| Oregon State Bar Bulletin — APRIL 2008 |
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Stoel Rives partner Barnes H. Ellis was honored last November with the Judge Learned Hand Award for Lifetime Achievement by the Oregon American Jewish Committee. Ellis, whose career with Stoel Rives has spanned more than 40 years, was on the committee that established the Metropolitan Public Defender Services. In 1971, MPD began providing indigent defense in Multnomah County, and service was expanded to Washington County in 1973. Ellis then served as chair of MPD’s board of trustees for more than 30 years. He has been chair of the Oregon Public Defense Services Commission, which has overseen the funding of indigent defense services statewide, since its creation in 2001.
Gov. Ted Kulongo- ski has reappointed Bill Hutchison, partner at Foster Pepper, to a second four-year term on the Board of Forestry. The seven-member citizens panel oversees a broad range of forest policy matters, including policy direction for the management of state-owned forestlands, and adopting rules regulating timber harvest and other forest practices on non-federal lands. Hutchison’s practice emphasizes cooperative, corporate, real property and environmental law.
Román D. Hernández, a shareholder with Schwabe, Williamson & Wyatt, joined the Portland Guadalajara Sister City Association’s board of directors during its meeting in January. Shortly afterward, Hernández made a presentation to business leaders and government officials in Guadalajara to discuss the laws that affect businesses in Oregon. The presentation will be part of a larger celebration that recognizes the 25th anniversary of Portland and Guadalajara’s sister city relationship. Portland Mayor Tom Potter will lead the delegation that will also include two other Schwabe attorneys, Peter Ricoy and Alejandro Tosi.
Aaron Noteboom has recently been appointed to the board of directors of Womenspace. Gov. Kulongoski has appointed Kate Watkinson to a four-year term on the Oregon Board of Architect Examiners. Noteboom and Watkinson are attorneys with Arnold, Gallagher, Saydack, Percell, Roberts & Potter in Eugene.
David Bartz Jr., president of Schwabe, Williamson & Wyatt, was recently named as the recipient of the 2008 Judge Mercedes Deiz Award by Oregon Women Lawyers for his promotion of minorities in the legal profession. Bartz, a shareholder in the firm’s Portland office, has spent more than 25 years of his professional life devoted to the promotion and support of the careers of many minority attorneys and law students. He is credited with fostering the firm’s commitment to diversity and producing results through increased minority attorney recruitment and the creation of a mentoring program, a diversity committee, a firmwide diversity statement, and "Understanding Racism" seminars for attorneys and staff. In 1999, Bartz was awarded the OSB President’s Affirmative Action Award.
The Family Firm Institute has awarded a certificate in family business advising with fellow status to Kay Abramowitz. She will be honored at the institute’s annual meeting in London, England, on Oct. 30, 2008. The certificate recognizes lawyers for extensive experience and commitment to the field of family business advising as well as fulfillment of requirements for the certificate in family business advising. She concentrates on estate planning, estate and trust administration, entity formation and business advising with a special focus on family-owned businesses. A frequent lecturer, Abramowitz is recognized for her expertise in succession and transfer issues.
Mark Long, managing partner of Schwabe, Williamson & Wyatt, was recently named the recipient of the 2008 Hubbard One Excellence in Legal Marketing Award: Marketing Partner of the Year. The award was formally announced and awarded at the 15th Annual Marketing Partner Forum in Palm Beach, Fla., in January. Among other client-focused initiatives that he has implemented, Long re-engineered and reorganized the firm to focus on the business and industries of its clients. Long focuses his practice on merger, acquisition, divestiture and other significant business transactions, corporate finance and corporate counseling.
Barran Liebman announces that two of its attorneys have been tapped to serve on the Northwest Equal Employment Opportunity/Affirmative Action Association Board. Andrew Schpak will serve on the board, and Rick Liebman was re-elected treasurer. Schpak represents management in employment litigation and provides advice in employment matters. He has handled litigation and advised clients on state and federal discrimination claims, class actions and employee handbooks. Liebman has been representing employers for 35 years in labor and employment law.
