| Oregon State Bar Bulletin — JULY 2009 |
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Andrew Schpak, an attorney at Barran Liebman, will serve as a co-chair of the ABA Young Lawyers Division labor and employment committee starting August 2009. In addition, he is now the supplement coordinator for Employment Discrimination Law, a law reference on discrimination in the workplace published by the Bureau of National Affairs and the ABA Labor and Employment Section. Schpak represents management in employment litigation and provides advice in employment matters.
Christopher Mark Luttkus has been elected president of the board of directors for Solar Oregon, a nonprofit organization that provides consumer education and instructive workshops on renewable energy choices. He is also serving in a personal capacity on the Governor’s Alternative Fuel Vehicle Infrastructure Working Group, created to help Oregon anticipate and prepare for the next generation of clean and electric vehicles. Luttkus is an assistant attorney general at the Oregon Department of Justice, where he has a focus on business transactions, government law and public contracting.
The American Bar Association has awarded its prestigious Silver Gavel Award for 2009 to Steven T. Wax, federal public defender for the district of Oregon, for his book Kafka Comes to America: Fighting for Justice in the War on Terror, A Public Defender’s Inside Account. ABA President H. Thomas Wells Jr. presented the award July 1 at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C. Wax, in his seventh term as federal public defender, was the speaker May 16 at the 2009 University of Oregon School of Law commencement. He represented Brandon Mayfield, an immigration lawyer arrested by the FBI in 2004 as a material witness in the terrorist bombing of a Madrid train. Mayfield, a convert to Islam, was held for 19 days with no access to his family and limited access to legal counsel. He was never charged in the case, and the FBI later apologized. Wax also has represented alleged enemy combatants in the detention center at Guantanamo Bay. The events are recounted in his book.
Oregon Women Lawyers announces new officers and board members for 2009-2010. Sharing the role of president are Gwyneth McAlpine, associate at Perkins Coie, and Heather Van Meter, attorney at Williams Kastner. McAlpine previously served as co-vice president and treasurer. Van Meter previously served as co-vice president and secretary. Concetta Schwesinger, district attorney liaison to the Oregon child support program in Marion County, changes roles on the executive committee from treasurer to vice president. Megan Livermore, associate with Gaydos, Churnside & Balthrop in Eugene, is the new treasurer. Heather Weigler, assistant attorney general with the charitable activities section of the Oregon Department of Justice, is secretary. Kathleen Hansa Rastetter, counsel for Clackamas County in Oregon City, joins the executive committee as historian. Other new board members are: Frances Roberts Burge, Dana Forman, Maiya Hall, Kendra Matthews, Hon. Julia Philbrook, Hon. Youlee You, Heather Hepburn and Kate Weatherly. Continuing as board members are: Cynthia Fraser, Shari Gregory, Cashauna Hill, Linda Meng, Hon. Katherine Tennyson, Shannon Terry and Jane Yates.
The Multnomah Bar Association has presented the first-ever Rookie of the Year Award to Dallas DeLuca, a business litigator and associate with Markowitz, Herbold, Glade & Mehlhaf, for his volunteer efforts on behalf of the association. The award recognizes the young lawyer who has stepped up the most or put in the most energy and effort in the rookie year of involvement with the Young Lawyers section. DeLuca was honored in part because of his work on the membership committee. Section President Andrew Schpak praised DeLuca’s “outside the box” thinking and ideas, as well as a highly successful event DeLuca conceived of and planned for other lawyers new to the profession. Before entering the legal field in 2005, DeLuca spent a decade in international business and government. He served as director of operations for Gap Inc.’s sourcing office for garments and apparel produced in North America, Central America and the Caribbean. He also worked as an export marketing consultant and IT trainer for the International Trade Administration in the U.S. Department of Commerce, and he trained staff on information technology systems at U.S. embassies and consulates around the world.
