| Oregon State Bar Bulletin — MAY 2012 |
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Tara Schleicher, chair of Farleigh Wada Witt’s commercial bankruptcy and insolvency practice group, has been recertified as a business bankruptcy law specialist by the American Board of Certification. Schleicher has been certified since 2007, when she passed a rigorous examination and successfully completed the requirements for national certification in business bankruptcy law. ABC is a nonprofit organization sponsored by the American Bankruptcy Institute and accredited by the American Bar Association.
Jeremy Vermilyea, a shareholder in the Portland office of Schwabe, Williamson & Wyatt, recently received the Paul Emerick Training Award from the Associated General Contractors, Oregon-Columbia chapter. The award recognizes outstanding efforts of a person or company dedicated to education and training in the construction industry. Vermilyea was recognized for his countless hours and continued commitment to training and education at such chapter events as AGC University and Tuesdays@4. He also has been an active participant in seminars held at the AGC’s Summer Convention, along with his roles as a board member and counsel to the board of directors. Vermilyea focuses his practice in the areas of construction, commercial litigation, real estate and environmental law.
Brenda Meltebeke, partner and firm chair of Ater Wynne, has been selected by the Portland Business Journal as a 2012 Orchid Award Winner, an award that recognizes 25 “women of influence” for their business and civic contributions. She chairs the firm’s emerging business group and currently serves on the board of the Oregon Entrepreneurs Network.
Peter Ricoy, an attorney in the Portland office of regional law firm Schwabe, Williamson & Wyatt, was recently elected to serve as the 2012 president of the Oregon Hispanic Bar Association. Ricoy has been a long-time board member for the OHBA and is also a member of the Hispanic National Bar Association. Ricoy focuses his practice in the areas of health care law, privacy, insurance regulation and general corporate and business transactions.
Arden Shenker, a partner in the firm of Shenker & Bonaparte, has been selected together with his wife, Lois, to receive the Rabbi Joshua Stampfer Community Enrichment Award at a dinner May 17 at the Benson Hotel in Portland. The Shenkers are being honored for their lifelong leadership and philanthropy in both the Jewish and general communities in the Northwest, nationally and internationally. Shenker concentrates his practice on complex business, energy, environmental, commercial and civil litigation and administrative proceedings. He has been retained as special environmental counsel to the governors of Oregon and Montana. Shenker has served as an adjunct professor at Lewis & Clark Law School (1981-2001) and as ethics committee chair of the ABA Environment, Energy and Resources Section. A founding master of the American Inns of Court, he also served as founder of the American Leadership Forum.
Gov. John Kitzhaber has appointed attorney Marlene Yesquen of Medford to the Early Learning Council, a component in the governor’s agenda to coordinate and streamline state investments in early childhood programs. Yesquen is currently serving in her first term on the board of the Medford School District. She earned her law degree from Lewis & Clark Law School and is an attorney with the law firm of Black, Chapman, Webber & Stevens.
Brian R. Talcott of Dunn Carney has been elected to the board of directors of the Classroom Law Project. The program brings education, legal and business communities together by providing innovative, timely, practical and fun civic education programs for K-12 students. Programs include Courthouse Experiences, Mock Trial and the We the People competition, among others.
Caroline Lobdell has been awarded the 2012 Service to Agriculture Award by Oregon Women for Agriculture. This award honors her contributions to increase public understanding of Oregon agriculture. Lobdell serves as the executive director of the Western Resources Legal Center, a nonprofit legal education program affiliated with the Lewis & Clark Law School. She was also recently appointed to the OSB Agricultural Law Section and the OSB Administrative Law Section executive committees.
Jim Westwood, a partner in Stoel Rives, has been chosen to receive the prestigious Legal Citizen of the Year award from the Classroom Law Project. He was honored at the organization’s annual award dinner April 24 in Portland. Well known as a constitutional scholar, Westwood has volunteered for 11 years as a coach for We the People high school teams that participate in constitutional knowledge competitions, sponsored in Oregon by Classroom Law Project. He is credited with expanding the reach of the program, helping start teams in three new schools. A native Oregonian, Westwood concentrates his practice in state and federal appellate courts. Among the nearly 200 appeals he has handled are important cases in state and federal constitutional law, insurance, banking, energy, administrative law and punitive damages law.
Leonard DuBoff, founder and managing member of the DuBoff Law Group, was the featured speaker for the First Peoples Fund meeting March 17 in St. Paul, Minn. The consortium of Native American tribes from the United States and Canada provides resources for native people to protect their cultural heritage and to effectively compete in the business world.
