Oregon State Bar Bulletin DECEMBER 2011 |
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The Oregon New Lawyers Division has elected officers for 2012. Next year’s officers include: Jason Hirshon, chair; David Eder, chair-elect; Jamie Hazlett, treasurer; Ben Eder, secretary; and Tamara Kessler, past chair. New members on the executive committee next year are Karen Clevering and Collin McKean. More than 100 persons attended ONLD’s recent annual meeting.
Fifteen attorneys from Tonkon Torp in Portland were honored recently for their pro bono work on behalf of a special population of Oregon youth and their families. Youth, Rights and Justice, formerly known as the Juvenile Rights Project, recognized the business lawyers for their free legal representation to young sex offenders who qualified to petition for their removal from an offenders’ registry. Gwendolyn Griffith, a Tonkon Torp tax attorney who serves on the board of Youth, Rights and Justice and volunteers her time and legal services to the project, explained that while Oregon has a process to remove names of juvenile offenders from lifetime listing on the registry, the procedure is complicated and many young people who would be good candidates simply cannot afford an attorney to help them navigate through the system.
Steven B. Ungar,shareholder at Lane Powell, has been reappointed chair of the Oregon State Lottery Commission. Ungar just completed his seventh year on the Oregon Lottery Commission and spent the past five years serving as chair. He is co-chair of the firm’s white collar criminal defense, regulatory compliance and special investigations practice group.
The Oregon chapter of the American Immigration Lawyers Association recently presented Turid Owren, business immigration attorney at Tonkon Torp, with the 2011 Gerald H. Robinson Excellence in Advocacy Award. The award, which recognizes excellence in advocacy in immigration law, was presented at the chapter’s Oregon Immigrant Achievement Awards event Oct. 14. Owren heads the firm’s immigration practice group. She has practiced immigration law since 1988 and for many years served as liaison between AILA and the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service, chairing or participating on committees that monitor USCIS activities and adjudication. She recently was reappointed to the AILA USCIS Headquarters Benefits and Policy Committee for 2011-12.
Elizabeth E. Howard of Dunn Carney will receive Oregon State University’s College of Agricultural Sciences Alumni Luminary Award. The award is given to an individual who has made early career and community contributions that clearly identify her or him as a future leader. Howard graduated from Oregon State University in 1998 and received her J.D. from Lewis & Clark Law School in 2001. She is considered one of Oregon’s foremost authorities on federal and state water quality regulation policies and their impacts on agriculture. Many of her legal efforts involve ranching and agricultural communities and complex public land use cases, including application and interpretation of the Endangered Species Act, National Environmental Policy Act and Clean Water Act.
Miller Nash has been named one of Oregon’s Healthiest Employers by the Portland Business Journal for the second year in a row. This is the second year that the publication has recognized companies that demonstrate innovation and leadership in their corporate wellness programs. Conducted by Healthiest Companies, the survey ranks companies in four categories based on the number of employees. Miller Nash was one of 40 companies recognized as Oregon’s Healthiest Employers, and ranked fifth in its category. The winners were announced in the Oct. 14 issue of the Portland Business Journal.
Lane Powell attorney Parna A. Mehrbani recently won the individual award for the Oregon State Bar’s 2010 Pro Bono Challenge. She received this award in 2011 for reporting the highest number of pro bono hours volunteered for 2010. Mehrbani is a member of Lane Powell’s intellectual property and technology practice group. She donates her intellectual property expertise to nonprofit organizations such as the Southeast Legal Clinic, the Rock N’ Roll Camp for Girls and Basic Rights Oregon.
Davis Wright Tremaine partner Stephen Ledoux has been appointed to the board of the nonprofit Lan Su Garden in Portland. The classical Chinese garden in the city’s Old Town celebrated its 10th anniversary last year. For more than 25 years, Ledoux has represented Chinese and U.S. developers and borrowers in billions of dollars of real estate transactions.
