| Oregon State Bar Bulletin — JUNE 2009 |
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Brian Booth, a founding partner in the Tonkon Torp firm in Portland, was recently honored with the 2008 Judge Learned Hand Lifetime Achievement Award by the Oregon Area Jewish Committee. The award honors leaders in the legal field for professional excellence and contributions to the legal community. Booth, whose legal practice emphasizes corporate and business matters for private and public companies and non-profit organizations, has headed the boards of several cultural, environmental and educational organizations, including the Oregon Parks Commission, Literary Arts, Portland Art Museum, Oregon Health & Science University and University of Oregon (Jordan Schnitzer) Art Museum.
Kurt Hansen, a shareholder in Schwabe, Williamson & Wyatt in the firm’s Portland office, has been elected to the board of trustees that oversees three Legacy Health System foundations: Emanuel Children’s Hospital Foundation, Emanuel Medical Center Foundation and Good Samaritan Foundation. Hansen, who practices in the areas of health care, business and commercial litigation, and general business assistance, has formed many joint ventures for health care organizations, including imaging centers, ambulatory surgery centers and specialty centers. He has also represented Oregon hospitals in mergers or whole-facility leases and joint venture organization. Hansen is a member of the Oregon Health Lawyers Association and was its president from 1991 to 1992.
Elisa Dozono, associate attorney at Miller Nash, has been selected as one of the 2009 top 40 Oregon business leaders under the age of 40 by the Portland Business Journal. Dozono is one of 40 young leaders chosen from 200 professionals nominated for this year’s award. Dozono serves as Multnomah County’s appointee to the Metropolitan Exposition Recreation Commission and recently served on the city of Portland’s Major League Soccer Task Force. She is a founder and president of the board of Emerge Oregon, a training program for Democratic women seeking public office. She also sits on the board of directors for the Japan America Society of Oregon and the Oregon Business Association transportation committee, and is actively involved with Cascade AIDS Project and the Portland City Club. Dozono joined the firm in 2006 after an 11 year-career in communications management and government relations positions, including corporate media manager for the Port of Portland, communications director for former Portland Mayor Vera Katz and media relations director for former Gov. John Kitzhaber’s transition.
Paula Barran, a founding partner at Barran Liebman in Portland, has been named the Woman Executive of the Year (in the entrepreneur category) and also has been selected as a 2009 Orchid Award recipient by the Portland Business Journal. The Orchid Award honors women from the Portland business community who demonstrate exceptional leadership, professional accomplishment and community involvement. Barran has been practicing labor and employment law in the Portland area since 1980.
Gordon E. Phillips of Stahancyk, Kent, Johnson & Hook, in the Bend office, has been selected as a Young Achiever 40 and Under by Cascade Business News. Laurel P. Hook and Grace Y. Lee, of the firm’s Portland office, were runners up in the 40 Under 40 award from the Portland Business Journal.
William F. “Rick” Martson Jr., a litigation partner at Tonkon Torp, has been elected president of the International Society of Barristers, an honor society of outstanding trial lawyers chosen by their peers on the basis of excellence and integrity in advocacy. Martson has served on the board for several years and will serve one year as president. He is a senior partner at Tonkon Torp, where he has practiced law since 1974, and has chaired the firm’s litigation department.
Lisa LeSage, associate dean and director of business law programs at Lewis & Clark Law School, has been awarded a Fulbright Scholar in Law grant to lecture at one of Latin America’s top law schools, in Santiago, Chile, for six months beginning in March 2010. LeSage is a former Legal Aid farm worker attorney and has served as president of the Oregon Law Foundation and as vice president of the OSB Board of Governors.
Jerry Carleton, an associate at Bullivant Houser Bailey, has been appointed to a four-year term on the Lewis & Clark Law School’s Board of Visitors. A 2007 graduate, Carleton is the board’s youngest member and the most recent graduate ever to be appointed to the board. Carleton is on the for-profit advisory boards of Anuvia, RedPoint International and Luxmoto, co-founded the local medical device company Keen Mobility and currently serves on Keen’s board of directors. He is also on the non-profit advisory board of the Small Business Legal Clinic and is a board member of the non-profit organizations Incight, United Way Young Leaders and the House of Ruth.