Michele Longo Eder of Newport has been appointed to the federal Marine Fisheries Advisory Committee for a three-year term. The committee advises the secretary of commerce on all living marine resource matters that are the responsibility of the department. Members evaluate and recommend priorities and needed changes in programs, including the reauthorization of the Magnuson-Stevens, Endangered Species and Marine Mammal Protection acts. Eder has practiced law for more than 30 years, is a commercial fishing vessel owner and author of Salt In Our Blood: The Memoir of a Fisherman’s Wife. Eder recently completed two terms as a presidential appointee on the U.S. Arctic Research Commission and served six years on the North Pacific Research Board. Currently, she is a member of the U.S. Coast Guard’s Commercial Fisheries Safety Advisory Committee.
Julia Markley of Perkins Coie has been named one of the Portland Business Journal’s “Forty Under 40” for 2012, which recognizes emerging business leaders in Portland. Her diverse litigation practice includes complex business, franchise, patent, trademark, construction, class action and employment disputes. She has also handled cases involving political and constitutional law issues. She has tried several cases and arbitrations to conclusion and represents clients on appeal. She has significant experience in the 9th Circuit, Oregon Supreme Court and Oregon Court of Appeals. In 2009, she co-founded the Oregon Asian Pacific American Bar Association and was elected its first president. Markley has served on the board of directors of Oregon Women Lawyers, OSB Diversity Section executive committee and Judicial Selection Committee, which will recommend candidates to Sens. Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley for President Obama’s nomination to the U.S. District Court of Oregon.
Tonkon Torp attorney Vicki A. Ballouhas been elected to the executive committee of the board of Parkinson’s Resources of Oregon. She has served on the board for a year. A member of Tonkon Torp’s intellectual property practice group, Ballou, who specializes in intellectual property licensing, particularly open source code issues, works with both technology and traditional manufacturing companies.
Kelly Hagan, a shareholder in the Portland office of Schwabe, Williamson & Wyatt, has joined the board of directors of Essential Health Clinic, which provides free urgent care and access to health care for low-income, uninsured residents of Washington County. Hagan, who focuses his practice on health care business transactions, is past chair of the OSB Health Law Section, the OSB Joint Committee on the Medical Profession and the Multnomah Bar Association’s group insurance committee.
Kathryn Logan was confirmed as a member of the Oregon Employment Relations Board, effective March 1. Logan has worked as an administrative law judge for the Employment Relations Board, the Public Utility Commission and on contract for numerous state agencies. She also has extensive experience as a management advocate, working for the city of Salem and the state of Oregon as a labor relations manager. From 2006 through February 2012, she advised and represented management on labor and employment issues as a senior assistant attorney general with the Oregon Department of Justice.
Tonkon Torp labor and employment attorney Krista Hardwick has been elected to a three-year term on the board of Human Solutions, a nonprofit organization that helps low-income and homeless families and individuals with affordable housing, family support services, job readiness training and economic development opportunities. Hardwick also volunteers for Boys and Girls Aid and the Lewis & Clark Small Business Legal Clinic. She is a member of the firm’s labor & employment practice group and focuses her practice on defense of employers against wage and hour, discrimination, harassment and other employment-related claims.
Miller Nash attorney Wayne Landsverk has been recognized by the Daily Journal of Commerce with a Leadership in Law award, which recognizes leadership both in the legal profession and in the community. Landsverk has advised and represented Northwest employers in all areas of employment and labor law for 35 years. He serves on the board of directors for Friendly House, a nonprofit serving the Portland area, and Voices Unlimited, a performing arts organization for adults with developmental disabilities. He also volunteers with Special Olympics of Oregon and Community Music Center.
Martha Pagel, a shareholder at Schwabe, Williamson & Wyatt, was recently named to the board of directors of Oregon Water Resources Congress, a nonprofit trade association that represents irrigation districts, water control districts, drainage districts, water improvement districts and other agricultural water providers in Oregon. Pagel also serves as chair of the attorney advisory committee for the Western Resources Legal Center. Pagel focuses her practice in the areas of water law, natural resources and government relations.
Dennis S. Reese, of counsel in the Salem law firm of Garrett Hemann Robertson, was recently inducted as a fellow into the College of Workers’ Compensation Lawyers. Reese is only the second lawyer in Oregon to ever be inducted into the college, and was among 43 new fellows inducted this year. He is a past chairperson of the American Bar Association’s Committee of Workers’ Compensation and Employer Liability, a former national institute director and past chair of the OSB Workers’ Compensation Section CLE committee. Reese, who has defended businesses in connection with employment law and workers’ compensation claims since 1979, has been with the firm since 2007.
The ABA Board of Governors recently established an annual award in honor of Mark Hardin’s work in the field of child welfare law. The first award, entitled the Mark Hardin Award for Child Welfare Legal Scholarship and Systems Change, will be given in Washington, D.C., on June 28. It will be given each year to an individual who has made outstanding contributions in the field.
