Oregon State Bar Bulletin MAY 2008 |
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Stoel Rives partner Ed Einowski was
recently honored for his eight years of service on the state Municipal
Debt Advisory Commission. The commission provides technical assistance
to local governments and state agencies to improve the market for bond
issues in Oregon. State Treasurer Randall Edwards presented a plaque
to Einowski, noting that during his long years of service on the commission
and in working as bond counsel to various Oregon governments, Einowski
had become "an institution" of Oregon governmental finance.
Among other contributions, Einowski initiated a comprehensive rewrite
and modernization of Oregon’s public finance laws and served
on the Oregon Law Commission committee that drafted the new laws and
helped marshal them through the
legislature, where they were enacted in the last session.
St. Andrew Legal Clinic (SALC) is pleased to announce the addition of Chip Gazzola and Paul Gram to the board of directors for two-year terms. Robert Neuberger is chair of the board for 2008. Gazzola is a partner with Gazzola & Hull, a domestic relations law firm, and is the former chair of the OSB Family Law Section. Gram is a partner at Pacific NW Properties Limited Partnership, a real estate development company, and has worked in commercial real estate for over 25 years. Neuberger has practiced law in Oregon since 1980. He specializes in professional malpractice, product liability, admiralty and maritime and personal injury law. He has served on the SALC board of directors since 2006.
Gov. Ted Kulongoski has reappointed, Foster Pepper partner Bill Hutchison to a second four-year term on the Board of Forestry. The board’s seven citizen members oversee 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 that ensure a sustainable flow of environmental, economic and social benefits.
Steve Bush and Katherine Van Zanten, attorneys in the Portland office of Schwabe, Williamson & Wyatt, were recently selected as Fellows for the 2008 Oregon State Bar Leadership College. The mission of the OSB Leadership College is to recruit, educate and retain emerging leaders in the legal community and the Oregon State Bar. Fellows commit to a one-year program consisting of five three-hour sessions. Bush, an associate with Schwabe, focuses his practice in the Oregon wine industry, where he assists wineries, vineyards and other industry service providers with business formation, licensing and regulatory matters. VanZanten, a shareholder with Schwabe, is a member of the firm’s tax and estate planning practice group where she assists businesses and families with wealth preservation planning needs. She currently serves on the executive committee of the OSB Taxation Section.
The law firms of Dunn Carney, K & L Gates, and Markowitz Herbold & Glade were recognized for their increased support of legal aid at the Campaign for Equal Justice’s 17th Annual Awards Luncheon this past March. The Campaign also presented Partners in Access to Justice Awards to the Oregon Women Lawyers, Oregon Trial Lawyers Association, Multnomah Bar Association, and the Oregon State Bar. Each of these firms and organizations has earned the respect and gratitude of the legal services community.
Margaret F. Weddell has been appointed and confirmed as the Workers’ Compensation Board’s newest member. She brings a wealth of experience to the position. For the last 10 years she has represented injured workers with Swanson Thomas & Coon. Weddell has also been active in the Oregon Trial Lawyers Association and formerly chaired the OSB Workers’ Compensation Section. She is an adjunct professor at Lewis & Clark Law School teaching workers’ compensation law.
Jennifer Williamson, public affairs manager at the Oregon Department of Education, was among 40 individuals selected for The Portland Business Journal’s "40 Under 40" Award. Award winners are recognized as the 40 most accomplished, influential and civic-minded young executives in Portland. At the Dept. of Education, Williamson leads legislative affairs, internal and external communications, and the Oregon Virtual School District. Her primary role is leading strategic communications and outreach for the Oregon Diploma initiative. She also oversees stakeholder engagement efforts for Superintendent Castillo, including the Professional Educators Advisory Team., Business Advisory Team, and Youth Advisory Team. Williamson serves on the board of directors for the Rock n’ Roll Camp for Girls and the advisory board of the National Education for Women’s Leadership of Oregon at Portland State University. She received her J.D., cum laude from the Willamette University College of Law. She has also completed a summer program in Chinese law at the East China University of Politics and Law in Shanghai, China.