The law firm of Squires & Lopez congratulates Angel Lopez upon his nomination for the Chief Justice Paul De Muniz Professionalism Award. The award was presented to him Feb. 22 by the Oregon Hispanic Bar Association. Lopez was recognized for his commitment to representing the Hispanic community and for championing awareness of cultural differences through his work with the Oregon State Bar.
Elisa Dozono, a business litigation and government relations attorney with Miller Nash, has been appointed to the Metropolitan Exposition Recreation Commission (MERC) Board of Commissioners. Dozono will serve a four-year term.
Gary Grenley has been elected to the board of directors of Oregon CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocates. Grenley has been a CASA volunteer for nearly four years. He is co-founder of the Portland business law firm Grenley, Rotenberg, Evans, Bragg & Bodie.
Ed Einowski, a partner in Stoel Rives since 1985, was recently honored by the Oregon treasurer’s office and the Municipal Debt Advisory Commission for eight years of service to the commission. State Treasurer Randall Edwards presented a plaque to Einowski, noting that during years of service and working as bond counsel to various Oregon governments, he had become "an institution" of Oregon governmental finance. Among other contributions as a member of the commission, Einowski initiated a comprehensive rewrite and modernization of Oregon’s public finance laws.
Jas. Adams has been appointed as the attorney-in-charge of the natural resources section of the general counsel division with the Oregon Department of Justice. A graduate of Reed College and of Boalt Hall Law School of the University of California at Berkeley, Adams joined the Department of Justice’s appellate division in 1989, after six years of private practice in Portland concentrating on appellate work. Adams was appointed assistant attorney-in-charge of the natural resources section in January 2005.
Francis (Frank) Connell has been appointed as the associate attorney general with the Oregon Department of Justice. A graduate of Boston College and the Boston College Law School, Connell had a successful 30-year career with the Drinker Biddle and Reith firm in Philadelphia specializing in labor and employment matters. He relocated to Oregon in 2004. After a period of private practice in Portland, Connell joined DOJ’s labor and employment section in 2005, and was appointed the section’s attorney-in-charge in 2006.
Shawn M. O’Neil has been appointed as a senior assistant attorney general in the torts section of the trial division with the Oregon Department of Justice. O’Neil received his J.D from Willamette University College of Law. Previously, O’Neil was a partner at the civil litigation defense firm of Mitchell, Lang, and Smith.
Teresa Miller has been appointed as an assistant attorney general in the financial fraud/consumer protection section of the civil enforcement division with the Oregon Department of Justice. Miller received her B.A. degree from Pacific Lutheran University and her J.D. from Willamette University College of Law. Miller served as the legislative director to Gov. Ted Kulongoski and previously worked as a lobbyist for private companies.
Byron Hadley has been appointed as an assistant attorney general in the criminal and civil rights section of the trial division with the Oregon Department of Justice. Hadley received his bachelor’s degree from the University of California at Davis and his J.D. from Willamette University College of Law. Previously, Hadley was in private practice and had clerked for the trial division.
Patrick Ward has been appointed as an assistant attorney general in the human services section of the general counsel division with the Oregon Department of Justice. Ward received his B.A. from the University of Portland and his J.D. from Northwestern School of Law of Lewis & Clark College. Ward began serving the department in May of 2001, as a law clerk and then as an honors attorney from 2002-2004. He then continued his service in the appellate division and the commercial and environmental section of the trial division.
Elizabeth (Beth) Chittick has been appointed as an assistant attorney general in the human services section of the general counsel division with the Oregon Department of Justice. Chittick received her B.A. from McMaster University, Hamilton in Ontario, and her J.D. from University of Notre Dame Law School. Previously, Chittick worked as a deputy district attorney in Umatilla County and interned for a private agency in Tacoma and one in Ireland.
Kristin Winges has been appointed as an assistant attorney general in the torts section of the trial division with the Oregon Department of Justice. Winges received her B.A. from Wellesley College and her J.D. from Northwestern School of Law at Lewis & Clark. Previously, Winges was a judicial clerk for the Clackamas County Circuit Court
Tessa Sugahara has been appointed as the attorney-in-charge of the labor and employment section of the general counsel division with the Oregon Department of Justice. Sugahara received her B.A. from Dartmouth College and her J.D. from the University of Oregon School of Law. Sugahara joined the department’s human services section in 2000, after a period of private practice with the Mitchell, Lang and Smith firm in Portland. In 2001, Sugahara joined the labor and employment section as an assistant attorney general.