Lane Powell Shareholder Jill R. Long was recently appointed to a one-year term as private sector co-chair of the International Council of Shopping Centers’ Oregon Alliance, a trade group serving the retail real estate industry. Long, who has extensive knowledge in the area of retail and mixed-use development, is a member of the firm’s real estate and land use practice group.
Román D. Hernández, a shareholder in the Portland office Schwabe, Williamson & Wyatt, has received the Distinguished Citizen Award from the Cascade Pacific Council of the Boy Scouts of America. Hernández, who focuses his practice in the areas of employment law, labor law and business litigation, serves clients in state and federal courts in Oregon and Washington.
Miller Nash attorney Elizabeth Tedesco Milesnick represented Oregon Women Lawyers at a meeting March 29 with the Multnomah County Board of Commissioners, in celebration of Women’s History Month. Her discussion covered OWLs’ mission and activities in Oregon. Milesnick is currently on the board of directors and is historian on the organization’s executive committee. An associate in the firm’s business department, Milesnick has broad experience in intellectual property matters, particularly patent and trademark litigation.
Barran Liebman managing partner Ed Harnden, who focuses his practice on employment dispute resolution, arbitration and litigation, has been appointed to the Oregon Public Officials Compensation Commission. Additionally, Jeffrey Jones, who is of counsel with Barran Liebman, has earned tenure as an associate professor of law at Lewis & Clark Law School. Jones joined the law school faculty in Fall 2007 and teaches employment law, the disability law seminar, jurisprudence and property, and legal elements.
Robert James (Bob) Miller published his third book in March, Reservation “Capitalism:” Economic Development in Indian Country. Former U.S. Sen. Tom Daschle wrote the foreword. This book culminates 14 years of research and writing on this subject. Miller has taught civil procedure and Indian law courses full time at Lewis & Clark since 1999 and continues to be the chief justice of the Grand Ronde Tribe’s Court of Appeals and serves as a judge pro tem for other Northwest tribal governments.
Bartley F. Day and Anne E. Koch have combined to form Day & Koch, a firm representing creative businesses, individuals and entrepreneurs. Day was most recently vice president of business affairs for a Los Angeles entertainment company and a sole practitioner in Portland. His practice emphasizes entertainment law and related intellectual property matters. Koch formerly practiced with the Portland firm Motschenbacher & Blattner. She will continue to provide representation in business and corporate transactions, contracts and intellectual property matters. Additional information on the firm can be found at www.dayandkoch.com.
Hutchinson, Cox, Coons, Orr & Sherlock has changed its firm name to reflect the retirement of longtime shareholder Douglas M. DuPriest. Firm attorneys William H. Sherlockand Zack P. Mittge continue to expand the firm’s practice in the areas of land use, real estate and administrative law. They can be reached at (541) 686-9160.
Vincent J. Bernabei has relocated his law firm to 102 Cascade Square, 8625 S.W. Cascade Ave., Beaverton, OR 97008, effective March 1. He will continue serving clients in the all areas of domestic relations, personal injury and general civil litigation. The office telephone number of (503) 443-1177, fax number of (503) 443-1178, email address of vince@bernabeilaw.com and website of www.bernabeilaw.com remain the same.
Metro has appointed Alison Kean Campbell as the Metro attorney, the agency’s general counsel. Kean Campbell has practiced law for 23 years and has been an attorney for the Metro regional government for 16 years. She graduated from the University of Michigan Law School in 1988, where she served on the Michigan Law Review. In 2008, Kean Campbell was promoted to the role of deputy Metro attorney, and in February 2011 she was appointed as the acting Metro attorney. Prior to working at Metro, she worked in private law practice in Washington, D.C., Seattle and Portland, focusing on complex civil and commercial litigation.
Buckley Law P.C. announces that Krista Evans has been hired as an associate, effective March 1. Evans will work with the firm’s business and real estate transactions department, primarily focusing on business law and finance and commercial law. Evans received her law degree from Lewis & Clark Law School.
Jeff Merrick is now available as a mediator. In anticipation of hanging out his mediator shingle, Merrick completed a 40-hour intensive training at the Center for Mediation in Law in Marin County, Calif., the eight-hour training prescribed by the Oregon Judicial Department for court-connected mediation, a six-hour workshop on Mediation Impasse-Breaking and Ethics, plus uncounted hours of independent study. Merrick has practiced law since 1984, first for defendants and later for plaintiffs in employment law, personal injury and professional malpractice. Reach him at (503) 665-4234 or merrick@jeffmerrick.com.
The Community Development Law Center (CDLC), a nonprofit law practice providing legal advocacy for Oregon nonprofit agencies, has opened a new office in Bend, staffed by Helen Eastwood. The agency expansion was made possible by a grant from the Murdock Charitable Trust. A native of Bend, Eastwood brings a varied and well-developed background to her work. She taught through the Teach for America Program, and has also worked for the general counsel offices at the Environmental Protection Agency in Boston and National Public Radio in Washington, D.C. Most recently, she worked in Bend with Karnopp Petersen to provide legal services to the Confederated Tribes of the Warm Springs Reservation. She also worked as a land use attorney for Bryant, Lovlien & Jarvis. CDLC is a program of St. Andrew Legal Clinic, based in Portland.
