC reporting requirements and disclosure obligations as well as mergers and acquisitions, public offerings, private placements and other financing transactions.
Oregon City attorney John Henry Hingson III delivered a presentation entitled 'Cross-Examination by the Book' at DWI on Trial The Big Apple III Seminar in New York City in June. Hingson is a fellow in the American Academy of Forensic Science and the past president of the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers.
Jim Petersen of the Bend law firm Karnopp Petersen was recently elected to an additional one-year term as chair of the Cascade Health Services board. Petersen, who has devoted his passion and energy to medical and health care issues locally for the past 10 years, has served on the boards of both St. Charles Medical Center and the SCMC Foundation, and currently serves on the board of CHS, the parent company of St. Charles Medical Center and Central Oregon Community Hospital.
At its annual June award dinner in Roseburg, the Boy Scouts of America awarded Douglas County attorney Steve Mountainspring the Cubmaster of the Year award for the Doug Fir District. The award recognizes the unit leader in Douglas County who has done an outstanding job over the past year. Mountainspring has been cubmaster of Pack 136 in Winston since July 2002, and since that time the pack has grown from 12 to 60 boys. In 2003, 11 boys in the pack earned the highest award in cub scouting, the Arrow of Light.
Roger Hennagin, a lawyer in private practice in Lake Oswego, has been elected first vice-president of the Arc of Oregon, a non-profit organization that advocates for persons with mental retardation and related developmental disabilities and their families.
The firm of Schwabe, Williamson & Wyatt and one of its shareholders, Margaret Hoffmann, have received the U.S. Department of Defenses prestigious Patriotic Employer Award, presented by the National Committee for Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve to employers going above and beyond the requirements for granting leave for military duty. They were cited for their support of Schwabe paralegal and Oregon Army National Guard Sgt. Angela Angel, who nominated Schwabe and Hoffmann for the awards. More than 25 of Schwabes 350 current employees have served in the U.S. armed forces. Schwabe shareholder Capt. Kurt Hansen, U.S. Naval Reserve, is currently serving on active duty.
For the second year in a row, OSB member Bernard M. Levy, weekly business columnist for the Daily Journal of Commerce, is runner-up in the nationwide Will Rogers Humanitarian Award Competition. Sponsored jointly by the National Society of Newspaper Columnists and the Will Rogers Memorial Museums, the award is given to a 'columnist whose sustained work in civic journalism produced tangible benefits for the community.'
Joshua Marquis, Clatsop County district attorney, delivered a defense of American capital punishment at the European Parliament on May 23 at the invitation of Northwestern and Lueven Universities in Brussels, Belgium. Marquis, who is co-chair of the National District Attorneys Associations Capital Litigation Committee and a frequent columnist in the National Law Journal is one of six authors of 'Debating the Death Penalty,' to be published this winter by Oxford University Press of New York.
Salem attorney Gilbert B. Feibleman delivered a presentation in May on 'What Judges Need to Know to Decide Complex Financial Issues Cases' at the Sixth Annual Family Law Seminar presented by the Kentucky chapter of the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers and Louisville Bar Association. Feibleman is a Fellow of the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers and past president of the OSB Family and Juvenile Law Section.
James N. Gardner, a principal of the Portland law firm of Gardner & Gardner, announces the publication of his new book Biocosm: The New Scientific Theory of Evolution: Intelligent Life Is the Architect of the Universe. The book has been praised by Sir Martin Rees, the UK Astronomer Royal and one of the worlds leading cosmologists, as 'a fascinating and poetic synthesis of current ideas on the emergence of our biofriendly cosmos and its destiny' offering 'a novel perspective on humankinds role in the universe.' It will be available in bookstores and Amazon.com.
Constance Crooker is the author of the new book, Gun Control and Gun Rights, published in June. It is one of Greenwood Publishing Groups 'Historical Guides to Controversial Issues in America.' The book traces the legal and political history of the gun control debate, including controversies surrounding the Second Amendment, federal gun control laws and landmark cases. It is available at Greenwood.com, Amazon.com and most bookstores.
Klamath Falls attorney Phil Studenberg has been elected president of the Oregon Criminal Defense Lawyers Association (OCDLA). Studenberg is the first Eastern Oregon attorney elected to the position in the 24-year history of the organization. Studenberg has been practicing law in Klamath Falls since 1978 after receiving a law degree from the University of South Dakota in 1977. He clerked for the chief justice of the South Dakota Supreme Court for a year before moving to Klamath Falls. Studenberg also serves on the board of directors of the Southern Oregon ACLU.
Peter DeLuca has been named chair of the National Advisory Council on Occupational Safety and Health. The 12-member committee advises the U.S. Secretary of Labor and U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services on occupational safety and health issues. DeLuca has served as Oregon OSHA administrator within the Oregon Department of Consumer and Business Services since 1996.
Donald Joe Willis, a partner at Schwabe, Williamson & Wyatt, has been appointed to the board of advisors for University of Oregons Center for Law and Entrepreneurship. The center brings law and business leaders together to encourage, educate and represent entrepreneurs. Willis is an expert in condemnation law, securities and business litigation, land use and property rights law. He has served five terms as Oregon commissioner to the National Conference on Uniform State Laws. He also is a life member of the conference.
