K&L Gates lawyers and staff recently rallied together in a massive volunteer effort as part of the firm’s annual Global Day of Service, partnering with more than 40 local organizations around the world with the common theme of “building communities … serving the underserved.” Volunteers from the Portland office spent two days painting, organizing, and repairing play structures at the Family Relief Nursery, which offers an intervention/prevention program for families at risk of abusing or neglecting their children or of losing custody.
Shiau Yen Chin-Dennis, a lawyer at K&L Gates in Portland, was elected as vice chair of the Oregon District Export Council, following her appointment by the U.S. Secretary of Commerce to serve as a council member. She focuses her practice on corporate and international transactions and has extensive experience working on cross-border matters.
Ann K. Chapman, partner at Vanden Bos & Chapman, has been awarded the 2014 William N. Stiles OSB Debtor-Creditor Section Award of Merit. The award is the section’s highest honor and recognizes significant contributions, including extraordinary service to the section, outstanding contributions to continuing legal education, promotion of professionalism within the practice and meaningful community involvement, including pro bono work. Chapman focuses her practice on complex consumer and small business bankruptcy matters for individuals in Chapter 7 and 13.
Water and natural resources lawyer Martha Pagel, a shareholder at Schwabe, Williamson & Wyatt, was recently named recipient of the OSB Environmental and Natural Resources Section Award. The award recognizes attorneys who demonstrate leadership, service and outstanding contributions in the areas of environmental and natural resources aw in Oregon and the Pacific Northwest. Pagel practices out of Schwabe’s Portland and Salem offices. As a former director of both the Oregon Water Resources Department and Department of State Lands, Pagel focuses her law practice on water law and policy. She has been active for many years in policy development through the legislative and rulemaking processes. Pagel currently serves as chair of the Attorney Advisory Committee for the Western Resources Legal Center, and she is a fellow of the American College of Environmental Lawyers.
Sally Robinson of Buckley Law has been elected council president for the Sherwood City Council. In the absence of the city’s mayor, the council president presides over meetings and often attends meetings on behalf of the city when the mayor is not available. Robinson focuses her legal practice primarily in the area of family law. She is also a well-versed civil litigator from her years in California.
The National Law Journal has ranked Klarquist Sparkman, an intellectual property firm based in Portland, as the largest provider of legal services to the United States government. The ranking is based on overall federal contract dollars received in 2014. The newspaper’s Dec. 15, 2014 front-page investigative report identified the top 20 law firms doing legal work for the federal government during the last fiscal year. Out of the 20 ranked firms, Klarquist is the only firm headquartered in the Pacific Northwest and is one of four ranked law firms specializing only in intellectual property law.
Bill Miner, partner in charge at the Portland office of Davis Wright Tremaine, has been named to the Portland Business Journal’s 2015 Forty Under 40 list. Miner was named partner in charge of the Portland office last September, at the age of 37. In his decade at the firm, he has won positive outcomes for many Northwest companies and individuals over their disputes. He has particular experience with business torts, real estate, trusts and estates, manufactured home communities and marinas, and has worked extensively to resolve client issues through pre-litigation counseling and mediation. He is the immediate past chair of the Multnomah Bar Association’s Judicial Screening Committee and a member of the Oregon Uniform Trial Court Rules Committee.
Jeanette Schuster has been named to the board of directors of Women in Environment, a Pacific Northwest organization focused on supporting environmental professionals in the region. Schuster is a partner in Tonkon Torp’s environmental and natural resources practice group. She provides advice and practical solutions on environmental compliance and enforcement matters and on commercial and real estate transactions for clients in diverse industries large and small. She has authored papers and articles on environmental law matters.
Emil R. Berg, a member of the Oregon and Idaho bars who practices from his office in Boise, presented a CLE program on “Ethical and Malpractice Issues Arising From Association and Consultation Relationships Between Attorneys Not in the Same Firm” at the Jan. 16, 2015 meeting of the Idaho State Bar’s litigation section.