Hutchinson, Cox, Coons, DuPriest, Orr & Sherlock welcomes Patrick L. Stevens as a shareholder in the Eugene firm. Stevens’ practice focuses on business, banking, construction and bankruptcy matters. He represents many of Oregon’s community banks and credit unions relating to their litigation, bankruptcy and complex loan transactions. Stevens also has extensive experience in both commercial and residential construction matters. He can be reached at (541) 686-9160 or at www. eugene-law.com.
Garrett Hemann Robertson announces that Sean E. Armstrong has become a shareholder in the firm. Armstrong’s divorce and family law practice focuses on child custody, parenting time, spousal and child support, property division, adoption and guardianship proceedings. He currently serves on the board of the Marion County Bar Association, the executive committee for the OSB Family Law Section, and is a judge for Teen Court and Mock Trial, as well as Moot Court at Willamette University School of Law.
Carolyn Vogt has joined Lane Powell as a shareholder in the corporate finance and securities practice group. Previously, Vogt worked at NACCO Materials Handling Group, as vice president, general counsel and secretary, and managed the legal and risk management department. Before that, she was a partner at Stoel Rives in the corporate and energy practice groups.
Andrew (Andy) SkinnerLopata, Cassandra (Cass) SkinnerLopata and Jet Harris announce the opening of SkinnerLopata Harris. SkinnerLopata Harris is located at 245 E. Fourth Ave., Eugene, OR 97401, (541) 434-2411, www.skinnerlopataharris.com. Andy SkinnerLopata joins the firm after clerkships with the Hon, David Schuman, Oregon Court of Appeals, and the Hon. Charles D. Carlson, Lane County Circuit Court. Andy’s practice is focused on intellectual property (including copyright and entertainment law, trademarks and trade secrets), Internet law and appellate matters. Cass SkinnerLopata joins the firm after solo practice with SkinnerLopata Law and a judicial clerkship with the Lane County Circuit Court. Her practice is focused on family law and estate and domestic partnership planning. Jet Harris is returning to Oregon after practicing law in Georgia for the last decade. She joins the firm with 10 years of litigation experience. Her practice is focused on business and commercial litigation, medical malpractice, real estate litigation and personal injury.
Robert E. Sinnott has joined Cooney & Crew as an associate. Sinnott will focus his practice on healthcare law and litigation. He previously clerked in Oregon’s 4th Judicial Circuit and at Laszlo & Associates in Boulder, Colo. Sinnott received his J.D. from Willamette University in 2006.
Timothy J. Bernasek has joined Dunn, Carney, Allen, Higgins & Tongue as of counsel. His practice will focus on a variety of legal matters including real estate, agriculture and natural resources, employment, water law and business law. Prior to joining Dunn Carney, Bernasek was general counsel for the Oregon Farm Bureau.
Gaydos, Churnside & Balthrop announces that Mark M. Williams has joined the Eugene firm. Williams practices elder law, guardianship/conservatorship, estate planning and legal ethics. He is co-editor of the OSB Elder Law CLE book, past president of the Oregon Law Institute, a former partner in the Portland law firms The Elder Law Firm and McMenamin, Williams & Taylor, and former assistant general counsel to the counsel to the Oregon State Bar. He received his J.D. from Notre Dame Law School.
Bob Turner announces the opening of his solo practice, specializing in advising and forming small to mid-size businesses, trusts, wills and real estate. Turner worked for legal aid programs in New Mexico and Oregon for 20 years before joining Slothower & Petersen four years ago. He may be reached at (541) 318-6055 or betoturner@gmail.com.
Bean, Kinney & Korman, of Arlington, Virginia, announces that Lori (Kliewer) Murphy became a partner in the firm, effective Jan. 1. Murphy holds a B.S. from Willamette University and a J.D. from the University of Oregon School of Law. Her practice will continue to focus on land use, zoning and planning, and estate planning and administration in Virginia. She is licensed in Oregon, Washington, Virginia and the District of Columbia.
