| Oregon State Bar Bulletin — MAY 2010 |
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Darius Hartwell and Tom Tongue, shareholders in the Portland office of Schwabe, Williamson & Wyatt, were honored in February as Portland Business Journal’s “Forty Under 40” list. Hartwell, who serves on the board of directors of the Portland Farmers Market, has bridged his legal expertise with a love for and commitment to the local food and restaurant community through his involvement with local farms, bakeries and other vendors. He currently chairs the firm’s pro bono committee and has received the Outstanding Pro Bono Service award from the Lewis & Clark Small Business Legal Clinic. Tongue has a strong track record of providing community and public service in Oregon and has dedicated himself to the development of the next generation of Oregon business lawyers through his work with the University of Oregon School of Law, as well as with Classroom Law Project and the Oregon Entrepreneurs Network Venture Oregon Steering Committee.
Miller Nash partner Gary Christensen received the Paul Emerick Training Award from the Associated General Contractors, Oregon Columbia chapter (AGC), at the chapter’s annual meeting in January. He was honored for his work as chair of the committee that launched and implemented “AGC University,” a contractor training program for Oregon commercial contractors. In 2004, he won the chapter’s President’s Award for outstanding service as legal counsel to the organization’s board of directors.
The Oregon Hispanic Bar Association has awarded the 2010 Paul J. De Muniz Professionalism Award to Kathryn L. Villa-Smith, shareholder with Gevurtz Menashe. Villa-Smith was recognized for significant contributions to Oregon’s Latino community, including service with the Multnomah Bar Association Committee to Advance Equality in the Law, the Serving Hispanics Committee for the Girl Scouts of America and the League of United Latin American Citizens. Villa-Smith also serves as a member of the St. Andrew Legal Clinic board.
Lee Nusich, counsel to Lane Powell and chair of the board of trustees for the Naa Amerley Palm Education Foundation, recently spent a month in Ghana, Africa, working with the NAPE Foundation to implement a Portland State University online education program in the capital city, Accra. The education program will enable students to receive their bachelor’s degrees fully online. Nusich also met for the first time with recipients of the Lee Nusich Scholarship Fund at Asheshi University.(Read more about the foundation and scholarships.)
Robert Bluth, a corporate attorney who also serves as a part-time municipal court judge in two small communities in rural Oregon, is the author of a new book, Muni Court: A View from the Other Side of the Bench. In his book, Bluth recounts cases that range from a traffic ticket to barking dog complaints and just about everything in between, providing an entertaining glimpse at cases that somehow can only happen in small rural communities. The 190-page book, published by iUniverse and priced at $26.95, is available in hard copy, paperback and electronic format at and at selected bookstores.
Jeanne Loftis of Bullivant Houser Bailey has been admitted to the American Board of Trial Advocates, an invitation-only organization comprising plaintiffs’ and defense attorneys as well as judges. The organization is focused on preserving the right to fair trials by jury in civil matters and to advancing the highest professional and ethical standards in the legal profession. Loftis, chair of Bullivant’s products liability practice, has tried more than 30 cases to verdict as first chair attorney and represents companies in the Pacific Northwest in a wide variety of commercial and casualty cases, with an emphasis on asbestos product liability claims and other mass tort litigation.
Bill Larkins of Larkins Vacura recently began a three-year term on the board of the 1000 Friends of Oregon Foundation, which provides financial support for the work of 1000 Friends. His practice continues to emphasize representation of financial institutions, other businesses and individuals in business disputes and in commercial creditor-debtor matters.
The Small Business Legal Clinic of Lewis & Clark Law School recently celebrated its new office space in downtown Portland. Portland’s Mayor Sam Adams was the keynote speaker at the open house. Vanessa Lee of Tonkon Torp was honored with a certificate of appreciation in recognition of her four months of volunteering. Mary Hull of Stoel Rives was honored with the Outstanding Pro Bono Service Award for 2008-09 for her many hours of pro bono work.
Carol Juang McCoog and Liani Jean Heh Reeves recently were named to the Portland Business Journal’s “Forty Under 40” list, which recognizes Portland’s top business and civic leaders under 40 years old. McCoog and Reeves are active members of the new Oregon Asian Pacific American Bar Association. McCoog, a partner at K&L Gates, practices public finance law statewide. She has assisted clients with the 2009 state stimulus bonds, TriMet’s Westside Express Service (WES) line, the University of Oregon basketball stadium, lottery revenue bonds for the Newport National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) base and the Portland Development Commission’s share of the Resource Access Center in the Old Town area of Portland. Reeves is an assistant attorney general and the assistant to the chief trial counsel for the Oregon Department of Justice trial division. She represents the state, state agencies and state employees in state and federal court. She also leads the department’s efforts on electronic discovery and manages a number of special projects for the trial division. Reeves chaired the Oregon Commission on Asian Affairs, served as co-chair of the Oregon Minority Lawyers Association from 2002 to 2009, and she is president of the Korean American Citizens League.