Dunn Carney partner Thomas H. Tongue was elected president of the American College of Trial Lawyers at its annual meeting in October. Tongue is the second Dunn Carney partner to serve as the organization’s president; William Morrison served as president in 1972-73. Earlier this year, Tongue received the 2011 Judge Learned Hand Lifetime Achievement Award from the Oregon Area Jewish Committee. He is a former president of the Multnomah Bar Association, as well as a recipient of both the Multnomah Bar Association and OSB Litigation Section professionalism awards.
Valerie H. Sasaki is the 2011 recipient of the Mentor of the Year Award given by the OSB Taxation Section. Sasaki was recognized for her welcoming and mentoring of new attorneys and for extending invitations to networking events, facilitating introductions and encouraging new lawyers to recognize opportunities for professional development. Sasaki is past chair of the OSB Taxation Section’s executive committee. She is an associate at Miller Nash in Portland, where her practice concentrates on multistate taxation, including state income/franchise, sales/use and property taxes.
Eugene attorney Derek Johnson of Johnson, Johnson, Larson & Schaller has been elected to the board of governors of the Oregon Trial Lawyers Association. Johnson’s practice emphasizes plaintiffs’ personal injury law.
Tonkon Torp attorney Shouka Rezvani has been elected to the board of Le Monde Immersion, a new French language nonprofit seeking public charter school status in the Portland Public School District. Rezvani is a member of Tonkon Torp’s nonprofit and tax-exempt entities and wealth planning practice groups.
Michele Smith, shareholder at Johnson, Johnson, Larson & Schaller, has been re-elected president of SAIL Housing (Supporting Access to Independent Living). SAIL Housing focuses on providing service-supported housing for independent living by adults with developmental disabilities. Its current project, which will provide 16 affordable apartments at Willakenzie Crossing in Eugene, will open in January 2012. Smith is an original founding member and has been president since the nonprofit organization’s inception in 2006. Learn more at www.sailhousing.org.
Gloria Trainor, associate at Johnson, Johnson, Larson & Schaller, has been elected as a member of the board of directors for Oregon Women Lawyers. The mission of OWLS is to transform the practice of law and ensure justice and equality by advancing women and minorities in the legal profession.
Oregon City attorney John Henry Hingson III of Oregon City has been awarded the Ken Morrow Lifetime Achievement Award by the Oregon Criminal Defense Lawyers Association. Chief Justice Paul De Muniz was among those presenting the award to Hingson, who is the eighth recipient of the award. Hingson is a past president of the Oregon Criminal Defense Lawyers Association from 1982 to 1984, and was president of the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers from 1993 to 1994. He is listed in The Best Lawyers in America in both white collar and blue collar criminal defense and is the only Oregon lawyer listed in drunk driving defense. He is also a leading authority on state constitutional law and a pioneer in litigation seeking enforcement of state constitutional rights. He is a regular speaker at CLE seminars and he is the author of How To Defend A Drunk Driving Case.
The Foundation for Economic Education in New York will publish “The Age of the Busybody” by Ridgway K. Foley Jr. in the December 2011 issue of its journal, The Freeman. Earlier this year Foley, of counsel to Greene & Markley, contributed a commissioned essay, “Leaks and Liberty,” to the March issue of Freedom Daily, published by the Future of Freedom Foundation in Fairfax, Va. He also published his counter-conventional commentary, “The Essence of the State,” as a lead article at LewRockwell.com. Foley has represented clients in hundreds of Oregon and federal appeals since the 1960s.
Theresa Deibele has been named administration manager at Youth Villages-ChristieCare of Oregon, a nonprofit organization located in Lake Oswego that provides counseling services and programs for children with emotional and behavioral problems. She oversees finance, facilities, support services, human resources and information technology for its operations. From 2008 to 2011, Deibele served as finance and administration director and guided the nonprofit through its merger with Youth Villages in June 2011. She practiced public finance law at Ater Wynne from 1999 to 2004.
The Beaverton City Council has appointed Bill Kirby as city attorney for the city of Beaverton. Kirby has served as an attorney in various capacities for the city since 1984, most recently as a senior assistant city attorney. In his new position, he will serve as the city’s chief legal adviser and will oversee the office’s civil and criminal divisions.