Civil defense law firm Bodyfelt Mount has been selected to Oregon Business magazine’s 2015 list of the 100 Best Companies to Work For in Oregon. The firm will be honored at an awards dinner Feb. 26 at the Oregon Convention Center. The honor comes just days after the OSB Sustainable Future Section presented the firm with the 2014 Sustainable Law Office Leadership Award, recognizing it for leadership in sustainability, and in particular, for taking significant steps toward becoming paperless.
Richard Alexander, senior counsel in the Portland office of Stoel Rives, has been appointed to the Oregon State Board of Architect Examiners. Alexander represents public and private owners, prime contractors, major subcontractors and suppliers, and design professionals in the construction and design field. Currently his practice is limited to serving as an arbitrator and mediator in construction disputes.
Tyler Volm of Barran Liebman has been named to the Ambassador Board of Big Brothers Big Sisters, Columbia Northwest chapter. Volm has volunteered with the organization for five years as a big brother. The board provides him an opportunity to contribute at an organizational level with the fundraising and community outreach activities, while continuing to mentor his little brother through high school.
Oregon Chief Justice Thomas A. Balmer has agreed to be the keynote luncheon speaker for the National Federation of Paralegal Associations at the organization’s conference to be held May 3 in Portland. Balmer will speak on the topic of access to justice and the use of paralegals to assist in the delivery of legal services while working under the supervision of a lawyer in the community.
Amy Angel, partner at Barran Liebman, has joined the board of the Portland Opportunities Industrialization Center. The nonprofit reconnects alienated at-risk youth affected by poverty, family instability and homelessness, focusing on high school education through Rosemary Anderson High School, and career training through POIC Work Opportunity Training programs. Angel was also recently elected vice president of the Multnomah Bar Foundation.
Damien Hall of Ball Janik has been appointed to the board of directors for CareOregon, a nonprofit providing health plan services to four coordinated care organizations, serving about 250,000 Oregonians. CareOregon’s vision is healthy communities for all individuals, regardless of income or social circumstances.
Lindsay Reynolds has joined the labor and employment practice at Tonkon Torp, where she will represent employers on a variety of matters. A 2014 graduate of New England School of Law, Reynolds served as a law clerk at firms in Boston and Portland while earning her degree. She also was a legal intern for the Massachusetts Appellate Tax Board and the Department of Developmental Services in Boston. Prior to attending law school, Reynolds was a litigation legal assistant for three years at a Lake Oswego law firm.
Experienced litigator Jim Huegli announces the opening of his new mediation and arbitration practice in Portland. His statewide practice will emphasize personal injury, medical negligence, construction defect and professional liability. Reach him at Huegli Mediation and Arbitration, 101 S.W. Main St., Suite 1900, Portland, OR 97204; phone: (971) 266-8877; fax: (971) 221-5916; email: jameshuegli@yahoo.com; web: www.hueglimediation.com.
Tonkon Torp has elected Ryan Bledsoe, Marco Materazzi and Jeanette Schuster to the partnership, effective Jan. 1. A trial lawyer, Bledsoe handles a variety of cases in federal and state courts including shareholder oppression, trust, securities, antitrust and environmental matters. Bledsoe joined the firm in 2007. Before attending law school, he worked as a financial analyst for the Federal Reserve Board of Governors in Washington, D.C. Materazzi is a general business lawyer with a practice focused on emerging growth companies, mergers and acquisitions, corporate finance and a range of other business matters. He played an active role in crafting the Oregon benefit company legislation that took effect in 2014, and he serves on the executive committee of the OSB Securities Regulation Section. Materazzi joined Tonkon Torp in 2010 after three years at a large international law firm in London. Schuster is a member of the environment and natural resources practice groups. She provides advice and practical solutions on environmental compliance and enforcement matters and on commercial and real estate transactions for clients in diverse industries large and small. Schuster joined the firm in 2008 after three years at another firm. She has authored papers and articles on environmental law matters.