Sandra Duffy, an assistant county attorney for Multnomah County, was invited to testify before a congressional committee on May 8. The Government Reform Committees Wellness and Human Rights subcommittee, chaired by Dan Burton (R-Ind.), held a hearing on the safety of mercury in dental fillings and the dental consumers right-to-know. Duffy testified about her role in securing the rescission of 'gag orders' adopted by the Oregon Board of Dentistry and the Iowa Board of Dental Examiners. The attorney generals in both states agreed that the rules violated the free speech rights of dentists who wanted to warn their patients about the health hazards of amalgam dental fillings, which are 50 percent elemental mercury.
Robert W. Donaldson, a partner at Black Helterline, was selected to moderate a panel of trade experts at the Second Annual Korea-Pacific States Conference in Anchorage, Alaska in August. The panel included the directors of economic development for the five Pacific Rim states, and Jae-Chul Kim, chair and CEO of the Korea-U.S. Economic Council. More than 50 medium to large companies were present to explore expansion of trade between Korea and the five Pacific Rim states.
Two Portland law firms recently announced the launching of new websites. The Law Office of Lawrence Baron can be found at www.baronlawfirm.com. Attorney Steve Smucker has recast his firm as PortlandLawyer.com and the website can be found at www.portlandlawyer.com. Both sites were designed by KestenMedia, a Portland communications business. A primary feature of both pages is a client stories page, which feature actual cases that make up the two practices.
Bend attorney Jim Noteboom of Karnopp Petersen recently participated in an international conference addressing issues related to the War on Terrorism and peace efforts. In May, Noteboom spent a week in the Ukraine teaching at a conference at the Ukraine National Law Academy, in partnership with the Defense Institute of International Legal Studies, hosting discussions, seminars and mock trials over the course of the five-day conference. Students from the International Law and Military Law departments participated under the tutelage of four American judge advocates, including Noteboom.
Portland trial lawyer Gregory Zeuthen has been elected to serve as chair of the Laser Eye Surgery Malpractice Litigation Group for the Association of Trial Lawyers of America. He was selected during ATLAs recently completed (July 19-23) annual convention in San Francisco. Zeuthen is the principal attorney of Gregory K. Zeuthen, Attorney at Law, which handles personal injury and medical malpractice cases.
Stephen Eichelberger of Salem has been selected as counsel for Oregon Firearms Academy, a Brownsville small arms and tactics school for private citizens and law enforcement. Eichelberger, a Marine combat veteran, is certified by the Oregon Department of Public Safety Standards Training to train law enforcement, corrections and private armed security officers in firearms techniques and the use of force. His civil practice concentrates on residential construction and asset protection.
The Oregon Gay and Lesbian Law Association (OGALLA) will recognize Mark Johnson at its annual dinner Oct. 17 for contributions to the support and advancement of gays and lesbians in the field of law. Johnson is one of the founding members of OGALLA and was instrumental in the passage of the domestic partnership registration program in Multnomah County. He has been a mentor to gay and lesbian law students, president of the National Gay and Lesbian Law Association and was the first openly gay president of the Oregon State Bar and delegate to the ABA House of Delegates. The dinner will be held on Oct. 17 at 6 p.m. at the University Club in Portland. Keynote speaker will the Hon. Rex Armstrong, Oregon Court of Appeals judge.
Judge Dale R. Koch, presiding judge of the Multnomah County Circuit Court in Portland, has been installed as secretary of the National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges during the groups annual conference held July 20-23 in San Antonio, Texas. The NCJFCJ, based in Reno, Nev., is the nations oldest and largest judicial membership organization. Koch, appointed to the bench in 1992, has served as a model court lead judge in the NCJFCJs Child Victims Act Model Courts Initiative, is a member of the Chief Justices Budget Reduction Advisory Committee, and is past chair of the Oregon State Family Law Advisory Committee and the Judicial Conference Family and Juvenile Law Committee. He was first elected to the NCJFCJs board of trustees in 1998.
Portland attorney N. Robert Stoll recently wrote an article, 'Trial of an Accountant, Liability Case A Plaintiff Lawyers Tips,' published in The Review of Securities & Commodities Regulation.
Portland attorney Chrys A. Martin of Bullivant Houser Bailey has become a fellow of the American College of Employee Benefits Counsel (ACEBC). The national organization recognizes distinguished service and professional attainment in the field of employee benefits and sustained commitment to promoting public awareness of the law of employee benefits. Martin is well-known for her role in the Capital Consultants case, where she played a key role defending pension, health, and welfare plan trustees in five class-action suits and in assisting to obtain a record 70 percent recovery of a third of a billion dollars in losses.
Gov. Ted Kulongoski has selected new members for the Public Employees Retirement System (PERS) board, effective Sept. 1, 2003. Among them are OSB members: James Dalton, Tektronix vice president; Eva Kripalani, senior vice president and general counsel for KinderCare Learning Centers and Brenda Rocklin, Oregon State Lottery director. As trustee of the Public Employees Retirement Fund, the PERS board has a responsibility to manage and administer the system as set forth by law. The board also monitors the plan for compliance with federal laws.