Linda Meng, Portland’s city attorney since 2004, retired Jan. 31. Meng joined the city attorney’s office in 1990, becoming a chief deputy city attorney in 1995. She was appointed by the city council to the position in February 2004. In addition to her work at the city, Meng served as president of the Oregon City Attorney’s Association and was on the board of Oregon Women Lawyers. She was awarded the Multnomah Bar Association Award of Merit and the OSB President’s Affirmative Action Award. James H. Van Dyke has been appointed as interim city attorney. Van Dyke has supervised the contracts and real property practice group, specializing in commercial law, public contracting, construction and affirmative action. Prior to joining the city in 1994, he worked as a senior assistant attorney general at the Oregon Department of Justice in the trial division and family law sections. In addition to his work with the City, Van Dyke is chair of the OSB Construction Law Section, a member of the Attorney General’s Public Contract Rules Advisory Committee, past co-chair of the Oregon Gay and Lesbian Law Association and a past member of the bar’s Affirmative Action Committee. Also, Tracy Pool Reeve has been appointed as chief deputy city attorney to lead the litigation group. She joined the city in 1991, and in 2001 (after five years in private practice with Reeve Kearns PC) she returned to the office as a senior deputy city attorney. Reeve specializes in constitutional law and complex litigation. She previously practiced in San Diego with Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher and in Portland with Stoel Rives.
Bateman Seidel announces that Christopher I. Campbell and Travis W. Hallare now shareholders in the firm. Campbell is a member of the affordable housing group and Hall is a member of the litigation group.
In 2011, retired Umatilla/Morrow County Circuit Judge Garry Reynolds joined his former partner Kurt C. Bendixsen in the Hermiston firm of Bendixsen & Reynolds. Reynolds served as a circuit judge for more than 14 years, until his retirement in 2010. He returns to a practice emphasizing arbitration/mediation, estate planning/probate, guardianship/conservatorship, business and agricultural law.
Former Umatilla/Morrow County Circuit Judge Jeff Wallacehas joined the Hermiston firm of Bendixsen, Reynolds & Wallace. Wallace served as a circuit judge for 18 years, until his retirement in 2010. He is a retired lieutenant colonel in the U.S. Army JAG Corps and served a one-year deployment to Iraq in 2008-2009, where he was awarded the Bronze Star. Wallace’s practice will emphasize arbitration/mediation, water law, business law and veterans issues.
Perkins Coie partner David Robbins has joined the recently launched national healthcare industry group in the Seattle office of Perkins Coie. He was previously with Bennett, Bigelow & Leedom in Seattle. The group now includes more than 35 attorneys and spans seven offices and six practice groups across the firm.
Russell R. Rotondi, previously with Scheer & Zehnder, has joined Cosgrave Vergeer Kester’s construction practice group as an associate. His practice focuses on complex civil litigation, specifically the defense of developers and general contractors, and professional liability defense of architects and engineers. He has also represented clients in products liability and personal injury defense. Rotondi received his law degree from the University of Arizona, James E. Rogers College of Law in 2008.
Carr Butterfield is pleased to announce its move to newly renovated office space, effective April 1. The new address is 5285 S.W. Meadows Rd., Suite 199, Lake Oswego, OR 97035; phone: (503) 635-5244; website: www.carrbutterfield.com.
Richard Rizk has relocated his practice to 0434 S.W. Iowa St., Portland, OR 97239. You can continue to reach him by phone: (503) 245-5677; fax: (503) 427-1919; or websites: www.rizklaw.com or http://mydisabilityappeal.com.
Marcus M. Henderson has joined Aspell, Della-Rose & Associates in Klamath Falls, where his practice will focus on estate planning and administration, real estate transactions, and small businesses representation. Henderson previously enjoyed many years working in a corporate fiduciary capacity with South Valley Bank & Trust. He can be reached at 122 S. Fifth St., Klamath Falls, OR 97601; phone (541)883-7754; or email marcus@adrrlaw.com.