Cosgrave Vergeer Kester announces the return of attorney Megan Evans to the firm as a member of the construction law practice group. She has spent the last two and a half years as a member of the Mentor Graphics in-house legal team. Her representation of general contractors, developers and subcontractors focuses on complex construction litigation. She began her career as a law clerk in the Lane County Circuit Court for the Hon. Maurice K. Merten.
Real estate attorney Rebecca Biermann Tom has joined Radler, White, Parks & Alexander in the firm’s Portland office. Tom will be a member of the firm’s real estate practice group. Her practice is primarily focused on real estate development and transactions. She has extensive experience in the development of mixed use, residential and commercial condominiums and planned communities throughout Oregon, and has been a frequent speaker on the topic to lawyers, brokers and developers.
Clayton Tullos has joined Leahy, Van Vactor, Cox & Melendy as an associate. After graduation from the University of Oregon School of Law, Tullos opened his own practice, focusing primarily on criminal defense in state and local courts. He will assist with the firm’s general practice of law including family law as well as its prosecution clients, city of Springfield, city of Eugene, Junction City, Oakridge and indigent defense clients in Sutherlin.
Michael Fuller has been named partner at OlsenDaines P.C. His boutique banking law practice focuses on bankruptcy enforcement, collections, mortgages and credit reports
Cosgrave Vergeer Kester announces that former associate Nicole Nowlin has been named partner of the firm effective Jan. 1. Nowlin has practiced law for 12 years and has focused on cases involving insurance coverage, personal injury and professional liability. She began her career in Los Angeles practicing health care law. She participates as a mentor with the OSB New Lawyer Mentoring Program, chairs the Multnomah Bar Association’s Equality and Diversity Committee and a is member of the firm’s diversity committee.
Aaron Noteboom and Rebecca S. Schwarzkopf have been named shareholders of Arnold Gallagher. Noteboom joined the firm in the fall of 2005 after serving a tour of duty in Baghdad, Iraq as an infantry officer. His practice focuses on business law, commercial litigation, land use and nonprofit organizations. Schwarzkopf works closely with a broad range of business and commercial real estate clients in connection with acquisitions and sales, leasing, construction contracting and financing, retail shopping center development, contract and easement negotiation, and condominium creation and conversion.
Heather A. Bowman has become a partner with Bodyfelt Mount. Her practice focuses on employment litigation, professional malpractice defense and insurance coverage. Bowman directs the firm’s sustainability initiatives and holds leadership positions with the Oregon Association of Defense Counsel and Oregon Women Lawyers. She also serves as a professional mentor for Lewis & Clark Law School.
Kimberly Fisher has joined Kolisch Hartwell in Portland as an associate attorney. Her practice includes all aspects of intellectual property law, including acquisition, licensing, enforcement and defense of patent, trademark, copyright and trade secret matters. She is admitted to practice before the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and the U.S. District Court for the District of Oregon.
Andy Burns is the new managing partner of Cosgrave Vergeer Kester, effective Jan. 1. He takes the reins from Jill Laney, who has served as managing partner since 2010. Burns represents contractors and developers as the head of the firm’s construction law practice group, handling complicated construction issues and defect disputes. His practice history also includes successful defense work in matters of personal injury, products liability and premises liability litigation. He is a frequent speaker and writer on a wide variety of topics in the field of construction.
Ater Wynne has added Nena Cook as a partner in the firm’s litigation practice area. Cook is a former president of the Oregon State Bar with over 23 years of experience specializing in complex business disputes, appellate law and professional liability defense. She is a frequent speaker and writer on the topics of professionalism, ethics and employment law.
Lindsay Gardner has joined Bier Family Law as associate, where she will specialize in domestic, custody and family law matters. Gardner holds a master’s degree in conflict and dispute resolution and has worked extensively with victims of domestic violence. She will be representing clients in the Portland metropolitan area as well as in Central Oregon’s Deschutes, Crook and Jefferson counties. Lillian Bier will continue representing clients all over Oregon.