Michael O’Connor, an owner in the Portland office of Garvey Schubert Barer, was recently named the Oregon Club of Portland’s "Duck of the Year." The club is the university’s largest booster organization. The annual award is presented to an outstanding member, honoring his or her service and dedication to the organization throughout the year. O’Connor is the youngest recipient of the award in the club’s 61-year history. He served as president in 2006, and has served on the board of directors since 2000.
Karey A. Schoenfeld has been elected the 2008-09 chair of the board of directors for the Oregon Society of Certified Public Accountants. She is a partner with Ferguson & Schoenfeld of Vancouver. As a CPA and an attorney, Schoenfeld will bring a unique perspective to the board. Her expertise is in tax law, business transactions and estate planning. She continues to serve on the advisory council for Gov. Ted Kulongoski’s Task Force on Comprehensive Revenue Restructuring. Schoenfeld is a member of the Oregon and Washington bars and the Washington Society of CPAs.
Portland Mayor Tom Potter presented Karen L. Fink with the World Arts Foundation’s Lifetime Achievement Award on Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, 2008.The award recognizes Fink’s five decades of social justice advocacy. Fink has raised funds for OLIO, the bar’s ethnic minority law student recruitment and retention program. She continues to raise funds for social justice programs as KLF Explorations LLC. She serves as a board member for Uniting to Understand Racism. She is a volunteer presenter and facilitator for the bar’s MCLE Access to Justice (formerly "Elimination of Bias") program. She has been a frequent co-facilitator for UUR’s six week anti-racist dialogue series for law firms, the City of Portland, the Hillsboro School District and the Jewish Federation of Portland.
Kirk W. Smith, a real estate attorney with more than 20 years experience in all aspects of real estate, finance, redevelopment and business transactional law, has joined Ater Wynne as of counsel in the real estate and finance group. His clients include local and international real estate developers, national manufacturers and small private companies, foundations, and school districts. He is licensed in Oregon, California and Washington, D.C.
Rob Roy Smith, a federal Indian law attorney who has served as counsel to numerous Indian tribes and is an adjunct professor of federal Indian law at Seattle University School of Law, has joined the Seattle office of Ater Wynne. He works with tribes throughout the Pacific Northwest, Southwest and Oklahoma, advising Indian tribal clients and those doing business in Indian Country on economic development, natural and cultural resource protection, taxation, tribal sovereignty and gaming. Smith is admitted to practice before several tribal courts, the United States Supreme Court, the United States Tax Court, and the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, as well as state courts in Washington, Oregon and Idaho.
Michele Bo Victor has relocated her office to the Oak Court Building, 540 Oak St., Suite D, Eugene, OR 97401. The phone number will remain (541) 393-0175; however, her fax number is now (541) 743-2698. Victor and her staff appreciate all the support and well-wishes they have received from friends, clients and colleagues in anticipation of this exciting transition.
Stoll Stoll Berne Lokting & Shlachter has shortened its firm name to Stoll Berne in recognition of senior partners Robert Stoll and Gary Berne. "It’s the same firm, but a simpler name," says managing shareholder Keith Ketterling. "David Lokting and Rob Shlachter are, and will continue to be, a huge part of the heart and soul of our firm. They’re not going anywhere." Founded 30 years ago, the firm specializes in complex business litigation and commercial real estate/business transactions.
Gleaves Swearingen Potter & Scott announces the return of former partner Patricia L. Chapman to the Eugene firm. Chapman’s practice encompasses a range of business and commercial law transactions, including business formation and ongoing business advice, as well as mergers, acquisitions, reorganizations and divestitures. She is also an experienced real estate lawyer. Chapman is chair of the executive committee of the OSB Business Law Section, and a past chair of the executive committee of the OSB Real Estate/Land Use Section.