A print advertising campaign for Landye Bennett Blumstein is the recipient of this year’s Burton Award for Best Law Firm Advertisement. The award, co-sponsored by the Association of Legal Administrators and the Burton Foundation, is designed to reward major achievements in the law ranging from literary awards to the greatest reform in law. The campaign was developed by Robeson Communications and Matheson Design. The award will be presented at a gala reception and dinner in the Great Hall of the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C., on June 15. Among the honorees and speakers this year will be U.S. Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia.
P. Freeman Green, associate in the Law Office of Eden Rose Brown, has passed the California bar exam and has been admitted to practice law in California. Green’s practice will expand to provide counsel on residency and domicile, community property, state taxation and other interstate issues. He practices in the firm’s Salem office.
Salem lawyer Ryan W. Collier has received the Boy Scouts of America District Award of Merit, an award given to a volunteer serving youth and rendering outstanding service beyond the expectations of his or her Scout position. Collier served as a unit leader for Cub Scout Pack 122 for the past nine years and on the Cascade Pacific Council executive board. Collier was recognized as Lawyer of the Year in 2005 by the Marion-Polk Volunteer Lawyer Project and served as Marion County Bar Association president in 2008. He currently serves as board member and past president of the Salem Leadership Foundation, a faith-based non-profit organization.
Davis Wright Tremaine partner Milt Stewart has been inducted into the Indiana University Academy of Law Alumni Fellows, the highest honor the law school bestows upon its graduates. He also recently served as a judge for FutureFirm 1.0, a global competition to envision the successful large law firm model of the future. The university’s award goes to alumni who have distinguished themselves in their careers through personal achievements and dedication to the highest standards of the profession.
Jonathan D. Mishkin, of counsel at Harrang Long Gary Rudnick, will be serving as an adjunct professor at the University of Oregon School of Law during the 2010 spring semester. He will be teaching tax practice and procedure, focusing on all procedural aspects of a tax audit, up through litigation. Mishkin, a member of the firm’s business department and closely held business team, focuses his practice on federal income tax law, including both tax controversy and transactional matters, and estate planning and probate law.
Stahancyk, Kent, Johnson & Hook is the recipient of the American Marketing Association of Oregon’s MAX Award for creative superiority in print marketing. The firm also has been awarded the Association of Marketing & Communication Professional’s Platinum Hermes Award for creative achievement in magazine placement.
Stahancyk, Kent, Johnson & Hook welcomes Tate Frederick Justesen as a new associate in the firm’s Portland office. A native of Oregon, Justesen was raised in Grass Valley, attended Oregon State University and earned his law degree from Lewis & Clark College in Portland.
Miller Nash welcomes partner Ronald A. Shellan back to the firm. Based in the firm’s Portland office, Shellan will focus his practice on business matters and the intersection of tax law and real estate. Prior to rejoining the firm, he was in-house counsel for Guardian Management. Early in his career, he worked with Coopers & Lybrand as a certified public accountant and served as a law clerk to the Oregon Tax Court. His practice areas include tax-free exchanges, affordable housing and low-income housing credits, historic tax credits, real estate law, partnership and LLC law, corporate and business acquisitions and tax law. During his previous 17-year career with Miller Nash, Shellan was instrumental in developing the annual Affordable Housing Conference. Now in its 16th year, the conference continues to provide a day of insight on financing, developing and building low-income housing projects.
Stoel Rives announces that Alan Merkle has been named chair of the firm. He succeeds Ron Lone, who is returning to full-time practice in the firm’s Seattle office. Merkle began his legal career in Stoel Rives’ Portland office in 1983. He moved to the firm’s Seattle office in 1987 and currently focuses his practice in energy infrastructure and construction and design matters. Prior to practicing law, Merkle managed the technical and business sides of major energy, construction and engineering projects for the General Electric Co.
Eugene attorney Billie Tarascio recently opened a legal clinic offering low-cost limited legal services. The clinic, located at the Oakway Center in Eugene, is open evenings and Saturdays, and is accepting referrals. For more information, see www.ridgewoodgroup.us.