Stoel Rives has elected new partners in the Portland office, effective Jan. 1. Adam H. Dittman counsels businesses in several industries on a wide range of legal matters, including mergers and acquisitions, corporate structuring and governance, commercial contracts, financing transactions and natural resource matters. He dedicates a substantial portion of his practice to representing timberland owners and forest products manufacturing businesses in connection with many aspects of their operations and is also experienced representing businesses and individuals in real estate transactions and real property matters. Oren B. Hakerfocuses on bankruptcy and corporate restructuring and reorganizations, as well as complex commercial disputes. He represents secured lenders, bondholders and trade creditors in restructurings in and out of court, strategic investors in distressed companies, chapter 11 debtors, unsecured creditors’’ committees, acquirers of assets in chapter 11 proceedings and liquidating trustees. He has represented clients in the manufacturing, agricultural, automotive, airline, health care, energy, gaming, telecommunications, media, banking, financial services and real estate industries. Laura E. Rosenbaum represents clients in employment-related litigation in court and before administrative agencies. Her experience includes defending employers against a variety of employment claims relating to employment discrimination, harassment and retaliation; medical leave laws; disability accommodation; wage and hour disputes; and workplace torts, as well as litigating noncompetition agreements. Her practice also involves counseling employers on employment-related issues, conducting internal investigations and preparing employee contracts, handbooks and policies.
Four people have recently joined the Office of the Legislative Counsel as staff attorneys. David Fang-Yen is a Stanford Law School graduate. He practiced in the litigation group of Mayer Brown in its Chicago office, specializing in consumer finance and class action defense. His focus will be public contracting. Emily Maass was a corporate attorney in Anchorage, Alaska, representing Alaska Native Corporations organized under the Alaska Native Claims Settlement. In 2013, she donated over 300 hours of legal assistance to community organizations and individuals throughout Alaska. Gail Stevens has worked in the field of civil rights and employment law for the last 10 years. Her background includes employee and employer side litigation. Additionally, she has worked as a college instructor and senior civil rights investigator with the Oregon Bureau of Labor & Industries. Before law school, she did human rights work in Central America. Her practice areas will include labor and employment law, workers’ compensation and civil rights. Jessica Santiago was a program manager for the Oregon Department of Transportation, serving as a statewide point of contact and technical adviser on all matters related to civil rights and ADA Title II disability discrimination. She worked as a legal intern at the Willamette University Human Rights Legal Clinic focusing on Oregon anti-human trafficking legislation.
Maureen McGee has been promoted to deputy legislative counsel in the Office of the Legislative Counsel. Her areas of expertise include natural resources, fish and wildlife, and environment. Prior to joining legislative counsel as a staff attorney in 2013, McGee worked as a judicial clerk at the Oregon Court of Appeals.
Trial attorney Alan Stewart became a director and shareholder of Hurley Re on Jan. 1. Stewart has helped both individuals and business resolve legal problems through negotiation, mediation, arbitration and trial. He practices litigation with a focus on commercial business and estate litigation.
Veteran trial lawyer Jose Cienfuegos has become of counsel to the Lake Oswego law firm of Glazer, Maurer & Peterson. He has tried jury trials as a deputy district attorney for Multnomah County, as a public defender and as an employee of a major insurance company. In addition to his affiliation with the firm, Cienfuegos will continue to represent his clients under his firm name, 100 Fires.
Kate A. Wilkinson has joined the Oregon School Boards Association as its director of litigation services. In that role she will manage the provision of legal services to the association’s 1,400 members throughout the state.
Emma Pelkey has joined Williams Kastner in Portland as an associate in the health care practice group. Pelkey graduated from the University of Oregon School of Law in 2014. Prior to joining the firm she worked as a summer associate at the firm, as well as a law clerk for the attorney general’s office in the California Department of Justice employment and administrative mandate section. She volunteers with the Portland Homeless Food Support Program.