Bullivant Houser Bailey has elected Todd A. Mitchell of the Vancouver, Wash., office, as its newest member of the firm’s six-person board of directors. Mitchell is a shareholder with the firm and acts as general counsel to numerous businesses throughout Southwest Washington and Oregon. He represents a wide array of clients, including engineers, contractors, manufacturers and distributors, wholesalers and traders of agricultural products, restaurants and non-profit corporations. Mitchell serves as the president of Swift, a Washington non-profit granting organization. He was recognized as a 2003 Vancouver Business Journal "Forty Under Forty" award recipient. He is a member of the Washington and Oregon bars.
Stoel Rives has named Joan P. Snyder as leader of the firm’s resources, development and environment practice group. In this management role, Snyder will oversee the efforts of the nearly 90 Stoel Rives lawyers assisting clients with natural resource development and restoration projects, project permitting, real estate development and finance, water resources planning, environmental compliance, environmental land use and natural resources litigation. Snyder joined Stoel Rives in 1986 and has been a partner since 1992.
Matthew D. Kaplan is relocating his practice to the Umpqua Bank Plaza, One S.W. Columbia St., Suite #1850, Portland, OR 97258; telephone: (503) 226-3844; Fax: (503) 229-1856; e-mail: matthew@mdkaplanlaw.com: websites: www.mdkaplanlaw.com ; www.oregon-dui.com. Kaplan represents individuals in civil litigation, including serious personal injury claims, wrongful death actions, injuries to children, motor vehicle crash victims and premise liability. He also continues to focus his criminal practice on representing those charged with driving under the influence of intoxicants.
Schwabe, Williamson & Wyatt recently added attorneys Adam Rose and Kyle Anderson to its Portland office. Both attorneys previously practiced at Rose Law Firm, a Portland boutique business and real estate transactional law firm founded by Rose in 2004. Rose joined Schwabe as a shareholder who will focus his practice on business and real estate transactions. He is a current board member for Adventist Medical Center. Between 2001 and 2005, he was co-editor of the" Oregon Business Lawyer." Rose graduated from Harvard Law School in 1997. Anderson joined Schwabe as an associate and will continue to focus his practice in the areas of corporate and real estate law. Anderson has experience in business asset and equity purchases, real estate acquisitions and dispositions, choice of entity and entity formations, and general business and real estate matters. He graduated Order of the Coif from the University of Oregon School of Law in 2000.
Jeffrey S. Cronn has been appointed chair of the Tonkon Torp business department, which includes practice groups focused in the areas of corporate finance, mergers and acquisitions, taxation and corporate governance, among others. Cronn joined Tonkon Torp in 1994. He counsels public, private and nonprofit entities with regard to acquisitions and divestitures, governance issues, financing transactions and reorganizations. Cronn’s corporate law practice emphasizes mergers and acquisitions. He is a member of Tonkon Torp’s sustainability practice group and leads its sustainable forestry attorneys. He was recently named one of the Portland Business Journal’s Forty Under 40 list in 2008.
John B. Benazzi has joined the Portland office of Davis Wright Tremaine as an associate in its real estate and land use practice. Benazzi most recently practiced at McEwen Gisvold, where he represented clients in purchases and sales of real property, real estate finance, commercial leasing, environmental issues and land use matters. Previously he clerked with the Oregon Land Use Board of Appeals. He also draws on his past professional experience as a geologist and environmental consultant with companies in Virginia and Oregon, which included directing and conducting field investigations of various subsurface contaminants and preparing environmental site assessments for real property transactions. Benazzi is a board member (since 2006) for CASA for Children. Benazzi obtained his J.D. from the University of Oregon School of Law in 2004, and a B.S. in geology from Washington and Lee University.