Schwabe, Williamson & Wyatt has honored shareholder Marc Sellers with its newly created firmwide client service award, the “John L. Schwabe Client Service Award,” which recognizes an attorney in the firm who goes “above and beyond” in their dedication and service to clients. In addition to peer recognition, the firm makes a $1,000 donation to the nonprofit organization of the award recipient’s choice, in this case, the Oregon Sports Trust. Sellers, who has been with Schwabe since 1980, focuses his practice in the areas of civil and criminal tax controversies, including administrative appeals and litigation.
Andrew Schpak, an attorney at Barran Liebman, will complete his two-year term as the ABA Young Lawyers Division district representative for Oregon and Washington this summer. He will then become the division’s committee director, as well as its liaison to the ABA Senior Lawyers Division. Schpak provides advice in employment matters and represents management in employment litigation.
The Council of the American Law Institute recently announced the names of 54 newly elected members, raising its total membership to 4,274. Joining from Oregon is John A. (Jack) Bogdanski, professor at Lewis & Clark Law School in Portland.
The Workers’ Compensation Board announces the reappointment of Vera Langer to its board. Langer was first appointed by 2002 and reappointed in 2006. Langer’s third consecutive term was confirmed in February by the Oregon Senate.
The Workers’ Compensation Board welcomes two new Portland administrative law judges, Jacqueline Jacobson and Joy Dougherty. Jacobson was most recently a sole practitioner representing injured workers. She was previously staff attorney for the board, associate with the defense firm of VavRosky, MacColl & Olson, associate with the claimant firm of Welch, Bruun & Green and an associate with the claimant firm of Swanson, Thomas & Coon. Dougherty was most currently employed as a staff attorney with the board. She was previously employed as an associate with the defense firm of Reinisch Mackenzie.
Stoel Rives has been named one of the “100 Best Green Companies to Work for in Oregon” by Oregon Business magazine. This recognition is based on an anonymous employee survey and an independent assessment of the employers’ sustainability practices, in which more than 500 companies and more than 26,000 employees participated. For Stoel Rives, the green efforts start by taking away everyone’s desk-side trash cans. The firm is a member of the EPA Green Power Partnership, an association of businesses and government entities that get part of their energy from renewable sources; the firm is the largest purchaser of renewable energy among all U.S. law firms in the association. Stoel Rives also purchases Renewable Energy Credits to offset 60 percent of its firm-wide electricity usage in seven states, one of only six law firms in the nation earning the “Leader” designation. Additionally, employees of Stoel Rives are encouraged to reduce car travel by receiving firm subsidized transit passes and a stipend for walking or biking.
Scott Bailey has opened a practice in Florence, where he will emphasize Social Security disability practice. He will also be working of counsel with the firm of D. Ronald Gerber, Attorney at Law. Gerber will no longer accept clients seeking Social Security disability but will restrict his practice to estate planning, probate, trust administration and business law.
Amy E. Scott, a 2008 graduate of the University of Oregon School of Law, has joined Armstrong Bankruptcy Law Offices as an associate attorney. Scott is a member of the Oregon and New York state bars, the National Association of Consumer Bankruptcy Attorneys and Oregon Women Lawyers. Her practice will focus on consumer bankruptcy and debtor issues, assisting clients in Eugene, Corvallis and Roseburg. She can be reached at (541) 683-6652 or aes@armstrongbankruptcy.com.
Elizabeth Tedesco Milesnick has joined Stoll Berne as an associate. With eight years of experience in intellectual property litigation, she will continue to emphasize intellectual property litigation and will also include business dispute resolution and litigation and securities litigation.
Stoll Berne welcomes Steven C. Berman back to the firm after a two-year professional sabbatical, during which he provided advice and counsel to nonprofit organizations and political campaigns on elections law matters. With 13 years of litigation experience, he will continue to emphasize complex business litigation and elections law.
Renee Starr announces the opening of her solo employment law practice. Her practice focuses on employment advice, counseling and litigation for employers of all sizes. Starr graduated from the Willamette University College of Law in 2004 and practiced previously at Perkins Coie and Stoel Rives. She can be contacted at Renee@RStarrLaw.com.
Jeffrey T. Piampiano, a member of the Oregon and Maine bars, has been elected as a shareholder of the Portland, Maine law firm of Drummond Woodsum. Piampiano joined the firm in 2002 as a member of its trial services and business services groups, representing secured and unsecured creditors, debtors and bankruptcy trustees. Beyond the courtroom, he is a co-author of a chapter discussing insolvency law in the United States in Directors in the Twilight Zone II, published by the International Association of Restructuring, Insolvency & Bankruptcy Professionals (2005).