After many years in government service,Kerry Tymchuk has joined the Portland-based public affairs, public relations and research services firm Conkling, Fiskum and McCormick. Tymchuk will focus on corporate reputation management and issues management practice. Tymchuk served 1997-2009 as state director and legal counsel to U.S. Sen. Gordon Smith. He also served 1991-1997 as director of speechwriting and legal counsel to U.S. Sen. Bob Dole. Tymchuk is a 1981 graduate of Willamette University and a 1984 graduate of Willamette University School of Law. He can be reached at
kerryt@cfmpdx.com.
Kevin H. Kono has been named to partnership at Davis Wright Tremaine. Kono, who practices in the firm’s Portland office, focuses on media law, appellate and litigation.
Jeffrey F. Renshaw has relocated his practice to 15171 S.W. Bangy Road, Suite 112, Lake Oswego, OR 97035. His new phone number is (503) 601-5010; the new fax number is (503) 715-4950.
Jeffrey A. Bowersox and Bowersox Law Firm have relocated to the Kruse Woods corridor. The firm’s new address is 5285 S.W. Meadows Road, Suite 320, Lake Oswego, OR 97035. The firm’s phone number remains the same: (503) 452-5858. E-mail addresses also remain the same. The firm’s new fax number is (503) 345-6893. Bowersox limits his practice to the representation of plaintiffs in personal injury or wrongful death claims arising from accidents and defective products. The firm also represents franchisees and small businesses in business tort, legal negligence and commercial litigation matters. Bowersox is a long-time member of the Oregon Trial Lawyers Association board of governors. He is the secretary of the executive committee of the Toxic, Environmental and Pharmaceutical Torts Section of the American Association for Justice (formerly ATLA) and serves on the OSB Product Liability Section executive committee. His website is www.BLFPC.com.
Attorney Ellyn Stier has relocated her elder law practice to Lake Oswego Elder Law. Stier is a 1993 graduate of the Lewis & Clark law school and a former trial attorney with Metropolitan Public Defender. She began practicing elder law in 2001, and in addition to estate planning and probate, she takes on complex contested cases involving dementia, self-neglect, undue influence and financial exploitation. Stier was a co-program planner for the Oregon Law Institute’s Representing Elder Abuse Victims seminar in 2005 and 2008, and was a member of the executive committee of the OSB Elder Law Section (2007-08). Stier can be reached at e.stier@lakeoswe
goelderlaw.com or (503) 927-0963. Her website is www.lakeoswegoelderlaw.com.
Harrang Long Gary Rudnick welcomes Ben Miller as an associate attorney with the firm. His practice focuses on litigation, tort litigation, labor and employment and government law. Miller, a 2007 graduate of the University of Oregon School of Law, formerly served as an honors attorney with the torts/employment and national resources sections of the Oregon Department of Justice.
Wendell Wyatt, former Republican U.S. representative from Oregon’s 1st congressional district and a prominent Portland attorney, died Jan. 28, 2009 in Portland. He was 91.
Born in Eugene, Wyatt’s family later moved to Portland. He graduated in 1935 from Jefferson High School, where he was editor of the school newspaper. He attended the University of Oregon but dropped out and joined the Oregonian as a copy aide. Just one year later, he applied to the U.O. law school and was admitted without an undergraduate degree. He received his law degree from the law school in 1941. He then became an FBI agent, and during World War II, he served in the U.S. Marine Corps (1942-46).
Following the war, Wyatt moved to Astoria, where he joined the law firm of former Oregon governor Albin Norblad. He was chair of the Oregon State Republican Central Committee from 1955 until 1957. In 1962, Wyatt married Faye Hill. (He had previously married and divorced Anne Buchanan.)
In 1964, he won a special election to fill the vacancy caused by the death of Walter Norblad, the son of Wyatt’s law partner. Wyatt was re-elected four times. In Congress, Wyatt served on the Interior Committee and the Appropriations Committee, where he helped pass bills that created Oregon’s Scoggins Dam (Tualatin Reclamation Project), established a 40-foot shipping channel in the Columbia River from Astoria to Portland, created the Cascade Head Scenic Area, and purchased ranch land to be converted to public recreation areas along the Snake River.