Schwabe, Williamson & Wyatt has announced that seven Oregon lawyers have been named shareholders of the firm. Richard Bailey focuses his practice in the areas of commercial real estate and real estate-based lending, with a special emphasis on the development of condominiums, planned communities and mixed-use projects. Dan Eller focuses his practice in the areas of tax and business law. He advises clients with both transactional and controversy matters. His transactional practice has its emphases on choice of entity and formation, mergers and acquisitions, real property development transaction structuring, and tax-exempt entity formation, qualification and operation. Heather Hepburn focuses her practice in the areas of business and real estate law, including entity issues, corporate and limited liability company formations, securities, and mergers and acquisitions. She is experienced in preparing and negotiating asset sale and stock sale agreements, commercial leases, real property purchase and sale agreements, and construction agreements. Joaquin Hernandez focuses his practice on counseling corporate, partnership and individual clients on governmental matters affecting their business. He represents clients involved in proceedings where the government proposes to take property under its eminent domain powers. He also counsels clients of diverse industries that contract or subcontract with all levels of government, including the construction, professional services, financial services and manufacturing industries. Trevor Livingston has a general business practice and represents clients in a variety of corporate and real estate finance transactions, including public and private offerings of debt and equity, asset sales and purchases, and mergers and acquisitions. He also represents timberland investment management companies with asset and timberland investment management transactions, including the formation of timberland equity funds. Devon Newman is an intellectual property attorney who helps individuals and businesses of all sizes protect their creativity and inventions. She is a registered patent attorney. In addition to counseling clients on intellectual property protection, she represents clients in litigation disputes about ownership and use of patents, trade secrets, trade dress, copyrights, unfair competition, trademarks and other complex litigation matters in state, federal and appellate courts. Matt Wilmot is an intellectual property attorney focusing his practice on advising business clients on identifying, protecting and enforcing their intellectual property assets. He advises clients on trademark, trade dress, unfair competition, trade secret, copyright, domain name issues and litigation of complex intellectual property matters. His practice focuses on searching, clearing and negotiating trademarks, the development and maintenance of trademark portfolios, drafting and negotiating intellectual property licensing and other IP-focused agreements, copyright and trademark counseling, and the enforcement of intellectual property rights in federal and state courts.
Kara Backus has joined Lane Powell as an attorney in the employee benefits practice group, where she will focus her practice on employee benefits and executive compensation. She has experience with employee benefit plans under both the Internal Revenue Code and ERISA, including plan design and drafting, compliance with new and existing laws and regulations, and interacting with governmental agencies (IRS and DOL) on behalf of clients. She previously worked as an attorney at Jones Day in its Los Angeles office.
After 18 years in Boise, Kenneth Elliott has returned to Portland and joined the office of Multnomah County Attorney. Elliott is an assistant county attorney advising on real estate, facilities management and construction matters. He previously served as a director of real estate law at Albertsons Inc., and as legal counsel to Vision First, a residential community development firm.
Standard Insurance Company (“The Standard”), has promoted Larry Frank to vice president and associate counsel. Frank joined The Standard in 1988 as an attorney. Most recently, he served as assistant vice president and associate counsel. He has been responsible for providing legal advice to the insurance services group, as well as oversight of litigation related to the division’s insurance products and services. Frank also manages the group’s legal department in-house attorney staff and represents and advocates on behalf of the company before federal and state regulatory agencies, legislative bodies and industry associations.
Janice Morgan has been appointed to lead Legal Aid Services of Oregon, Oregon’s federally funded statewide legal aid program. Morgan takes the place of executive director Tom Matsuda, who has resigned after 10 years to return to his home state of Hawaii. Morgan, a 1983 graduate of Georgetown University Law Center, has served as the Program Director of LASO’s farmworker program since 1998 and has an extensive background in poverty law, having worked for programs in Michigan and in Washington, D.C. Morgan assumed the position April 1.
Associate David Boulanger is the newest member of Cosgrave Vergeer Kester’s banking and financial practice group. His practice focuses on representing banking and financial services clients in commercial and real estate litigation, including defending claims in Oregon, federal and state courts. He was previously with Pite Duncan, where he managed the regional firm’’s Portland office.
Clifford A. DeGroot has joined Davis Wright Tremaine as an associate. His practice focuses on business transactions and corporate governance, with extensive experience representing clients in mergers and acquisitions and private placements of debt and equity. He was most recently an associate at K&L Gates, and is a graduate of the University of Oregon School of Law.
Ater Wynne has added Andrea Bartolonias a partner in the business group in the firm’s Portland office. Bartoloni adds a new practice area, immigration law, to the firm, which expands the firm’s growing international practice. He has extensive immigration and business law experience, specifically in the practice areas of temporary working visas, labor certification (PERM), employment-based permanent resident visas, applicants of extraordinary ability, nonimmigrant investors and EB-5 immigrant visas. He also assists American companies in international marketing, licensing and finance as well as helping Asian and European investors to locate in the U.S. Bartoloni is the honorary consul of Italy for the state of Oregon. In this prestigious diplomatic role, appointed by the Italian government and the U.S. Department of State, he is the official representative of the country of Italy in Oregon, where he aids in providing consular services and encourages economic development between Italy and Oregon.