Ellen Adleris pleased to announce the opening of her law office in the Parkview Place building at Broadway and Oak in downtown Eugene. Her practice will continue to focus on estate planning, trust and estate administration, and real estate law. She can be reached at: 101 East Broadway, Suite 300, Eugene, OR 97401; (541) 484-3121; eadler@eadlerlaw.com.
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. The office address is 1001 S.W. 5th Ave., Suite 1100, Portland, OR 97204.
Tamara Russell has joined Barran Liebman as a partner, specializing in litigation. Russell’s litigation practice includes representing employers in both federal and state courts, as well as handling agency charges before BOLI and the EEOC. She conducts internal workplace investigations for private and public sector clients. She frequently speaks in the community and trains clients on numerous topics, including drug and alcohol issues, workplace harassment and discrimination and family medical leave laws. Previously, Russell was a partner at Miller Nash in Portland, and she worked for U.S. Sen. Edward M. Kennedy in Washington, D.C. Russell is admitted to practice in Oregon and Washington state and federal courts. She is a member of the Associated Oregon Industries’ Employment Practices Advisory Council, the Portland Human Resources Management Association, the Oregon Association of Defense Counsel (Employment Practice Group), and the Oregon Zoo’s Corporate Resource Council. Russell chairs the Multnomah Bar Association’s Public Outreach Committee.
Kevin B. Dull, J.D., MBA, was recently hired as an adjunct professor for Portland State University. He is currently teaching the strategic business management capstone course for undergraduate business majors.
After 19 years in downtown Portland, the Hala J. Gores firm is expanding and has moved to: The Gores Building 1332 S.W. Custer Drive, Portland, OR 97219. Contact them at (503) 295-1940; Hala@goreslaw.com; www.goreslaw.com. They will continue to devote their practice to catastrophic personal injury and wrongful death victims and their families.
Chris Cline has joined Wells Fargo as the wealth management director for Oregon and southwest Washington, leading a team of eight trust officers and planners throughout the region who provide customers with investment, financial planning and estate planning services. He has more than 16 years of experience in planning and administering estates of high net worth individuals. Most recently he was a partner and estate planning attorney at the Holland & Knight law firm in Portland. Cline is a nationally recognized author and speaker on estate planning and administration whose published books include Oregon Estate Planning and Administration Code, Annotated. He is a former adjunct professor at Lewis & Clark College Northwestern School of Law. Cline is a board member for Wednesday’s Child, which raises funds for foster care families; the Portland Jazz Orchestra; and the Portland Jazz Festival.
Melissa Berndt will be AKT’S director of human resources. She has been with AKT since October of 2005, working with the healthcare and LEAD niches. Prior to joining AKT, Melissa worked for both KPMG and Arthur Andersen. She received her J.D. from the University of Oregon School of Law.
J. Pierre Kolisch died peacefully at home on March 1, 2008, about four weeks shy of his 90th birthday.
Kolisch was born in Brooklyn, N.Y. He received his bachelor of arts degree from Columbia University and his J.D. from Cornell University. During World War II, he was an officer in the Navy. He was a combat veteran of the North Africa and Pacific campaigns. He practiced law in New York before moving to Portland in 1952, where he established the patent and trademark law firm, Kolisch Hartwell. He reached the pinnacle of the profession by appearing before the U.S. Supreme Court.
Kolisch was active in civic affairs, serving as honorary French consul for Oregon, president of the Oregon Symphony and a member of the board of directors of the Portland Art Museum. He loved the outdoors as only a transplanted New Yorker does, and was physically active until the last few months of his life. He particularly enjoyed skiing, swimming and playing tennis.
Always curious and eager to learn, his sense of adventure led him to trek to the Mount Everest base camp in his 50s, heli-ski the Bugaboos in his 60s, and hang glide over Rio de Janeiro Bay in his 70s.
Kolisch is survived by his wife of 65 years, Marian Wood Kolisch; two daughters, a son, grandchildren and great-grandchildren.
