Scott McArthur, Monmouth, is the author of The Enemy Never Came, The Civil War in the Pacific Northwest, recently published by Caxton Press of Caldwell, Idaho. This book, McArthur’s fifth book dealing with Pacific Northwest history, is a comprehensive study of the Civil War period in what then was the most remote corner of the United States. McArthur is a former member of the OSB Board of Governors. The book is available from Barnes and Noble and Amazon.com.
Katie Jeremiah of Jordan Ramis has been selected as one of Engineering News Record’s “Top 20 Under 40,” which celebrates the “best-of-the-best” of young professionals in design and construction. She has been listed for the Northwest region, which includes Alaska, Washington and Oregon. Jeremiah earned her degree in construction engineering management at Oregon State University and worked in construction for five years before earning her J.D. from Lewis & Clark College, Northwestern School of Law in 2009. Her practice focuses on construction, environmental, MSHA and sustainability law. In addition to her legal practice, Katie is the co-owner and vice president of Aggregate Resource Industries, which provides rock drilling, blasting and crushing services throughout Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Nevada, and California. She serves as a board member for the Oregon Concrete & Aggregate Producers Association, where she chairs the MSHA Compliance Assistance Audit Committee. She also serves as a board member of the Western Resources Legal Center, on the scholarship board for Friends of the Children, and is heavily involved with the Oregon-Columbia chapter of the Associated General Contractors.
Laura Caldera Taylor, a shareholder in the Portland office of Bullivant Houser Bailey was recently elected as a fellow of the American Bar Foundation, an honorary organization of lawyers, judges and legal scholars whose careers have demonstrated outstanding dedication to the welfare of their communities and to the highest principles of the legal profession. She has experience helping clients involved in patent, trademark, copyright, trade secret and other complex business disputes. Taylor currently serves on the Internet Committee for the International Trademark Association (INTA), and has served on various INTA committees since 2006. She currently serves as the secretary for the executive committee of the OSB Business Litigation Section and on the board of directors for the National Conference of Women’s Bar Associations.
Sussman Shank partner Robert W. Nunn has been elected to serve on the Multnomah Athletic Club’s board of trustees for a three-year term. He has been a member and involved with the MAC for 26 years. Nunn is a business lawyer and concentrates his practice on issues affecting private businesses, their owners and the owners’ families. He also serves as outside general counsel to privately held and family owned businesses.
Albert J. Bannon of Bannon Mediation and Arbitration was recently honored for 10 years of service as a court appointed special advocate. A CASA volunteer is recognized by statute as a party to represent the best interests of at risk children in pending cases. CASA is always looking for additional volunteers for its work. For more information, see http://oregoncasa network.org.
Black Helterline lawyers Steven R. Schell and Paul R. Hribernick addressed land use lawyers, planners and academics at the annual conference of the International Academic Association on Planning, Law and Property Rights held at Portland State University in February. Schell presented papers on land use and climate change on the Oregon coast. Hribernick presented a paper on planning models for rational economic development.
Tonkon Torp attorneys Tatiana Perry and Craig A. Foster have joined colleague Ari Okano Lee in earning designation as a Certified Information Privacy Professional for the United States (CIPP/US), a certification offered by the International Association of Privacy Professionals. The credential demonstrates a strong foundation in U.S. privacy laws, principles and best practices, as well as a thorough understanding of the legal requirements for the responsible transfer of sensitive personal data to and from the United States, the European Union and other jurisdictions.
Lane Powell shareholder Michael R. Silvey was recently appointed to the board of nonprofit fee housing and development organization Proud Ground, formerly known as Portland Community Land Trust. Proud Ground and Clackamas Community Land Trust (CCLT) recently integrated operations. Silvey, a real estate attorney, represented CCLT in the integration of the two organizations. He was also one of the founding CCLT board members, which, like Proud Ground, was formed in 1999. The combined organizations have developed more than 250 homes, which are sold to low income families.
Jeremy Vermilyea, a shareholder in the Portland office of Schwabe, Williamson & Wyatt, was recently presented with the prestigious Associated General Contractors Oregon-Columbia Chapter (AGC) President’s Award. AGC’s past president, Jim McKune, cited Vermilyea’s “willingness to do whatever it took to help Oregon’s construction industry” as among the reasons for bestowing him with the honor. Vermilyea currently serves as the counsel to the board of directors of the chapter and has previously served on the board as well as on various chapter committees.
Leora Coleman-Fire, an associate in the Portland office of Schwabe, Williamson & Wyatt, recently joined the board of directors for Portland’s Q Center, which serves the area’s lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer population with multigenerational programs and services, arts and culture, education and training, health and wellness and advocacy. Coleman-Fire’s board position is for a two-year term. She has a practice focused on labor and employment law.