Loren S. Scott has been named a principal in Muhlheim Boyd. Since joining the Eugene firm in 2005, Scott has gained extensive experience in representing both debtors and creditors in Chapter 7, 11, 12 and 13 bankruptcy cases, with a particular emphasis on representing individual debtors in Chapter 11 as well as bankruptcy trustees in both Chapter 7 and 11 cases. Scott has concentrated his practice on helping financially distressed businesses and individuals pursue non-bankruptcy alternatives through creative financial planning. He has been a speaker on issues related to individual Chapter 11 cases.
Jeana M. McGlasson has joined Dunn, Carney, Allen, Higgins & Tongue. Her practice focuses on estate planning, probate and trust administration and taxation. Prior to joining Dunn Carney, McGlasson practiced at Ball Janik in Portland for four years. She holds an Oregon CPA license and has an LL.M. in taxation. Prior to law school, she practiced as a CPA with Schultz & Crouse, CPAs, in Portland for six years.
Elizabeth (Libby) Schwartz has begun a new practice as a contract lawyer. Formerly a partner at Perkins Coie, Schwartz now supports law firms and in-house legal departments on all aspects of commercial litigation and appellate matters. She can be reached at 6312 S.W. Capitol Highway, Suite 175, Portland, OR 97239; phone: (503) 452-5368; fax: (503) 961-1495; e-mail: schwartz.libby@gmail.com.
The Eugene firm Gleaves, Swearingen, Potter & Scott announces that Dan Webb Howard has become a partner of the firm. Howard’s practice focuses on employment law, providing general advice, risk management and litigation services to employers. He previously worked in California for several years for an employment and labor law firm. He is fluent in Spanish and is an active member of both the Oregon and California bars.
Saalfeld Griggs is pleased to announce that Andrew Naylor has joined the firm’s litigation/employment practice group. Naylor earned his B.A. in sociology from the University of Massachusetts, and his J.D. from Willamette University College of Law.
Schwabe, Williamson & Wyatt announces the promotion of six Portland-based attorneys to shareholder. Darius Hartwell,joined Schwabe in 2000 after graduating from Northwestern School of Law, Lewis & Clark College with his J.D. Hartwell focuses his practice on business and corporate law, specializing in mergers and acquisitions and corporate finance. Additionally, he serves on the firm’s hiring committee, diversity committee, sustainability task force and client service standards committee. Dave Hepler is a member of both the Oregon and California bars and focuses his practice on real estate and timber transactions. Hepler graduated from the University of San Diego School of Law with a J.D. Prior to joining Schwabe in 2003, Hepler practiced real estate law at the San Diego office of Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman. Laura Maffei joined Schwabe in 1999 and focuses her practice on environmental and natural resource law. She is one of a small number of Oregon attorneys who are registered professional geologists with the state of Oregon. She graduated from Northwestern School of Law, Lewis & Clark College, and is licensed to practice law in both Oregon and Washington. Steven Prewitt is an experienced patent attorney in Schwabe’s intellectual property and patent law practice group. He focuses his practice in the preparation and prosecution, commercialization and enforcement of life science and software patents. Prewitt earned his law degree from George Mason University School of Law and is a registered patent attorney. Craig Russillo is a member of Schwabe’s commercial litigation practice group and focuses on business litigation and real property litigation. Russillo graduated from Willamette University College of Law and joined Schwabe in 1997. He has also served for 18 months as government counsel in the Republic of Palau. He is licensed to practice in Oregon and Washington state and federal courts. Katherine VanZanten is a member of Schwabe’s tax and estate planning practice group, where she assists businesses and families with wealth-preservation planning needs. She has significant experience in developing business succession strategies that include multi-tiered family businesses, charitable remainder trusts and establishing charitable organizations. VanZanten graduated from Golden Gate University School of Law with a J.D. and a master of laws in taxation. She currently serves on the executive committee of the OSB Tax Section.