Trial lawyer Ken Renner of southwest Portland died March 2, 2008, at the age of 68.
He was born in Salt Lake City in 1939. He graduated from Portland’s Washington High School and from University of Oregon undergraduate and law school.
Between undergraduate and law school, Renner served as a pilot in the U.S. Navy, flying reconnaissance aircraft in Vietnam and the Pacific. He returned to Oregon to go to law school in 1966.
On graduation from law school in 1969, Renner joined the Mautz Souther law firm, later known as Schwabe, Williamson & Wyatt. He was a member of Hoffman, Hart & Wagner before joining his current firm, Miller & Wagner.
Throughout his 38-year legal career, Renner earned a reputation of trust and respect with those he came into contact, be they colleagues in the law firms, opponents in the cases he tried or judges before whom he represented parties. He was elected a fellow in the American College of Trial Lawyers. His sense of humor, warmth and generosity won him the friendship of those who got to know him, whether at work, on the handball courts, golf course or in the neighborhood.
Renner was a member of the Multnomah Athletic Club and Waverley Country Club.
Renner married Lynne Buono in 1962, and had two children; Lynne died in 2003. In 2004, he married Lori Davis, who survives him.
Milwaukie lawyer Bryan L. Coover III died unexpectedly on March 12, 2008. He was 58.
Coover was born in Shelby, Ohio. He graduated from Milwaukie High School in 1967. He earned his law degree from Lewis & Clark Law School and enjoyed his career practicing in Milwaukie.
His interests included photography, family gatherings, baseball, gardening, camping, singing, the Oregon coast and vacationing with his son.
In addition to his son, he is survived by his mother, Geraldine, a stepson and stepdaughter, two brothers, a granddaughter, and his former wife, Andrea.
Linda Johannsen died peacefully in her home on Tuesday, March 11, 2008, after a three year battle against ovarian cancer. Mother, wife, lawyer, white water rafter, reader, music lover, puzzle-solver, traveler, confidant, adviser, fiercely loyal friend and hard-headed woman, she maintained optimism until the very end, determined that she would be one of the few that make it. She was 57.
Johannsen was born in Aurora, Colo. She was raised in Lake Oswego along with two brothers and a sister. She attended Lewis & Clark College for her undergraduate studies, where she met her future husband, Cliff, on a student exchange program to Austria; an experience which influenced her life tremendously. They married in 1971.
After many work experiences in the business field during her early adult years, she discovered a passion for bankruptcy law, and returned to her alma mater to attend Lewis & Clark Law School. She obtained her law degree at age 39 and worked as an associate bankruptcy attorney in several law firms before becoming a partner at the firm now known as K&L Gates. In 2006 she was honored with an award of merit by the debtor-creditor section of the Oregon State Bar for her bankruptcy work. She enjoyed volunteering her time to nonprofit organizations such as the Cascade AIDS Project and Outside In. She worked until a month and a half before her death, determined to maintain normalcy in her life and provide for her family.
Johannsen was an avid reader of mystery novels, and loved to collect rare first editions of her favorite books. A life-long Beatles fan, she enjoyed many kinds of music, a love which she has passed along to her daughters. She loved to travel, experiencing new cultures. Her favorite pastime was white water rafting, and she was lucky enough to say that she had rafted the Colorado River in the Grand Canyon before she died. She requested one last river run before she died, a dream which was not realized. Her greatest fear when she was diagnosed with ovarian cancer was that she would not live to meet her grandchildren. She was not only able to meet her first grandson, Harper, but was able to spend nearly two years with him.
She is survived by her husband of 37 years, Cliff, their daughters and sons in-law, and a grandson.
Prominent Portland trial lawyer and bar leader Jack Kennedy died March 18, 2008. He was 84.