Caroline J. Ponzini has joined Bryant, Lovlien and Jarvis as an associate. Formerly an attorney with the Stahancyk, Kent & Hook in Central Oregon, Ponzini will focus her practice on family law, including divorce, child custody, child and spousal support, complex property division and modifications. She is experienced in client representation in hearings, trial and courts and has negotiated settlements on financial and child-related issues. Before moving to Central Oregon, Ponzini was a paralegal for a national insurance company, where she handled high volume litigation and developed her knack for discovery.
Kathy Dent, an experienced employment attorney and former assistant general counsel for PacifiCorp, has joined the Portland office of Davis Wright Tremaine. Dent was previously a partner in the firm’s employment practice, and returns after a decade of experience working in-house. At PacifiCorp, one of the leading utilities in the Western U.S. with 6,000 employees, Dent provided advice and support on a wide range of employment issues, including performance management, discipline, investigations and issues relating to family leave, disability and accommodation under the ADA, wage and hour, and alleged harassment and discrimination.
Portland attorney Marvin Nepom died Nov. 4, 2014, at the age of 87.
Nepom continued to practice through the end of 2013, and even then he preferred to say he “became inactive” as opposed to saying he retired. He first went into the family grocery store business in Portland after graduating college. He made a spur of the moment decision to attend Northwestern School of Law (now Lewis & Clark), attending evening classes a week later, taking “entrance exams” later. He graduated and began practicing law in Portland in 1962 and continued practicing civil litigation over the next 51 years.
He handled a wide variety of cases over his career, including many First Amendment free-speech cases during the 1970s, and concentrating on personal injury litigation in later years. He served as president of the Multnomah Bar Association and a volunteer grader of bar exams. He successfully litigated a large number of significant personal injury cases, which included product liability claims. He served as an arbitrator and mediator in personal injury disputes for nearly 30 years.
Nepom always maintained his own practice, sharing offices (and guidance and advice) with a number of attorneys over the years, including his son, David, who has practiced with him since David passed the bar in 1980.
In addition to his wife of 67 years, Leah, Marvin is survived by his three children, four grandchildren and one great-grandchild.
Longtime Hermiston leader Rusty Brewer died at home on Jan. 23, 2015, at the age of 90.
Rustin “Rusty” Archie Brewer was born in Hammond, Ind., on April 28, 1924. While a youngster, his family moved to the San Francisco area, where he graduated from Lowell High School. He earned multiple awards for competitive diving and worked as a lifeguard at the Fairmont Hotel, where he did exhibition diving. In later years, he was the diving coach for Hermiston’s summer swimming program. After high school, he attended University of California at Berkeley for a year before enlisting in the Army Air Corps and serving during World War II.
Following the war, Brewer enrolled at Washington State University, then known as the State College of Washington, where he earned a coveted spot in the Crimson Circle honoring his commitment to scholastics and service.
While attending Washington State, he met his wife, Beverly J. Brewer, who luckily and conveniently had the same last name. (A running chuckle before the wedding was that Beverly would not have to change her monogram.)The two were married in 1950 and both graduated college together that same year.
He went on to graduate from Lewis & Clark Northwestern School of Law and passed the Oregon State Bar exam. In 1957, the Brewers settled in Hermiston and Rusty established his law practice there. He was an active member of the Oregon State Bar for 57 years, during which time he served on many committees, but was especially proud to serve as chair of the Government Law Section, which he helped create to assist attorneys working for public agencies.
An integral part of Hermiston business and civic activities, Brewer served as Hermiston city attorney for 45 years, beginning in 1958. He was involved in several organizations, including presiding over the Oregon Water Resources Congress for a number of years, acting as secretary and attorney for the Hermiston Irrigation District and assisting the local school board as attorney for 10 years. During his time working with the Hermiston Industrial Corp., he served as the secretary and attorney and was instrumental in helping bring Marlette Coach Co. to the area.
One of his dreams was to be a “farmer/rancher,” and in his spare time he launched his cattle ranch in the backyard pasture. As his herd expanded, he moved his cattle ranch out of the backyard and eventually had a farm where he raised alfalfa, wheat and sand.
He was preceded in death by his wife, Beverly. Survivors include two daughters, a son and three grandchildren.