Howard Jensen, along with three colleagues, has formed a new firm, Veris Law Group, in Seattle. Jensen focuses his practice on real estate development and the complexities associated with contaminated property, including litigating cost recovery actions, negotiating consent decrees and administrative orders with federal and state agencies, securing insurance coverage for clients facing significant environmental liabilities, and obtaining regulatory closure for complex sites. He also frequently prepares and negotiates real estate documents. Reach him at 1809 Seventh Ave., Suite 1400, Seattle, WA 98101.
The Salem firm of Garrett Hemann Robertson has named four of its attorneys shareholders. Ryan P. Hunt practices in the areas of construction defect litigation, real property litigation, business litigation and land use law. He litigates complex construction defect cases on behalf of school districts and homeowners. He also represents contractors on claims of improper work and for non-payment, and injured individuals in catastrophic injury cases. Prior to joining the firm in 2007, Hunt practiced at an insurance defense firm, and prosecuted misdemeanors for a local city. Eric W. Jamieson practices business and corporate law, tax law and handles real estate transactions and development. Jamieson provides effective strategies for solving complex tax problems. His clients include businesses and tax-exempt organizations, professionals, and individuals who seek expertise in business acquisitions and sales, tax and succession planning, entity formation, and real estate development. Kelly D. Noor is an experienced school law practitioner, representing school districts, education service districts, and other public entities in all areas, including human relations and employment, special education, student issues, and public contracting matters. She represents clients at all levels, both informally and in judicial and administrative forums. Lucas. W. (Luke) Reese consults with employers assisting them in avoiding disputes in the areas of employment and human resources law. He represents public and private entities in defending employment, tort, and civil rights litigation. He joined the firm in 2007.
After 14 months of treatment for lung cancer, Ron Podnar died July 19, 2011 at home, surrounded by loved ones and friends. He was 67.
Ronald Joseph Podnar was born Jan. 26, 1944 in Joliet, Ill. He earned his J.D. from Willamette Law School. He enjoyed a 20-year career as an administrative law judge with the Oregon Workers’ Compensation Board. He retired in 2002.
Podnar will be remembered for his sense of adventure, his embrace of life and his ease of making friends everywhere he went. The scope of his many interests and talents included an abiding appreciation of the arts, fly fishing, travel, cooking, martial arts, yoga, languages and history. His intellectual curiosity, easygoing and fun-loving manner and mastery of any subject he attempted, impressed all who knew him. His unique laugh embodied his enjoyment of life, and it will be recalled with love by his friends and family.
Podnar was preceded in death by his parents. He is survived by his wife, Kathy Wallace, a sister, the adopted Dykeman family, a cousin and an extensive circle of friends.
Prominent Seattle lawyer Ted Preg died Oct. 22, 2011, from metastatic pancreatic cancer. He was 66.
Preg was born July 21, 1945, near Buffalo, N.Y., in the farming community of Clarence Center. He graduated from Dartmouth College in 1967 and served as a line officer in the Navy during the Vietnam War. That service brought him to Seattle, where he met his wife Nancy on a blind date. They were married in 1971 and lived in northeast Seattle for the rest of his life except for five years spent in Boston, Eugene and Washington, D.C., for law school and a stint with the U.S. Justice Department.
He was a founding member of Preg, O’Donnell & Gillett and enjoyed the challenges of managing attorneys and staff and of helping the firm grow. His legal practice focused primarily on defense of liability matters. He was chosen for several years by his peers as a “Super Lawyer,” and was awarded the highest possible ranking by Martindale. He mentored many lawyers, developed a very wide circle of professional friends, and was known to be a true gentlemen in the legal community.
He enjoyed playing golf at home, and with his golfing buddies, in Scotland, Ireland and at many courses across the United States. He also loved spending time with Nancy at their second house on the salt water in Skagit County, watching birds, ducks and seals, kayaking, biking and taking his dogs for walks. He loved having fun with Husky fans by rooting for his favorite Ducks.
Even under the dark cloud of his final days, he found a silver lining in being able finally to receive Social Security and Medicare benefits that he had been paying for the last 40 years.
His wife, Nancy, their two children, two brothers and his wide circle of friends survive.
Gail Achterman, a prominent environmental lawyer and adviser, died Jan. 28, 2012, after a five-month battle with pancreatic cancer. She was 62.
“Gail was an extraordinary person who made exceptional contributions to Oregon and to our firm,” said Bob Van Brocklin, managing partner of Stoel Rives, where Achterman was once partner. “She brought great energy to everything she did, and will be remembered by all of us who worked with her and knew her well as an unwavering friend, a passionate advocate, a skilled lawyer and a thoughtful and talented steward of Oregon’s natural resources and environment.”
Born Aug. 1, 1949, Achterman was a fourth-generation Oregonian who grew up in Salem. She earned her undergraduate degree in economics from Stanford in 1971, graduated from the University of Michigan Law School in 1974 and earned a master’s degree in natural resources policy and management from Michigan in 1975.
