April 2024
Multnomah
Lawyers associated for justice, service, professionalism, education and leadership for our members and our community
Lawyer
Est. 1906
Please, Let’s Stay Downtown by Theresa L. (Terry) Wright MBA President I live in Portland. For the last nine-plus years, I have worked in Salem so commute south. Hence, until I became MBA President requiring multiple trips to the MBA offices and other downtown locales, I hadn’t really taken in downtown Portland. Imagine my surprise when I routinely encountered active and open drug use on Portland’s downtown streets and boarded-up buildings. I am certain that any of you working or visiting downtown have encountered the same. This year, the MBA’s lease on its downtown office was coming to an end, so we had to consider renegotiating a new lease in our current building, or moving to a new location. Although we knew we could find quality and affordable space in many areas of the city, we opted to remain downtown, and continued to search for space there. You may ask why, when downtown Portland has been rife with drug use and boarded-up buildings? The answer is relatively simple. We are a membership organization that serves its members, most of whom are in Multnomah County. Even if a majority of our members As a membership were not located in the downtown core, downtown is certainly central to organization, we rely the rest of the county. Imagine if we on the participation had moved to the eastside; members of our members... from the westside would have had Remaining downtown a much longer commute to attend offers many other events, committee meetings, or inbenefits. person CLEs (and yes, we still have some!). Likewise, if we had chosen to move to the westside, our eastside members would have had to add many minutes to their commute to MBA events and activities. As a membership organization, we rely on the participation of our members, so need to make events easily accessible. Remaining downtown offers many other benefits. Our office is easily accessible by many modes of transportation. Whether you walk to events; drive and park in lots or on the streets (as I do), take public transit (as does some of our staff), or ride your bike (as does others of our staff), we are easy to reach. The MBA conference room is available for our members to use. Proximity to the courthouse and to various modes of transportation make that member benefit more useful to members and their clients, especially those not located downtown. Our location also puts us near venues that we commonly use for our events, including Bench, Bar and Bagels; Absolutely Social; Battle of the Lawyer Bands; YLS Judges’ Reception and the Annual Dinner. This allows attendees and staff to easily attend. We have worked with these venues before and can count on their professionalism. This year, I experimented with moving some our Board events to “new” (to us) venues. For the most part, while they were successful, there were bumps that needn’t have happened if I’d stuck with the tried and true. Which generally means downtown venues.
MULTNOMAH BAR ASSOCIATION 620 SW FIFTH AVE., SUITE 1220 PORTLAND, OREGON 97204
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Being downtown allows us to continue to support BIPOC communities in a way being in the suburbs does not. There are many BIPOC businesses downtown. And think where we’d be if we didn’t have the multitude of food carts in our core, most of which are owned by BIPOC entrepreneurs! By remaining downtown, we directly and indirectly support those communities, which is at the heart of the MBA’s mission. Additionally, lawyers contribute to our society in ways I can only begin to list. We provide direct services to our clients. More than that, we contribute to Oregon’s The vibrancy and economy. We sit on a myriad of boards energy that can only or volunteer with a multitude of organizations, covering the gamut from be found in Portland cultural groups like the opera to groups is coming back. that assist the less fortunate like William Temple House, to name just two. Likewise, we should take a role in revitalizing downtown. We have the means to do so, one of which is not to give up on the core. Are there problems with downtown Portland? Sure there are. But despite what the national press tries to make of us, this is a wonderful place to live. The vibrancy and energy that can only be found in Portland is coming back. There are many more people downtown than since the pandemic, and it feels good to be there again. Portland is a beautiful city and has much to offer its residents and visitors. Why shouldn’t we be a part of that? Besides, spring is here. A time for renewal. Why not downtown Portland, too?
MBA Annual Meeting, Dinner & Judges Reception Wednesday, May 8 5-8 p.m. Hilton Portland Downtown 921 SW Sixth Avenue Celebrating the profession and recognizing our colleagues MBA Professionalism Award Liani J. Reeves MBA Diversity Award Recipient Portland State University Student Legal Services MBA Awards of Merit Jeffrey A. Howes • Janice R. Morgan • Laura Rochelois YLS Awards of Merit Alexandra N. Hutchinson YLS Rookies of the Year Molly A. Becker • Aime C. Lee Ohlmann Pro Bono Awards Laura L. Donaldson • Zoë F. Habekost • Richard J. Parker • Dunn Carney LLP Register by April 29 at www.mbabar.org
April 2024 Volume 70, Number 4
mba CLE
See details on p. 3. To register, visit www.mbabar.org/cle and input your OSB number to register at the member rate.
APRIL 4.4 Thursday The Oregon Secretary of State’s Advisory Report on a Statewide Strategy re: Domestic Violence Andrew Love Krystine McCants Kip Memmott 4.10 Wednesday Racism in Oregon History Eliza Canty-Jones Mari Watanabe 4.11 Thursday Drafting Effective Trial Briefs Justice Stephen K. Bushong 4.15 Monday Family Law Update Judge Susan M. Svetkey Patricia Arjun Amy Fassler Lisa Holland 4.17 Wednesday Garnishment Nuts and Bolts Elizabeth Savage
MAY 5.1 Wednesday Campaign Finance in Candidate Elections Lisa Howley Alma Whalen 5.7 Tuesday What to Expect When Employees Are Expecting: Pregnancy and Lactation Accommodations and Protections in Oregon Amanda Lapato Kelly Riggs 5.15 Wednesday Fundamentals of a Lost Profit Calculation Kevin Marold Serena Morones Jennifer Murphy Jennifer Prager
In This Issue Calendar ������������������������������������������ 2 CLE �������������������������������������������������� 3 Announcements ������������������������������� 5 Ethics Focus ������������������������������������� 5 Around the Bar ��������������������������������� 6 News From the Court ������������������������ 8 Tips From the Bench ������������������������� 8 Profile: Referee Eric Lentz ����������������� 9 YLS �������������������������������������������������10 MBF ������������������������������������������������ 13 Classifieds �������������������������������������� 15
Multnomah Bar Association 620 SW 5th Ave Suite 1220 Portland, Oregon 97204 503.222.3275 www.mbabar.org
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