Perry S. Heitman announces the formation of Perry Heitman Attorney P.C., providing business and commercial law and litigation services for individual and corporate clients, account dispute and fraud litigation services to financial institutions, and contract services to the legal community. He can be reached at (503) 227-9700 or www.perryheitman.com.
Garry Schnell has joined the Portland office of Davis Wright Tremaine as an associate in its business transactions practice group. Most recently Schnell was at Kell, Alterman & Runstein, where he advised businesses on general corporate issues, including all types of business transactions, tax planning, financing and securities law. Previously, he was a managing member of a local computer industry related business, where he managed business affairs in areas including product development, manufacturing, sales and marketing, and financial matters. Schnell obtained a J.D. from Gonzaga University and a LL.M. in taxation from University of Washington. He is licensed to practice in Oregon, Washington and California.
Miller Nash has named nine new partners practicing in the Portland area, representing a variety of practice areas and specialties. The new partners, along with their areas of focus are: Abraham J.B. Cable, securities, M&A, general business; Kieran J. Curley, business litigation, business governance, insurance coverage; Kelly S. Hossaini, land use; Hong N. Huynh, environmental, telecommunications, energy; Clifton Molatore, commercial lending, general business; Ryan R. Nisle, tax, general business, real estate; Michael Porter, employment law and labor relations, education and public institutions; Justin C. Sawyer, business litigation, business governance and securities litigation; and Dustin R. Klinger, real estate transactions, property management, leasing, finance.
Nicholas Henderson and Alex Trauman announce the grand opening of Henderson Trauman. Located in downtown Portland in One Main Place, the new firm will represent clients on business and real estate matters, handling both transactions and litigation. Reach Henderson Trauman at 101 S.W. Main St., Suite 350, Portland, OR 97204; phone: (503) 227-4001; fax: (503) 227-4019; website: www.htattorneys.com.
Buckley LeChevallier welcomes Helen Tompkins to the firm as part of the litigation practice group. Tompkins’s practice focuses on civil appeals and complex civil litigation cases, both commercial and consumer. Tompkins began practicing in 1987 and quickly realized her love for appellate work, handling more than 100 appeals since. She is licensed in Oregon and Washington, and is admitted to practice before the U.S. District Court of Oregon, the Western District of Washington, the Ninth Circuit and the U.S. Supreme Court. She is also an author and lecturer, a former contract hearings officer for the Oregon Board of Medical Examiners, and an adjunct faculty member at Northwestern School of Law.
Metropolitan Public Defender Services has named Gregory B. Scholl as the new director for the Washington County office. Scholl worked his entire career with the Washington County defender’s office — more than 13 years — and has been a chief attorney there since 1998. Scholl replaces Keith Rogers, who left in January when he was appointed judge in Washington County Circuit Court.
Scheer & Zehnder is moving and expanding its Oregon office in a larger space in the historic Spalding Building in downtown Portland. The new offices are located at 319 S.W. Washington St., Suite 415, Portland, OR 97204; phone: (503) 542-1200; fax: (503) 542.5248; website: www.scheerlaw.com.
Corvallis lawyer V. Thompson Snyder died April 25, 2007, after a three year struggle with prostate cancer. He was 75.
Thompson was born Feb. 27, 1932, in Omaha, Neb., and attended schools there. He earned a bachelor’s degree in education from the University of Nebraska in 1953. After service as a second lieutenant in the Military Police Corps from 1953 to 1955, he enrolled in the University of Nebraska College of Law, where he was executive editor of the Nebraska Law Review and member of the school’s winning moot court team. After graduating in 1958 Order of the Coif, he and his new wife moved to Oregon, where he joined the OSB and was hired as deputy legislative counsel for the state. He practiced briefly in Newport and Eugene before moving to Corvallis.
Thompson was a special instructor in the law of decedents’ estates at the University of Oregon School of Law in 1962, and an assistant professor of business administration at Oregon State University from 1962 to 1976. He earned a master of law degree in taxation from the New York University School of Law in 1965. He practiced in Corvallis until his retirement in 1991.
He was a well-known figure in estate planning law. He served as chair and vice chair of the OSB Estate Planning and Administration Section and also as chair of the OSB Committee on Trust Legislation. He was a member of the Oregon Estate Planning Council, Eugene chapter, and served on its board of directors. He was a past president of the Benton County Bar Association.