She began her legal career as an attorney in the solicitor’s office of the U.S. Department of the Interior in Washington, D.C., in 1975, where she advised the Bureau of Land Management and the Bureau of Reclamation. In 1978, she returned to Oregon to join Stoel Rives, where she helped build the first natural resources and environmental practice group in the Pacific Northwest.
In 1987, newly elected Oregon Gov. Neil Goldschmidt asked Achterman to become his policy adviser for natural resources, a position she held from 1987 through 1990. In the governor’s office, she worked on a wide range of resource, environmental and energy initiatives, including the management of Oregon’s federal and state forests and public lands.
In 1991, Achterman returned to Stoel Rives, where she continued her natural resources practice until 2000, when she left to become executive director of the Deschutes Resources Conservancy in Bend, working to develop voluntary, market-based watershed restoration programs. In 2003, she became the first full-time director of the Institute for Natural Resources at Oregon State University.
During her career Achterman was continuously engaged in federal, state and local policy issues, including as a citizen volunteer. Among her many involvements, she served on the Oregon Transportation Commission from 2000 until 2011, including as chair of the Commission from 2007 until August 2011.
William (Bill) Mehlhaf, a shareholder in the Markowitz, Herbold, Glade & Mehlhaf firm, lost his battle with cancer. He died Feb. 4, 2012, at age 60.
Mehlhaf was a seasoned litigator and business attorney who earned numerous accolades during his 37-year legal career. He was known for his professionalism, intellect, work-ethic and his wry sense of humor.
“Bill was a good friend and we are devastated by his loss,” said Peter Glade, MHGM managing shareholder. “He was an excellent lawyer and it has been a privilege to call him my partner for the past 22 years.”
During his career, Mehlhaf handled some of the firm’s most significant litigation. His colleagues remember the meticulous preparation he put into every case, and his exceptional ability to capture the attention of a jury and communicate facts in a simple and persuasive way. Mehlhaf was confident and tenacious when representing his clients, many of whom became loyal friends.
Mehlhaf was recognized in The Best Lawyers in America for commercial litigation, and was honored as an Oregon Super Lawyer. He was listed as a Litigation Star by Benchmark Litigation, and Portland Monthly magazine rated him among the top lawyers in the city.
Mehlhaf was a lifelong resident of the Willamette Valley. He grew up in Corvallis and received his undergraduate and law degrees from Oregon State University and Lewis & Clark Law School respectively. Before joining the firm as a shareholder in 1989, he was a partner in two other Portland firms and worked as an assistant district attorney for Multnomah County.
Mehlhaf is survived by his wife, Lynn, and a daughter.
Peter Casciato, one of the nation’s leading telecommunications attorneys, died March 1, 2012, at the University of California San Francisco Medical Center, after a short illness. He was 59.
Casciato was a key figure in the early telecommunications revolution of the late 1970s through the 1990s. He joined the Federal Communications Commission after law school and emerged immediately as a rising star moving quickly from staff attorney to the general counsel’s office. He was the FCC’s principal attorney in the review and approval of the Gannett-Combined Communications television and newspaper merger, resulting in the largest media merger in history at the time.
He was a member of the California State Bar, the Oregon State Bar, the New York State Bar and the District of Columbia Bar. He was also admitted to the U.S. Court of Appeals, 9th Circuit, the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia and the U.S. Supreme Court. He was named a California Super Lawyer in 2011 and one of San Francisco’s Best Lawyers in 2010 and 2011.
A philanthropist with a special interest in education and learning disabilities, he was one of the founding board members of the Bay School, an independent high school in San Francisco, and an active participant with the Parents Education Network, a nonprofit organization supporting students with learning differences and ADHD. He also did a great deal of mentoring of young people on an individual level.
Outside of his work, his interests revolved around his family, politics, history, travel and sports. He was a long-time runner who had run the Boston marathon, the Marine Corps marathon in Washington, D.C., the San Francisco marathon and the Hood to the Coast relay in Oregon. His true love, however, was baseball. He collected baseball memorabilia and was a regular participant in the New York Yankees’ Heroes in Pinstripes program for older players. He was a fierce competitor whether on the field where he played catcher or at the computer where he delighted in beating his friends and family year after in his fantasy baseball and basketball leagues.
Peter Anthony Casciato was born Oct. 4, 1952, in Portland. He graduated from Stanford University in1974 and received a law degree from Boston University in 1978. He worked for the FCC for two years and then practiced telecommunications law with the firm of Ginsburg, Feldman & Bress in Washington, D.C., for two years before returning to San Francisco in 1982. After a brief stint as an associate with the law firm of Folger & Levin, he established his own firm.
He is survived by his wife, Regina, their three children, a brother and two sisters, and his parents. His father is retired Multnomah County judge A.L. Casciato.