Kennedy was raised in Astoria by his mother, Lera Karinen and her husband Roy Karinen, and was known as Jack Karinen prior to his military service. He briefly attended the U.S. Maritime Commission Academy at the outset of World War II and served in the U.S. Navy during the war. He served throughout the Pacific theater as a Navy signalman second class. (He maintained his semaphore skills and his enthusiasm for boating until his death.)
In 1947, Kennedy enrolled in the evening program of Northwestern School of Law, setting academic records and graduating first in his class in 1951. In practice, Kennedy distinguished himself as a trial lawyer, most recently practicing with Kennedy, King & Zimmer, and Kennedy, Watts, Arellano & Ricks. Kennedy remained actively engaged in the practice of law until his death. He devoted countless hours of service to the legal profession, including service as president of the Oregon State Bar, as a founder and director of the OSB Professional Liability Fund, as a delegate to the ABA House of Delegates, and as a charter fellow of the Oregon Law Foundation. Among his many distinctions, he was a fellow in the American College of Trial Lawyers.
Kennedy was most proud of his involvement with Northwestern School of Law. He served as a law school trustee, participated in the merger of the law school with Lewis & Clark College, and subsequently served as a member of the Board of Overseers and the Law School Committee of Lewis & Clark College. He received the Distinguished Graduate Award from the law school in 1983.
Kennedy was devoted to Clara Hagans, whom he met while applying for a job at Farmers Insurance and married on June 5, 1948. Kennedy is survived by Clara; their two sons and daughters in law, and three grandchildren.
Portland native and lawyer Norman Griffith died March 24, 2008 at the age of 86.
Griffith was born in Portland and graduated from Lincoln High School. In high school he was the Oregon winner of an essay contest on the potential of air travel, winning a trip to Washington, D.C., where he met First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt. At 17, he received a scholarship to Harvard, graduating in 1942 with honors in government. Griffith served in the U.S. Army in World War II including service in France and Belgium. He went on to Harvard Law School and graduated in 1949.
Griffith was a Portland attorney in private practice for 58 years. He also was president of Riverview Abbey Mausoleum Co., a Portland area business held by the family for more than 75 years. His father Willard I. Griffith and later Norman oversaw the expansion of the mausoleum from one corridor to 50 corridors over the many years. In 2000, Griffith published a book entitled A Lawyer Looks at the Gospels, a comprehensive study of the words of Jesus. The book was written over a period of 35 years.
He enjoyed many family adventures and special celebrations together traveling to the Oregon coast, the high desert, and the Cascades. Griffith had a special interest in Oregon history and in the various species of plants and trees. His most special memories were with his family and especially his grandchildren.
For years he was an active member of the Junior Chamber of Commerce, SW Kiwanis Club and Christian Businessmen. He served 20 years on the board of directors of the Multnomah Law Library from 1963 to 1983.
In 1953, Griffith married Alice S. Egeland, a teacher at Washington High School. Together they raised four sons who, with their families, brought them great joy, and nine grandchildren. A sister also survives.
Deane Sterndale Bennett of Forest Grove died April 26, 2008, of congestive heart failure. He was 76.
Bennett was born in Tacoma, Wash. He was adopted as a baby by John and Doris Deane Bennett. The family moved to Forest Grove in the summer of 1945. He graduated from Forest Grove High School and earned a bachelor’s degree from Reed College in 1955 and a law degree from the Law School of the University of Chicago in 1958.
In 1952 he joined the U.S. Army and served with the 25th Infantry Division in South Korea. He was discharged in 1960 and received a commission in the Judge Advocate General’s Corps of the U.S. Naval Reserve in 1966. Discharged in 1985, he held the rank of lieutenant commander.
In 1960 he married Irene Labno. They moved to Forest Grove in 1962.
Admitted to the Oregon State Bar in 1963, he was hired in 1968 as an assistant attorney general. He then began a private law practice, concentrating on criminal defense and appeals to the Oregon Court of Appeals and the Oregon Supreme Court.
Survivors include two sons, two daughters, four grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.