The Legal Services Corp. board of directors, in Portland in April for a board meeting, presented awards to five members of Oregon’s legal community whose work demonstrates an extraordinarily wide range of pro bono activities on behalf of clients of Legal Aid Services of Oregon. Awards were presented to George Galloway, Lisa Neal-Graves, Paul Saucy, the Hon. Elizabeth Perris and Evans Van Buren. Galloway began taking pro bono cases while working for Stoel Rives, but his dedication to low-income Oregonians has continued into his retirement. Galloway has spent thousands of hours representing LASO clients in Pendleton, including child custody cases, which many pro bono attorneys do not want to handle. Even in retirement, he remains aware that having a law degree is a privilege and brings with it a responsibility to society. Neal-Graves was recognized for her work with the Intel Corp.’s monthly pro bono clinic, which connects the software company’s in-house attorneys with LASO clients. Neal-Graves’ enthusiasm has been described as the glue that holds the project together, convincing her Intel colleagues to say “yes” when asked to volunteer. Saucy has accepted family law pro bono referrals for nearly 30 years and encourages his partners and associates to do so as well. He has provided free continuing legal education trainings to LASO staff and is a mentor for staff attorneys new to family law practice. Perris, a federal bankruptcy court judge, co-founded the OSB Bankruptcy Clinic, which is co-sponsored by LASO and the OSB Debtor-Creditor Section. The clinic opened its doors in 1996 and is one of the most successful pro bono collaborations between legal aid, the bench and the bar in Oregon. Judge Perris frequently speaks at informational seminars for clients, recruits and trains new pro bono volunteers and sits on the pro bono committee that coordinates the project. Van Buren has volunteered for LASO’s Senior Law Project for 31 years — longer than any other volunteer with the program. In 2008 and 2007, Evans staffed eight clinics for the project, logged 57 hours of pro bono and helped 67 clients. He also mentors new pro bono volunteers and receives high praise from clients and staff alike.
More than 50 Washington County judges and attorneys attended a Willamette University College of Law alumni gathering in Hillsboro April 23. Oregon Supreme Court Chief Justice and alumnus Paul J. De Muniz and law school dean Symeon C. Symeonides recognized longtime Washington County District Attorney Robert W. Hermann, for his outstanding legal work on behalf of his community. Hermann has served as Washington County district attorney for more than a decade. He previously served as chief deputy district attorney for 16 years.
The Oregon chapter of the Federal Bar Association has named U.S. Attorney Karin J. Immergut and civil litigator Richard Vangelisti as the 2009 winners of the James M. Burns Professionalism Award. The award, named in honor of the late federal district court judge James M. Burns, honors attorneys who demonstrate the highest form of professionalism and act as role models and mentors to other lawyers. Immergut has headed the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Oregon since 2003, and in that capacity, she personally hired nearly one-half of the assistant U.S. attorneys now employed in Oregon and has overseen growth and advancement in federal prosecutions of white collar, mortgage fraud, terrorism and other related federal cases. Vangelisti is a former Stoel Rives attorney who devotes time toward improving the federal practice. Vangelisti is a former chapter president, a 9th Circuit lawyer representative and a frequent contributor to legal publications and CLE programs.
The Multnomah Bar Association has selected Judy Danelle Snyder as the recipient of the 2009 MBA Professionalism Award, the organization’s highest award. Snyder has been a trial attorney for 34 years. Praised by both plaintiff and defense counsel, she has been described as “calm and respectful, …a model for how a professional lawyer should function.” She is respected for working for “her client’s goals without compromising the quality of her reputation” and as a “first rate lawyer who gets high marks for her honesty, ethics and professionalism.” Snyder is active in Oregon Trial Lawyers Association (president 1989-90, the MBA (president 1999-2000), OSB Litigation Section (executive committee member), Professional Responsibility Board (chair) and the Owen Panner Inn of Court. She received the Owen Panner Professionalism Award from the OSB Litigation Section in 2001 and the Distinguished Trial Lawyer Award by OTLA in 2001.
Paul Taylor of Taylor Global Law Office has been elected to a two-year term as chair of the Japan-America Society of Oregon, a 100-year old nonprofit organization that promotes stronger ties between Japan and Oregon. Taylor is also currently serving as chair of the Export Council of Oregon, a nonprofit organization that provides assistance to Oregon companies in exporting and other aspects of international business.
Jim Mei, partner at Davis Wright Tremaine, has been appointed to the Fujian Sister State Committee by the president of the Oregon Senate. He has also been appointed legal counsel in the U.S. for the Fujian Chamber of Commerce in China, commencing May 2009, and has been named president of the Portland Suzhou Sister City Association advisory board.