The Small Business Legal Clinic of Lewis & Clark Law School welcomes Meghan Williams as its pro bono coordinator. After graduating from Suffolk University Law School in 2007, Williams joined Ropes & Gray in Boston as a corporate associate. There she worked on mergers and acquisitions, private investment funds, securities law matters and other general corporate matters. At the legal clinic, she will focus on expanding the reach of the Pro Bono Project, which matches volunteer attorneys with low-income small business owners, to more regions of Oregon.
The partners of Miller Nash elected two new partners, LeAnne Bremer and Erich Merrill, to its five-person executive committee. Bremer is the partner in charge of the firm’s Vancouver, Wash., office, and is a land use, real estate and government affairs lawyer. Bremer joined Miller Nash in 1999 and focuses her practice on land use law, real estate and government affairs. She is well versed in all land use planning and development issues, including plan review, environmental review and permitting issues, and has substantial experience in preparing land use applications and presenting them to decision-makers for approval. Merrill is a senior partner in the firm’s business and mergers and acquisitions practice team. Merrill joined Miller Nash in 1983. His practice focuses on assisting clients with entity choice and formation, raising funds from investors, negotiating and writing contracts, sales and acquisitions of businesses, and intellectual property protection and licensing.
Patent attorney Jose R. Mata announces a private practice limited to patent law and other non-litigation, intellectual property matters. His primary focus will be drafting patent applications for private clients and for other patent attorneys. Mata, a summa cum laude graduate of Santa Clara University Law School, has worked on patent applications related to computer hardware, software, electrical circuits, telecommunications, semiconductor memory fabrication, mechanical devices and other technology areas. He is registered to practice before the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office and is also admitted to the Oregon, Washington, and California bars. He continues to be employed part-time at Bailey, Pinney & Associates. Reach him at 3614 Grant St., Vancouver, WA 98660; phone: (360) 606-1419; e-mail: josemata@matapatentlaw.com; website: http:///www.matapatentlaw.com.
The Reynolds Law Firm in Corvallis welcomes Andrea Ly. She is a 2008 graduate of the University of Oregon School of Law. Previously she interned with the Public Defender Services of Lane County and worked as a class action administrator. Her practice focuses on family law, victims’ rights and immigration law. She is fluent in Mandarin and Vietnamese and conversant in Cantonese.
David Morrison became of counsel to Aller Morrison Robertson on March 1. Morrison, a former member of the Oregon Trial Lawyers Association board, will continue to consult with the firm on significant injury personal injury and medical malpractice cases, while expanding his efforts in other personal pursuits.
Dave Penoyer recently opened his own law practice under the name Penoyer Law Office. He continues to represent persons injured and killed by the fault of others. He also does wills and trusts and soon plans to add civil rights and criminal defense to his practice areas. He is licensed in Oregon and California. Reach him at 4248 Galewood St., Lake Oswego, OR 97035; phone: (503) 675-4370; fax: (503) 675-4371; e-mail: dave@penoyerlaw.com; website: http:///www.penoyerlaw.com.
Jan Wyers is starting over by opening a new law office in the Oregon Pioneer Building in downtown Portland, doing mediation and arbitration, as well as taking trial practice cases in personal injury, criminal defense, estate planning and family law. He has hired one associate. After closing his private practice of 23 years in 1999, he served seven years as a circuit court judge in Multnomah County, from 1999 until 2006. Then he served four years as senior judge, handling hearings and trials in 15 Oregon counties. His new address is 320 S.W. Stark, Portland, OR 97204; phone: (503) 830-5960; fax: (503) 360-1160; e-mail: janwyersattorney@clear.net.
Aller Morrison Robertson announces that Jason Mahan has joined the firm as an associate. Mahan received his law degree from the University of Oregon Law School in 2002. He worked for four years as a Douglas County deputy district attorney and started a solo practice in Roseburg in 2007. He will practice criminal defense and personal injury law.
The Portland office of Schwabe, Williamson & Wyatt recently expanded its real estate practice with the addition of associate attorney Ali Seals. Seals has experience representing major clients in real estate decisions involving investment, development and leasing. Seals previously worked in commercial real estate in California’s East Bay area, assisting clients such as Children’s Hospital Oakland, Metrovation and the American Lung Association with their real estate needs.
Eva M. Marcotrigiano has joined Travelers as staff counsel in the Law Offices of Kenneth R. Scearce. Her practice will focus on construction defect litigation and general liability. Previously she worked as an associate in West Linn and has clerked for Clackamas County Presiding Judge Steven L. Maurer.
