CORRECTION: Portland attorney Nick Dibert’s name appeared incorrectly in the June In Memoriam section. The Bulletin regrets the error.
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Donald H. Pearlman, a former Portland attorney who specialized in domestic and international energy and environmental issues for the federal government and international policy-making bodies, died Aug. 13, 2005 in Washington, D.C., from complications of lung cancer. He was 69.
Pearlman was born in Portland and graduated from Grant High School. He graduated cum laude in economics from Harvard University 1957, and earned his law degree at Yale University in 1960. He clerked for Chief Judge John R. Ross, U.S. District Court, District of Nevada, from 1960 to 1962.
A member of the Oregon State Bar since 1960, Pearlman was an associate and partner in the Portland office of Landye Bennett Blumstein when the firm was known as Keane, Haessler, Harper, Pearlman and Copeland. From 1962 to 1982, his practice areas included securities, mergers and acquisitions, labor, environmental, insurance, complex business transactions and appellate practice.
He became active in the Republican Party during college and worked on various campaigns, including that of former partner Diarmuid F. O’Scannlain’s unsuccessful Congressional campaign of 1976. Pearlman moved to Washington, D.C. in 1982 to become the executive assistant to Donald P. Hodel, Secretary of Energy, and later served as executive assistant when Hodel became Secretary of Interior. Pearlman’s relationship with Hodel began as classmates at Grant and roommates at Harvard. Pearlman was a senior advisor to Hodel in developing major policies and management decisions for each department.
From 1990 until his death, Pearlman was a partner in Patton Boggs LLP’s Washington, D.C. office. Much of his work involved international negotiations concerning the potential of global climate change arising from industrialization. Pearlman established himself as one of the top experts in global climate change matters, and spoke at or participated in international conferences for the past 15 years.
Pearlman is survived by his wife of 45 years, the former Shirley Block; a brother, one son and one daughter, as well as and six grandchildren.
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Lane County Bar member Renee Christine "Ren" Wyser-Pratte drowned July 31, 2005, at the age of 34.
Born in New York, Wyser-Pratte received a bachelor’s degree from the University of Vermont in 1993. She moved to Eugene to attend law school and earned her law degree from the University of Oregon in 2001. During law school, she was published in and served as an editor for the Oregon Law Review. Wyser-Pratte also served as a member of the Moot Court Board and as director of the Oregon Law Students’ Public Interest Fund.
In September 2001, she joined Gleaves, Swearingen, Potter & Scott in Eugene, where she practiced creditors’ rights and bankruptcy litigation as well as general commercial litigation. Wyser-Pratte received the Andrew Clement award in 2002 for her pro bono work with Lane County Legal Aid.
Wyser-Pratte served as president of the Eugene Glass School and secretary of the Professional Women’s Forum and was a member of Eugene Mountain Rescue. She was fluent in French and enjoyed sailing, skiing, painting, writing, music, dancing, learning to work with glass and spending time with her dog, Moby.
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Lawrence A. Neer Sr. died Aug. 15, 2005, following an automobile accident. He was 77.
Neer was born Aug. 9, 1928 in Santa Anna, Calif. He earned his bachelor’s degree from the University of Oregon and his law degree from Lewis & Clark College’s Northwestern School of Law.
After serving in the U.S. Army, Neer moved to Lake Oswego during the 1960s and established a private practice. He married Gloria Troutman in 1977.
Survivors include his wife, two daughters, a son, three stepchildren, three grandchildren and one great-grandchild.
Remembrances may be made to Doernbecher Children’s Hospital Foundation.
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Klamath Falls attorney Hollis Eugene Barnes Sr., died Aug. 11, 2005, at the age of 64 following an automobile accident.
Barnes was born on June 28, 1941, in McComb, Miss. The eldest of seven children, Barnes was raised and graduated from high school in Oroville, Calif. He earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees in social welfare from California State University at Chico and the University of California at Los Angeles, respectively.
Barnes served as a lieutenant in the U.S. Army during the Vietnam War. He continued to work for the military as a civilian, heading social service programs throughout the world, including Germany.
After retiring as a major, he moved to Klamath Falls and decided to pursue his dream of practicing law. He graduated with a law degree from the University of Oregon at the age of 59 in 2000. Barnes was the first attorney in his family, as well as the first to earn a college degree. He practiced law and represented the disenfranchised until his death.
Barnes enjoyed fishing, listening to music, sports, serving on committees in his community and traveling in his recreational vehicle.
He is survived by his former wife, LaVerne; a son, five grandchildren, three sisters and two brothers, and many nieces, nephews, aunts, uncles and cousins.
Assistant Oregon Attorney General Erik Gustav Sten died Aug. 19 of stomach and liver cancer. He was 61.
Sten was born April 22, 1944, in Vasa, Finland, and his family moved to Olympia, Wash., three years later. He married Margaret Slighte in 1965, and they later divorced. Sten moved to Portland in 1970.
He received his bachelor’s degree from the University of Washington and his law degree from Yale Law School. He practiced for a large Portland law firm before choosing public service, specializing in consumer protection issues with the attorney general’s office.
A long-distance runner who averaged 60 miles a week for about 25 years, Sten wrote a book called 36 Legs – 24 Feet: The Underground Hood to Coast Manual. He maintained a website, www.eriksten.com, dedicated to providing running information and pointed opinions.
Survivors include two sons, Matthew and Erik, his mother, Vivian, two brothers and three grandchildren.