Jane Gordon, associate dean for student and program affairs at the University of Oregon School of Law, was recently honored with the Center for Dialogue and Resolution’s 2013 PeaceBuilder Award. Gordon joined the law school in 1989 as an assistant dean and became associate dean in 1994. She currently teaches the Small Claims Mediation and Probate Mediation Clinic, programs she developed during her tenure. She also teaches a course on Perspectives in Conflict Resolution for the graduate program in Conflict and Dispute Resolution. In 2001, Gordon became director of the law school’s Appropriate Dispute Resolution (ADR) Center. For the past five years, Gordon has served as chair of the Northwest Institute for Conflict Resolution, an organization to support young people working on conflict resolution projects around the world. She is also a member of the War Prevention Initiative Advisory Board. The former chair of the Oregon State Bar ADR Executive Committee received the section’s Sidney Lezak Award for Excellence in the Field of Dispute Resolution.
The 20th annual 100 Best Companies to Work For in Oregon list was announced at a recent awards dinner. More than 270 companies representing nearly 14,000 Oregon employees participated in this year’s 100 Best survey, which analyzes Oregon companies’ best practices toward creating great places to work. Two law firms did especially well: For 2013, Perkins Coie in Portland was named number two among the top 33 large companies to work for in Oregon. Among the top 34 top small companies in the state, Barran Liebman of Portland was ranked number one. The full list of winners is at www.oregonbusiness.com/100-best-2013.
Clackamas County Circuit Court Judge Steven L. Maurer returned to the private practice of law on Feb. 1, rejoining his former law firm in Lake Oswego, which on the same date changed its name to Glazer, Maurer & Peterson. Maurer, who served as presiding judge from 2006 through 2010, has presided over all kinds of civil and criminal cases. Maurer’s private practice emphasizes personal injury, family law, criminal defense and general civil litigation. Maurer has two children, both of whom are lawyers currently serving as deputy district attorneys. Among his many activities, he has coached mock trial teams for Lake Oswego High School. Maurer joins another veteran trial lawyer, Larry Peterson, who serves as of counsel to the firm, and Lake Oswego lawyer Peter Glazer to form the new firm.
Katherine M. Zerkel has joined William H. Fowler, Charles M McNair and Kimberly S.T. Bolen in the Medford firm of Fowler & McNair. Zerkel graduated from Stetson University College of Law after undergraduate career at Whitworth University; she was admitted to the Oregon State Bar last September. She will primarily work with McNair in his family business and commercial law practice, emphasizing organization, administration and succession issues in commercial, estate and family business issues.
Matthew D. Colley has joined Smith, Freed & Eberhard as an associate attorney. He represents insurers and their insureds in complex litigation suits pertaining to commercial claims and personal injury claims. He can be reached at mcolley@smithfreed.com.
Scott MacLaren has joined Smith, Freed & Eberhard as an associate attorney. His practice focuses primarily on the investigation and litigation of special investigation unit claims and first party property damage claims, including arson, fraud and coverage claims. He can be reached at smaclaren@smithfreed.com.
Tasha Cosimo has joined Smith, Freed & Eberhard as an associate attorney. She focuses her litigation practice on automotive and commercial liability claims, including the defense of premise liability and personal injury claims. She can be reached at tcosimo@smithfreed.com.
Stoel Rives has expanded its health care practice group with the addition of two attorneys in the firm’s Portland office. Stephanie A. Cason’s practice focuses on health care matters, with an emphasis on regulation, privacy, technology and data protection issues. She provides corporate, regulatory and transactional advice to a variety of clients involved in the health care field. She previously was an associate at DLA Piper in Washington, D.C., and an associate at the health care boutique firm Powers, Pyles, Sutter & Verville in Washington, D.C. Sarah L. Bimber focuses on health care regulatory and corporate matters. She graduated from the University of Wisconsin Law School and has a master’s degree in public health from the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health. Prior to law school, Bimber worked for a large electronic health records software company.
Kristin Olson and Scott Brooksby have formed Olson Brooksby, a civil litigation defense boutique firm. The firm focuses on the defense of high exposure personal injury and business tort litigation, with an emphasis on product liability cases. Experienced jury trial lawyers, Olson and Brooksby have taken numerous cases to verdict.
Gloria Trainor recently departed Johnson, Johnson, Larson & Schaller after five years of practicing complex civil litigation to form Summer Trainor in Portland. She and her partner, Miranda Summer, will focus on plaintiffs’ personal injury, wrongful death and family law. Trainor continues to serve on the Oregon Women Lawyers board of directors. The new firm is located at 811 S.W. Naito Parkway, Suite 420, Portland, OR 97204; phone: (503) 307-2772; fax: (503) 536-6434. Trainor can also be reached at gloria@summertrainor.com.