Schwabe, Williamson & Wyatt recently named Brien Flanagan, Amanda Gamblin, Noah Jarrett, Nathan Maki andJill Schneider as shareholders in the Portland office. Flanagan focuses his practice on environmental and natural resources law. He handles matters involving the Clean Water Act, state and federal Superfund laws and other environmental laws and regulations. He also assists with environmental risk assessment and allocation in business and real estate transactions. Gamblin focuses her practice in the area of employment law on behalf of employers, offering comprehensive training and advice. She also handles employment litigation, including claims related to retaliation, wage and hour violation, employee benefits litigation, prevailing wage administrative actions and violations of non-compete or confidentiality agreements. Jarrett advises clients and handles construction law, admiralty law and commercial and business litigation. He practices in Washington and Oregon state and federal courts. Maki focuses on patent preparation and prosecution. He is a registered patent attorney with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and has prepared and prosecuted patent applications related to volatile and nonvolatile storage devices, platform and resource virtualization, wireless and mobile networking, optics and renewable energies. Schneider focuses her practice in the area of commercial litigation and construction. She has experience and knowledge in all aspects of litigation, including construction defects, corporate disputes and trust and estate litigation. She has represented clients at mediations, arbitrations and at trial at both the federal and state levels, including probate court. In addition, she is a LEED Green Associate, accredited through the Green Building Certification Institute.
Robert M. Redding, a retired captain in the U.S. Navy, died Dec. 21, 2009, of complications of Alzheimer’s disease.
Redding became a member of the Oregon State Bar in 1957. He retired from the Judge Advocate General’s Corps in 1982, having served the last eight years of service as a circuit judge. He had made his home in Coronado, Calif., since 1984.
Redding is survived by his wife of 51 years, Marjorie (Sue), three sons and seven grandchildren.
Retired Circuit Court Judge Tom Gooding died Feb. 14, 2010 at age 76.
R. Thomas Gooding was born May 21, 1933 and was raised on his family’s hops farms in Oregon and Idaho. He attended schools in St. Paul and Wilder, Idaho, where he worked with his parents and sister and brothers. He attended the University of Idaho, Boise Junior College and Willamette University, graduating with a law degree in 1958. He married Jill Gellerman in 1955.
In college, Gooding lettered in varsity basketball (with all-conference honors at Willamette), won the Florien Von Eschen scholarship, was a Senior Scholar and was a member of the Newman Club and the Sigma Chi fraternity. His first year out, he served as a law clerk at the Oregon Supreme Court, and then in 1959, he and his family moved to La Grande.
He practiced law in La Grande for 25 years, served there seven years as the circuit judge, and then worked eight years as a special assistant attorney general in Salem.
In 1999, returning to Idaho to help care for parents, he engaged in mediation and arbitration of civil matters. He was a member of the Catholic Church, the Knights of Columbus, the Sigma Chi Alumni, the Optimist Club, the Elk’s Lodge, and the German Shorthaired Pointer Club of Idaho. He was involved in youth activities for several years, professional societies and civic matters, and he enjoyed boating, skiing, golfing, hunting upland game and visiting family and friends.
Survivors include his wife of 25 years, Charlotte Gooding, a daughter and stepdaughter, three sons and a stepson, brother, nine grandchildren, and several nieces and nephews.
Doug Dawson died March 11, 2010 in Salem. He was 71.
Douglas Bruce Dawson was born Sept. 14, 1938 in San Jose, Calif. He lived in California until 1957 and then served three years in the U.S. Army as a military police investigator in Japan. After military service, he began a three-year law enforcement career in Alaska as a Fairbanks police officer and then as a state trooper in Anchorage.
He later decided to pursue a law degree, commencing law studies with one year at Hastings College of Law in San Francisco and completing his J.D. degree in 1970 at Willamette University College of Law, where he served on the Willamette Law Journal editorial board. He also was a judicial clerk at the Oregon Supreme Court.
Dawson opened a solo law practice, next became a deputy district attorney for Multnomah County, then established a two-person practice and later became a deputy district attorney for Marion County. He preferred being a prosecutor; only six of his 27 years practicing law were in private practice. In 1980, he was elected Polk County district attorney; he ultimately completed his legal career with 14 years as an Oregon assistant attorney general in the district attorney assistance division.
After retiring in 1997, he pursued his love of painting, becoming an accomplished professional pastel and acrylic artist represented by Lawrence Galleries in Oregon and exhibiting at Salem’s Bush Barn Art Center; his art is in many private, corporate and public collections. He and his wife, Sheryl, who is also a member of the OSB, were the subjects of a profile in the OSB Bulletin in April 2005 (“Side by Side”), detailing their art careers.
He was active in the art community, teaching classes and giving seminars as well as creating art. He had a keen sense of humor and was kind, generous and nonjudgmental; he loved and was loved by many. Even in death, he continues to give generously as an organ donor and an OHSU body donor, with the hope that others’ lives may be enriched through this final gift.
Dawson is survived by Sheryl, his wife of 28 years, a brother and an aunt.