In Corvallis, Thompson was a trustee of the Good Samaritan Hospital Foundation (serving a term as president) and as a trustee and president of the Benton County Foundation, among many other civic activities.
He is survived by his wife, Janet, and their three daughters.
OSB member John Virgil Colombo died Jan. 2, 2008, at age 90.
Colombo was born Sept. 23, 1917, in Portland, where he lived all his life. He graduated from Franklin High School, the University of Portland and Northwestern College of Law. He served in the Army during World War II. He was an attorney in private practice. In 1943, he married Norma Fontanini.
Survivors include his wife, three daughters, a son and six grandchildren.
Jerome B. (Jerry) Shank, a prominent Portland bankruptcy lawyer, died Jan. 20, 2008, at age 87.
Shank was born Oct. 17, 1920, in Portland, where he lived all his life. He graduated from Grant High School. During World War II, he served in the Army in China. After the war, he graduated from the University of Oregon and Northwestern College of Law. He was an attorney in Portland for more than 50 years and a founding partner in the firm Sussman Shank, along with Gilbert Sussman. Although early in his career Shank primarily maintained a business practice, he soon specialized in bankruptcy law, representing debtors, trustees, some creditors and others in related insolvency issues. He was a frequent speaker and writer on bankruptcy-related topics. He was selected for inclusion in the first edition of Best Lawyers in America.
In 1964, he married Harriet Kowitt Meier, who died about a week after him. Other survivors include three sons, Dennis, Robert and Steve; a stepdaughter and a stepson.
Donald Leon Paillette died Jan. 21, 2008, at his home in Keizer of lung cancer at age 77. He was an Oregon State Bar member from 1964 to 2007.
He attended the University of Oregon from 1949 through 1953 and graduated from the University of Oregon Law School in 1962. He served in the U.S. Air Force from 1954 to 1956 as supply officer.
Paillette began his career in the Lane County district attorney’s office in Eugene, serving from 1962 through 1966. He served in the Oregon State Legislature beginning in 1967, as legal counsel for the Oregon Senate Judiciary Committee. He was project director for the Criminal Law Revision Commission (1968 through 1973) and the Oregon Vehicle Code Revision (1973 through 1975). He was assistant attorney general for the Oregon Department of Justice, appellate division from 1975 to 1979. He was project administrator of the Adjudication Alternative for Traffic Infractions from 1980 through 1981.
In 1984 he and his wife, Karen, moved to Guam, where he was with the Guam attorney general’s office. He served a number of positions in the attorney general’s office from 1984 through 1995. He began as assistant attorney general and then becoming solicitor. From 1987 through June 1994, he was chief deputy attorney general, and for nine months in 1994 and 1995 he was acting attorney general. He later became chief counsel for the Committee on Judiciary, Public Safety and Consumer Protection, for Guam’s legislature.
He lived on Guam nearly 20 years, returning to Oregon in 2003. Paillette is survived by wife, a brother and a son.
Clifford W. Powers died March 2, 2008, at age 102. At the time of his death, he was the oldest member of the Oregon State Bar.
Powers was born June 21, 1905, in Milwaukee and moved to Portland in 1910. He graduated from Jefferson High School and the University of Oregon School of Law.
The Depression shaped Powers’ early years as a lawyer. He graduated from the University of Oregon Law School eight months after the stock market crash, and jobs were scarce. He found office space with a two-lawyer firm — free in exchange for his work. He earned his first fee in 1930, helping his grandmother collect her Civil War widow’s pension. She paid him $5. (The firm also gave him $25 at Christmas. With his grandmother’s $5, that was his income for the year.)
He moved to Lake Grove in 1943 and was an attorney in the firm of Powers, McCulloch & Bennett, retiring at age 98. He was a director and president of the Oswego Lake Corp., an attorney for the Lake Grove School District and a school board chairman for the Lake Oswego School District. In 1931, he married Katherine Graff; she died in 1997.
Survivors include a daughter and a son.
A full profile of Powers appeared in the October 2005 issue of the Bulletin.