Sean E. O’Day has been selected as general counsel for the League of Oregon Cities, where he will head the legal and research department. Prior to joining the league, O’Day was in city management and held various legal positions in state and local government.
Kate Grado has joined Harrang Long Gary Rudnick as a full-time associate in the Portland office. She was a summer associate at the firm last year and has clerked for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and served as a judicial intern to the Hon. Anna J. Brown, U.S. District Court Judge for the District of Oregon. Grado has a J.D. from Lewis & Clark Law School, where she served as the submissions editor of the Lewis & Clark Law Review.
Richard W. Miller became a full-time resident of Bend, effective October 10, and will work full time in the Bend branch office of Cosgrave Vergeer Kester. He joined the firm in 2003. He is chair of the firm’s business practice group and practices in the areas of business, and estate and trust planning and administration. Cosgrave Vergeer Kester was formed in 1934 in Portland, and today has 37 attorneys providing business and litigation services.
In November, Gazzola & Hull moved from the Morgan Building to the 208 Building in downtown Portland. Chip Gazzola, David Hull and associate Nicole Warren will continue their family law practice handling divorce, custody, support and other family law matters in Oregon and Southwest Washington. Family lawyer and sole practitioner Daniel B. Peters moved with the firm. Their new address will be 208 S.W. First Ave., Suite 340, Portland OR 97204. All other contact information remains the same.
Brenna K. Legaard has joined Lane Powell as a shareholder in the intellectual property and technology practice group, where she will focus her practice on strategic intellectual property counseling and litigation of patents, trademarks, copyrights and trade secrets. Legaard was a partner at Chernoff Vilhauer, where she prosecuted patents on consumer goods, wireless technology and medical devices.
Samuel L. Roberts has joined the Eugene firm of Hutchinson, Cox, Coons, DuPriest, Orr & Sherlock as an associate attorney. Roberts is a recent graduate of the University of Oregon School of Law. As a David Brower Fellow, Roberts researched Oregon energy regulatory decision-making and securities issues associated with community solar development projects. He brings an unusual depth of experience to his chosen field of energy law. Roberts will also practice in the areas of administrative, land use and real estate law. He can be reached at (541) 686-9160.
The Law Office of Patricia Arjun has relocated to 811 S.W. Naito Parkway, Suite 500, Portland, OR 97204. Arjun continues to provide family law services to clients in Washington and Oregon. Check out her new website at www.arjunlaw.com.
Dana M. Busch has opened a solo law practice in Portland representing Social Security disability claimants. A former staff attorney for Social Security’s Office of Hearings and Appeals (currently the Office of Disability Adjudication and Review), he has been a member of the Tennessee bar since 1983 and was admitted in Oregon in 2003. You can reach him at 1020 S.W. Taylor St., Suite 855, Portland, OR 97205; phone: (503) 358-6753; fax: (503) 295-0814; and email: dana@danabuschlaw.com.
Dean Aldrich and Kevin Eike have become business partners. Accordingly, the Aldrich Law Office is now known as Aldrich Eike. Located in the historic Spalding Building in downtown Portland, the firm specializes in construction contracts, real estate, home owner association and insurance litigation.
Andrew Schpak and Todd Lyon have been named partners at Barran Liebman. Schpak has been with the firm since 2004, representing management in employment law matters. He is the Multnomah Bar Association’s delegate to the ABA House of Delegates and a past president of the MBA Young Lawyers Section. Schpak also serves as president of the board of the Hollywood Theatre, treasurer of the board of NWEEO/Affirmative Action Association and co-chair of the Campaign for Equal Justice’s Associates Committee. Lyon joins the firm as a partner with nearly 10 years of practice, focusing primarily on labor matters. He is certified by the American Arbitration Association as an employment disputes arbitrator and he is a regular guest lecturer at Oregon law schools and writer of various employment law publications, including acting as the chapter editor of “The Developing Labor Law,” the nation’s leading labor law treatise. Learn more at barran.com.