Bob Allen, managing partner of Dunn, Carney, Allen, Higgins & Tongue in Portland, has been elected president of Chess for Success, an educational program that uses chess to teach children high-level thinking and social skills. Allen has coached chess at Hayhurst Elementary in Portland for three years, and joined the organization’s board in 2008. The program helps children develop skills necessary for success in school and life by learning chess. He succeeds Phillip Margolin, Portland lawyer and best-selling author, who served as president for 13 years. CFS started in 1992 in nine schools, serving 200 students in the Portland school district; this year, more than 3,000 students participated from 16 school districts. Read more about the program at www.chessforsuccess.org.
Schwabe, Williamson & Wyatt has received the United Way Performance Award for greatest increase in percentage of employee participation in the United Way of the Columbia-Willamette’s 2008 workplace campaign. Schwabe increased its participation by 71 percent, with 184 employees participating in 2008 compared to 107 employees participating in 2007. Also, the firm was named the highest ranking law firm on Oregon Business Magazine’s list, the “100 Best Green Companies to Work For in Oregon.” The firm was also ranked as the state’s 11th greenest company to work for overall.
Maiya M. Hall has joined the law firm of Alan W. Karpinski, 621 S.W. Alder St., Suite 621, Portland, OR 97205. A lawyer since 2000, Hall has experience with the Indian Child Welfare Act, juvenile dependency and delinquency law, criminal law, domestic relations issues, complex civil litigation and other civil law areas. In addition to a juvenile law caseload, Hall handles domestic relations and private criminal law cases. Reach
her at (503) 721-0140 or maiya.m.hall@gmail.com.
Gough, Shanahan, Johnson & Waterman, a Montana firm with offices in Helena, Billings and Missoula, announces that Peter G. Scott has joined the firm as a partner. He comes to the firm as regulatory and litigation counsel for various governmental, private, nonprofit and corporate clients throughout the Northwest. Prior to coming to the firm, he worked in the Spokane office of Preston, Gates & Ellis, and he is a member of the state bars of Montana, Idaho, Washington, as well as Oregon. His practice focuses primarily on land use, water rights and natural resource issues. He serves as secretary to the Northwest Mining Association as vice chair of the ABA Mining Committee.
Garvey Schubert Barer announces that John M. Junkin and Joseph W. West have joined the Portland office, joining the firm’s real estate and land-use practice group. Junkin has 35 years of experience practicing business, land use, real estate, government and condemnation law. He served as counsel for Washington County from 1982 to 1996. He currently advises private parties and businesses in governmental relations, real estate, land development and condemnation, and continues to advise and represent local governments in Oregon from time to time. West has practiced in the areas of real estate, business and banking law in Oregon for over 20 years. His real estate practice includes representation of owners, developers and lenders in a wide variety of matters, particularly in connection with residential and commercial real estate development and finance. West routinely negotiates and drafts joint venture agreements, purchase and sale agreements, option agreements, loan and financing documents, leases and easements, and he provides legal advice on title, land use, environmental and Section 1031 exchange issues. His business practice includes business planning, negotiation and preparation of contracts, purchase and sale of business entities and corporate governance matters. West also represents several nonprofit corporations.
Jonathan L. French, a graduate of Gonzaga University School of Law and University of Notre Dame, has joined Smith, Freed & Eberhard as an associate attorney. His practice focuses on personal injury defense.
Viva Linda Lorick Foley died at home in Salem on Jan. 28, 2009, of brain cancer. She was 34.
Foley grew up in Columbia, S.C. She attended the University of Massachusetts, spending her sophomore year of undergraduate study at the University of Sussex in Brighton, England. In 1996, she received a bachelor’s degree in communication with highest distinction from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Upon graduation from UNC, she lived and worked in London. She returned to the states and worked for a Maryland human services consulting firm before relocating to Portland. She then worked first for Pop Art Inc., and later for Auctionpay Inc., in Lake Oswego.
Foley moved to Salem in 2004 to attend the Willamette University College of Law. Despite her diagnosis of a brain tumor in 2006, Foley continued her studies, graduating with a J.D. cum laude and a certificate in sustainable environmental, energy and resource law. In 2008, Foley was admitted to the Oregon State Bar.