After serving 10 years, he declined to run again in 1974 and became a partner at the law firm of Schwabe, Williamson & Wyatt. He was also a commissioner for the Port of Portland and a lobbyist. He retired from active practice in 2001 but continued to consult with the firm. The federal office building in downtown Portland is named for him and a colleague, Edith Green, a Democrat congresswoman who also left office in 1975.
Survivors include his wife, Faye, two daughters, a stepdaughter, a son, a stepson and grandchildren.
David A. Vinson of Eugene died April 12, 2009 of injuries suffered in a household accident. He was 68.
Vinson was born Sept. 18, 1940 in Wright City, Okla. He married Michele Buckey on Jan. 26, 1989 in Eugene.
Vinson graduated from Klamath Union High School in 1958. He graduated from the University of Oregon in 1962 and from the U.O. law school in 1967. He served in the U.S. Marine Corps Reserves, including active duty during the Cuban Missile Crisis in 1962. He had practiced law in Eugene since 1967, specializing in personal injury, workers’ compensation and third-party products liability.
Survivors include his wife; his mother, two daughters, three sons, a brother and six grandchildren.
Laurence A. Cushing, a former senior judge in Josephine County Circuit Court and a prominent Grants Pass attorney, died of a heart attack April 20, 2009. He was 84.
Larry Cushing was born Jan. 12, 1925 in The Dalles and raised in nearby Dufur. His parents worked as sharecroppers and raised him, along with six siblings, on a small farm in Wasco County. He graduated from Dufur High School and served in the U.S. Navy Seabees Construction Battalion during World War II. He served his country at Pearl Harbor from 1943 to 1946.
After the war, Cushing earned a bachelor’s degree at the University of Oregon, graduating in 1949. During his college years he met and fell in love with Deloris Simler, after stealing her chocolate cake while eating dinner with friends in the cafeteria. They were married on Aug. 6, 1949 in Eugene. He began his legal education at the University of Oregon School of Law but later transferred to Lewis & Clark’s Northwestern School of Law, attending night school and working during the day to support his young, growing family. He graduated in 1952.
Cushing started his law practice in Cave Junction in 1952. He served the Illinois Valley and surrounding community for 13 years as a private attorney; for 11 of those years he also acted as the local justice of the peace.
He and his wife raised their children on a ranch along the banks of the Illinois River and ran a small farm. On one occasion he was called from his law office and, still in business suit, spent 10 hours driving his stampeded cattle back across the river to the ranch.
During his time in Cave Junction he was active in the Illinois Valley Lions Club, drove the school bus, created the local fire district, served on the Josephine County school board, helped build the Josephine County library, helped create the Kerby Irrigation District, played an active role in developing the local business community through the I.V. Chamber of Commerce and involved himself in countless other civic matters.
In 1965, Cushing was appointed to the Josephine County District Court. In 1980, he was appointed to the circuit court bench, where he served nine years. He retired in 1989.
Cushing is credited with helping to create the Josephine County Trail Blazers, a transition program for prisoners to return to the community, helping to develop the Josephine County Probation Department, and creating the Josephine County Halfway House, a community program for recovering alcoholics. One of his proudest accomplishments was the creation of the workout center in the old hospital building, which took pressure off of the jail and provided an opportunity for those incarcerated to work and earn a living. He was actively involved with the Lions Club, Rotary Club (locally and internationally) and served as a volunteer ombudsman advocating for residents in several Grants Pass nursing facilities. After retirement, he continued to perform mediation and arbitration services.
In his final years, Cushing achieved a life-long dream by authoring and publishing a novel. He learned to use a computer and proceeded to write Bittersweet Canyon, a novel weaving together his many life experiences. His family and friends found great joy watching him succeed as a crafty salesman, peddling all of the 1,500 copies of his self-published work to folks at the local Saturday market, small bookstores across Oregon and to unsuspecting customers at airports, campgrounds, restaurants and any other place he was able to strike up a conversation.
Survivors include his wife of nearly 60 years, Deloris, two daughters, six sons, 19 grandchildren, two great grandchildren and a sister.