Carla Kelley has joined the Portland office of Miller Nash in the firm’s business practice, where she will work with clients on government and regulatory issues. Kelley comes to firm from the Port of Portland, where she served as general counsel for the past 10 years and managed the organization’s 15-person legal division. Kelley was a member of the port’s director group and served as adviser to the port commission on legal matters. She provided legal management on a wide range of issues, from governance and contamination liability to complex real estate transactions and municipal bond issuance.
Corbett Gordon has joined the growing labor and employment practice at Tonkon Torp. Corbett, formerly a founder and senior counsel at the Portland office of Fisher & Phillips, brings over three decades of experience representing private and public sector employers to the relationship. An experienced litigator, Gordon has tried cases before juries in state and federal courts in Oregon and Washington and successfully prevailed in client appeals in state and federal courts as well as before the U.S. Supreme Court.
Gevurtz, Menashe, Larson & Howe has added Ryan C. Kaiser as an associate attorney. Kaiser will handle family law matters in Oregon. He received his J.D., from Southern Methodist University Dedman School of Law in Dallas, Texas, and spent seven years practicing family law in Texas before relocating to Portland.
Oregon real estate and land use lawyer Myles Conway has joined Marten Law’s Portland office as a partner. Conway, formerly a partner with Schwabe, Williamson & Wyatt, assists clients with real estate and development projects throughout the Pacific Northwest and Alaska. Conway, who will split his time between Portland and Bend, has more than 24 years of experience in the areas of real estate law, land use, public lands and environmental law.
Suzanne Revelle announces the opening of her new law practice, Suzanne Revelle, Attorney at Law, which will focus on the areas of family law, child advocacy, probate and wills, and general civil practice. Her new office is located at 6650 S.W. Redwood Lane, Suite 195, Portland, OR 97224; phone: (971) 400-8656; fax: (503) 926-9123; email: SuzanneRevelle@gmail.com; and website: www.suzanne revelle.com.
Frank Erisman has joined Schwabe, Williamson & Wyatt in the firm’s environmental law practice group in Portland. Erisman focuses his practice on mining, energy and other extractive industry clients. He is an experienced neutral arbitrator with extensive knowledge in the various areas of mining law, including mine financing, natural resources and public lands law. His experience in government leases, acquisitions, sale of mining properties, financing of mining properties, permitting and mining claims internationally. He served as a distinguished natural resources practitioner-in-residence at the University of Denver College of Law and is a past chair of the American Bar Association’s Section of Natural Resources, Energy and Environmental Law.
Sarah E. Hunt has joined the Arlington, Va.-based government affairs firm Stateside Associates as a regulatory counsel in its regulatory services division. She will also contribute to the firm’s consulting practice in energy, environment and health care issues.
Richard Vangelisti has established Vangelisti Law Firm. He will continue to focus his practice on plaintiffs’ personal injury and wrongful death cases in Oregon and Washington. His new office is located at 121 S.W. Morrison St., Suite 475, Portland, OR 97204; phone: (503) 445-2101; email: richard@vangelisti.com; website: www.vangelisti.com.
In Fall 2012, when the vine maple up the old McKenzie Highway was putting on its coat of red and gold, Bill Ray took drives to the lookout at the top of the lava beds, hikes around the creeks and waterfalls, and managed to get lost out on the logging roads between the McKenzie River and Highway 58. He was looking for stands of trees he’d helped plant, judging how big they’d be, these 20-plus years later, saying, as he looked at one incredibly steep hillside after another: “That’s it.” He wanted to know that those trees were still there.
Planting trees was a wager he placed on a future he will not see. Ray died Dec. 14, 2012. William Patrick Ray was born March 22, 1952, a native of Oregon, and attended Leaburg and Walterville elementary schools and Thurston Middle School. He was a 1970 graduate of Thurston High School. He received a bachelor of science degree from the University of Oregon and in 1992 received his J.D., from the University of Oregon School of Law.
After graduating from law school, Ray worked first as a law clerk in the Lane County Court House and then helped start the firm of Baker & Ray, where his practice emphasized criminal defense, family law and employment law. Beginning in 1999, he worked for Public Defender Services of Lane County, where he served indigent defendants for 13 years. His professional work bore testament to the Winston Churchill saying, “We make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give.”
Ray was devoted to the Eugene/Springfield community, where he lived all of his life. He served on the board of directors of Sponsors, and contributed to Sponsors and Food for Lane County on a regular basis. He was a faithful patron of the local farmers markets and summer festivals. A camper, fisherman, golfer, musician, slow-food chef and a lover of barbecued ribs, he could often be found in his studio playing the guitar, rehearsing with friends or recording his grandchildren singing.
In 1992, he married Meg Kieran and became the stepfather of two daughters, all who survive him. Survivors also include five grandchildren and two older brothers.