Foley had a passion for life and brought joy to all who knew her. Her spirit and her optimism were an inspiration to her friends and family.
Foley is survived by her mother, stepfather and father.
Lake Oswego native David John Berentson died April 16, 2009, after suffering a massive stroke. He was 65.
Berentson was born Jan. 5, 1944. He graduated from Lake Oswego High School in 1962. He graduated from St. Olaf College in Northfield, Minn., in 1966 and served with the 4th Battalion of U.S. Marine Corps in Vietnam from 1966 through 1969. For his service he was awarded many medals, including the Purple Heart. Following his discharge, he attended Northwestern School of Law at Lewis & Clark College, earning a J.D. in 1973.
He practiced in Lake Oswego and Portland until 1981, when he joined Don Hufman, Walt Barnes and Pat Sweeney in Oak Grove, where he practiced until his death. He practiced primarily estate planning, corporation and tax law, and truly enjoyed his profession.
Berentson was a member of Lake Oswego Rotary for 35 years, and was honored as a Paul Harris Fellow. He held positions with the Historical Automobile Club of Oregon, Oswego Heritage Council, the Southwest Business Association and the American Heritage Association. He served on the budget committee for the city of Lake Oswego and was a council member for Our Savior’s Lutheran Church.
Survivors include his wife of 37 years, Pamela, of Lake Oswego and sister and brother-in-law.
Charles “Charlie” E. Coulter died April 27, 2009, at his home in Portland. He was 56 years old.
Coulter grew up in Illinois and Ohio. He attended the University of Northern Colorado and Columbia College in Chicago. While attending Columbia College, he worked at Landfall Press in Chicago as a lithography assistant. He moved to Oregon in the mid-1970s and joined a tree planting crew called the Hoedads in Eugene. He moved to Montana to work for the forestry service, and then he returned to school and in 1983 earned a bachelor’s degree from University of Montana in Missoula.
But Coulter’s heart was in Oregon, and he returned to Oregon and graduated from Northwestern School of Law At Lewis & Clark College in 1988. He worked at St. Andrew Legal Clinic, and later, when in private practice in Oregon City, he donated his time and expertise regularly at the Oregon City St. Andrew Legal Clinic.
He loved the outdoors and enjoyed hiking the trails of the Columbia Gorge, Mount Hood, the Pacific Crest and the coastal range. He loved geology, maps, history and poetry.
Coulter is survived by his two sisters and brother.
John Jaqua, a Eugene community leader, philanthropist and former OSB president, died May 14, 2009, after a long illness. He was 88.
He was born Nov. 27, 1920, in Hampton, Iowa. Jaqua served in the U.S. Marines from 1942 to 1945 as a pilot of the TBM Grumman Avenger torpedo bomber, including service in the Pacific campaign in 1943-44. He attained the rank of major and was awarded numerous medals, including the Distinguished Flying Cross. He married Rosamond “Robin” Robinson on Feb. 27, 1944, in Claremont, Calif., and graduated from Pomona College in 1947 and from the University of Oregon Law School in 1950.
He was the founding partner of the Jaqua & Wheatley firm and practiced law in Eugene for more than 50 years. He was a member of the Oregon State Bar for nearly 60 years, serving as its president in 1984. He was Oregon representative to the American Bar Association for many years.
His legacy includes the John E. Jaqua Law Library at the University of Oregon, the Jaqua Concert Hall at Eugene’s Shedd Institute and the Jaqua Distinguished Alumnus Award at the U.O. law school. His volunteer efforts included the American Red Cross, the Marist Foundation, the Springfield Museum, the Sacred Heart Medical Center Foundation, the YMCA and the Oregon Historical Society.
Jaqua was a longtime friend of former Oregon track coach Bill Bowerman. It was in the living room of Jaqua’s McKenzie River home that Bowerman and former U.O. runner Phil Knight had a meeting that led to the formation of Nike. Jaqua served on the Nike board of directors from 1968 to 2004.
The Jaquas settled on their McKenzie River property in the early 1950s and sold a conservation easement on the 1,200-acre parcel to The Nature Conservancy to assure that it would remain in is natural state.
Survivors include his wife, three sons, a daughter, six grandchildren and five great-grandchildren.