Doug Miller, a Portland estate planning attorney, died March 22, 2012, of neuroendocrine cancer of the pancreas. He was 53.
Douglas Gilmore Miller was born June 8, 1958. He grew up in rural Connecticut with his three older brothers, attending local schools. While growing up in Stamford, Miller spent his spare time as a volunteer firefighter at the Stamford Firehouse and pursued his passion for photography and soccer. He summered at his family’s Maine lakeside cabin where he enjoyed fishing and exploring the outdoors.
In 1981, Miller graduated with majors in history and sociology from the University of Michigan. Miller attended law school at Tulane University and earned a master’s degree in taxation from New York University in 1986. Miller met his future wife, Alison Paul, while at Tulane and they were married in April 1987 in Baton Rouge, La. They lived briefly in Nashville, Tenn., where he practiced law until he obtained a clerkship at the U.S. Tax Court under Judge William Fay.
In 1989, Miller moved to Portland, where he practiced estate planning and tax law. Miller served six years on the board of trustees of the French American International School where his two children attended. Miller wholeheartedly contributed to the organizations he supported, such as annually donating 1,000 bulbs as an auction item for the French American School. Friends described him as passionate about gardening and sharing the fruits of his favorite pastime with the community and his family. Miller was a major fan of the Portland Beavers, attending games in front row seats with his kids, and was a dedicated fan of the New York Yankees. Friends remember his caring nature, friendliness to all and lighthearted sense of humor.
He is survived by his wife, two children, his mother and two brothers.
Shortly after celebrating his 90th birthday at a gala party attended by over 130 friends and family, Harvey Keller died March 21, 2012, from complications of cancer and Parkinson’s disease.
Harvey W. Keller was born Feb. 11, 1922, in Minneapolis, Minn., and grew up in Chicago. He enlisted in the U.S. Coast Guard in 1940 and served until 1945. Following World War II, he attended DePaul University School of Law. In 1946, he married Irma Lewis in Portland.
Keller was a respected attorney and the senior partner in the law firm of Keller, Gottlieb & Gorin. He was a 50-year member of the Oregon State Bar and an avid golfer. He was a long-time member of Tualatin Country Club.
He is survived by his wife, Irma; two daughters, grandchildren and great-grandchildren.
Longtime Pendleton attorney Robert (Bob) Winfield Collins Sr., died March 29, 2012, at Juniper House in Pendleton. He was 91.
Collins was born in Greenup, Ky., on Jan. 13, 1921, and spent his early life on a small family farm in the hills of eastern Kentucky, where he developed his lifelong love of the outdoors, hunting, fishing and farming. After high school, Collins felt the call of the wild and hopped a train to “The West,” landing in Idaho with his brother Bill. He then enlisted in the Army Air Corps, several years before the attack on Pearl Harbor, where he was trained as a flight mechanic, gunner and crew chief. He was on active duty when the United States entered World War II in 1941. He rose to the rank of master sergeant. He was stationed during the war throughout the South Pacific, including Australia, New Guinea, Burma, Java and India, where he “flew the hump” on supply missions to China. He served in one of the few B-17 units in the Pacific theater, and flew on numerous missions under fire as a gunner and crew chief.
After the war, Collins returned to Kentucky and enrolled at Ashland Junior College, where he met his future wife, Ruth Mae Brooks. They married on Sept. 14, 1946. Collins went on to Centre College of Kentucky and earned his law degree at Vanderbilt Law School in Nashville, Tenn. Collins convinced Ruth that Oregon was their next stop and they moved to Salem in 1951. Soon they moved again, to Pendleton, where he joined the Pendleton law firm of Raley, Kilkenny & Raley and began a long and satisfying legal career. For several years he was also a partner in the law firm of Fabre, Collins & Kottkamp with his friends Harold Fabre and John Kottkamp.
After his sons Michael and Robert became lawyers and moved back to Pendleton, he founded the Pendleton law firm Collins & Collins in 1980, where he spent the rest of his career, practicing law with his sons. In 2001, he was recognized by the Oregon State Bar for 50 years of distinguished legal service in Oregon. Collins was a member of the Pendleton Elks Club, Kiwanis Club, past member of the Kentucky Bar Association and was active in the Girl Scouts of America.
Collins loved to hunt and fish and one of his greatest joys was teaching his many grandkids to fish. He and Ruth enjoyed salmon fishing on the Oregon coast, traveling with friends and picking berries and mushrooming in the Blue Mountains. His greatest pleasure came from the many family celebrations and events at the family home that he and Ruth built on McKay Creek. Collins loved the Wallowa Mountains and took the kids on many pack trips to the high lakes.
After Ruth’s death in 2004, Collins married a childhood friend, Mary Emily Thompson of Louisville, Ky. She survives him, along with four children, 11 grandchildren and four great grandchildren, as well as Mary Emily’s three children.