Cameron O. Carter has joined Shaw Law Group (formerly David D. Shaw P.C.) and will be heading the firm’s personal injury practice. Carter joins the firm at its new offices in the Commonwealth Building, 421 S.W. Sixth Ave., Suite 1150, Portland, OR 97204. He can be reached at (503) 221-4260 or at cameron@shaw-law.net.
Four new attorneys have joined Lane Powell’s Portland office. Jeremy Babener concentrates his practice in taxation. Previously, Babener worked as a tax policy fellow in the U.S. Treasury Department’s Office of Tax Policy, focusing on partnership tax issues, including noncompensatory partnership options and debt-equity exchanges. He has written and spoken on the taxation of personal injury damages, structured settlements and qualified settlement funds. Skyler M. Tanner concentrates his practice in bankruptcy and creditors’ rights. Tanner’s practice also includes loan documentation and enforcement. After his graduation from law school and prior to joining Lane Powell, Tanner worked for a year for Judge Randall L. Dunn of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Oregon, and a year for Chief Judge William T. Thurman and Judges R. Kimball Mosier and Joel T. Marker of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Utah. He received his J.D. from Cornell Law School. Kristen Tranetzki focuses her practice in litigation. Prior to joining the firm, Tranetzki participated in a large-scale investigation of violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act at a major multinational corporation. She has also advised corporate clients on a wide variety of criminal and civil matters, including regulatory investigations, contractual disputes, products liability and compliance. In 2006 through 2007, she clerked for Chief Justice Shirley Abrahamson of the Wisconsin Supreme Court. She received her J.D. from New York University School of Law.
Eugene firm Watkinson Laird Rubenstein Baldwin & Burgess has added two new associates, Clark E. Rasche and Ryan C. Belton. Both are recent graduates of the University of Oregon School of Law. Rasche practices civil litigation with an emphasis in contract disputes, real property litigation and creditors’ rights. Belton is a member of the firm’s health law group and focuses on regulatory and compliance issues.
Edward L. “Ted” Simpson has joined the Portland office of Harrang Long Gary Rudnick as of counsel, effective Dec. 1. Simpson works with individuals and closely held business owners to create estate and asset protection plans that help preserve their wealth. His practice focuses on estate planning, asset protection and taxation, as well as business and corporate law.
Richard L. King and Monica G. Campbell have formed a new firm, King & Campbell, Attorneys at Law. King has been practicing law since 1973, and he is currently a member of the Oregon, Illinois and New York State bars. His primary practice areas are estate planning, charitable planning, probate, trust administration and elder law. Campbell has been a member of the Oregon Bar since 2003. She is a graduate of Lewis & Clark Law School and has seven years of experience in insurance defense. She will practice general litigation as well as head up the firm’s immigration practice.
Longtime sole practitioner Don Reiling of Albany died Oct. 5, 2011. He was 74.
Donald P. Reiling was born Oct. 29, 1936, in Silverton. When he was 10, his family moved to Gervais, where he graduated from high school, having lettered in all four sports. He attended Oregon State University in Corvallis and received his bachelor’s degree in 1959. He continued his education at Willamette University in Salem and received his law degree in 1962. He was a sole practitioner in Albany for 49 years. In addition to his practice, he was the municipal court judge for the city of Albany for 20 years.
Over the years, Reiling was a member of the Albany Elks, Eagles, Albany Jaycees, Kiwanis, and Oregon State Alumni Club. He served as president of the Timber Carnival and Spring Hill Country Club. He also served as chairman of the OSB’s Client Security Fund.
He loved gardening and was a farmer at heart, with a definite green thumb. His yard, garden and flowers were always a showcase to behold. He rarely missed a Saturday market and was a sports fanatic. He always said his mind was full of trivia and never ceased to amaze his coffee-break buddies with his recall ability. He also enjoyed golfing.
He is survived by his wife, Linda, a daughter, a stepdaughter, two sons and several grandchildren.