The magazine of the first law school in the Pacific Northwest | Fall 2017
Journey to the top
Michael Levelle JD’90
A WOLF FOR WILLAMETTE LAW Martin Wolf ’57, LLB’60
FALL 2017
12 Journey to the top From a humble start, Michael Levelle JD’90 reaches the peak of his profession as president of the Oregon State Bar.
Dean Curtis Bridgeman Editor Sarah Carlson
A Wolf for Willamette Law Dual-degree alumnus Marty Wolf ’57, LLB’60 leaned on his Willamette education to build a successful career in business. Now, he helps a new generation of law students prepare for the future.
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Departments 2 DEAN’S MESSAGE Dean Curtis Bridgeman draws attention to the 175th anniversary of Willamette University and celebrates the unique qualities of Willamette Law students, alumni and programs. 3 NEWS BRIEFS Noteworthy moments from the past year: achievements, events, student news and programs. 20 FACULTY FOCUS Spotlights on scholarly success, new faces and expert commentary in the news media. 27 CLASS ACTION Catch up with the professional lives of Willamette Law alumni. 32 IN MEMORIAM Willamette mourns the loss of these alumni and staff members. 34 HONOR ROLL Recognition of broad support and gifts to the College of Law made between January 1, 2016, and May 31, 2017. 36 SCENE OF THE CRIME Were you there? Photos from alumni receptions and special Willamette Law events.
Copy Editors Tina Owen Scott Johnson Graphic Designers Susan Blettel Mike Wright Class Action Editor Sarah Carlson Photographer Frank Miller Contributors Rebecca Lerback Alayna Herr JD’12 Leadership Cabinet Mark Hoyt JD’92, Chair Cecilia Lee JD’86, Vice Chair Susan Alterman JD’86 Keith J. Bauer ’69, JD’73 Curtis Bridgeman Marie E. Colmey JD’89 Mary D. Del Balzo JD’85 David A. Drinkward JD’07 Brian C. Erb JD’89 Russell D. Garrett JD’88 Lucy M. Jensen JD/MBA’13 Eva Kripalani JD’86 Douglas A. Luetjen JD’85 Elise F. McClure JD’84 James C. Reinhart ’89, JD/C’92 Peter C. Sheridan JD’88 Nancy Schierhorn JD’86 Jeffrey C. Thede JD’79 Martin R. Wolf ’57, LLB’60 Willamette Lawyer is published by Willamette University College of Law. Send comments to: Sarah Carlson skcarlson@willamette.edu Willamette Lawyer Willamette University College of Law 245 Winter Street SE Salem, OR 97301
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Dean’s Message
Dear Alumni and Friends, A warm hello from Willamette University College of Law where we’re celebrating the university’s 175th anniversary this year. We hope you’ll join us in honoring our history while looking forward to a bright future for all Willamette graduates. It’s the beginning of the school year here, and the halls are buzzing with new and returning students, ready to continue their studies. The class of 2020 began its journey to the JD in August, and we are delighted about what they bring to the Willamette Law community. In this issue, you’ll read about exciting things happening within our student body. Willamette students who took the bar for the first time in February passed at an 83 percent rate, easily the best in the state. (We do not yet have statistics from the July bar.) We’re proud of their efforts and anticipate hearing of their accomplishments. Our cover story highlights the achievements of Michael Levelle JD’90, the 2017 president of the Oregon State Bar and our spring commencement speaker. The other feature story brings attention to the accomplishments of businessman Marty Wolf ’57, LLB’60. These two people truly reflect the Willamette motto Non nobis solum nati sumus — Not unto ourselves alone are we born. In the final sections of the magazine, you’ll find news of our distinguished faculty. We hosted a few visiting scholars this spring, and we welcomed some new faces to our faculty and staff in the past year. Read about Cecilia Lee, our adjunct professor (and co-chair of our Leadership Cabinet) from Reno, Nevada, who flew in once a week in the spring to teach her class. In addition, you’ll hear about Atkinson Graduate School of Management’s Debra Ringold stepping down as dean to return to the faculty. We are grateful for her leadership in sustaining our relationship with AGSM and promoting the JD/MBA program. Students at Willamette also benefit from our specialty certificate programs, illustrated by the story of Nani Apo JD’13 and her experience earning the certificate in dispute resolution. Last, but of course not least, you’ll read stories and news of your classmates. We couldn’t be prouder of our many alumni who are doing great work in pursuit of justice. As ever, we are so grateful for your increasing support as we implement new programs and ideas. Willamette Law is wellpositioned for the future because of all you do. Sincerely,
Curtis Bridgeman
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News Briefs
Students launch Latinx Law Student Association Students have formed the Latinx Law
membership, networking and empowerment
Student Association to celebrate Latinx
of Latinx students.”
heritage and encourage interest in Latinx
Third-year Felipe Rendón succeeds Castro as
culture. The group provides students with opportunities for networking, professional
president this fall. Castro says the new board is filled with bright and passionate students,
development and community service.
and he’s confident they’ll do a great job with
Alberto Castro JD’17 helped launch the
the organization.
group as president during the spring semester. He worked out the details with Jessica
Cavallero JD’17, vice president, and Katie Gipson-McLean JD’17, coordinator.
“Felipe is ambitious, well-respected among his peers and an instinctive leader,” Castro says. “I leave knowing the organization is in very good hands.”
“Our organization is small,” Castro says, “but I
Any law student who wants to join LLSA is
dream it will become a staple organization at
welcome. More information can be found at
Willamette Law, one that continues to grow its
willamette.edu/go/llsa. Alberto Castro JD’17
Social Justice and Equity Law Journal established Students launched the Social Justice and Equity Law Journal in fall 2016 to contribute to society’s understanding of legal and policy issues concerning topics such as race, class, gender and sexuality. Editor-in-chief and third-year student Felipe Rendón says the journal will focus on both state and national issues. “The journal was an idea that I had been thinking about a lot during my first year at Willamette,” Rendón says. “I think it was mostly because of my interest in civil rights and advocacy, and the lack of a place for scholarly work specifically aimed at issues and notions of race, class, gender and sexuality. The journal became a natural end goal for all of us who got involved in the early stages.” Rendón says the journal was his initial idea, but it evolved with input from other members of the founding editorial board. The board includes students serving as managing, business, article and other editors, offering them hands-on opportunities for learning. The board hopes the journal — the first such social justice law publication in Oregon — will become a major outlet for leading scholars and practitioners to improve race and gender relations, foster new research in and across disciplines, and provide the intellectual foundation for the pursuit of social justice.
Left to right: Felipe Rendón JD’18, Andy Blevins JD/MBA’18, Megan Oshiro JD’18 and Christian Muro JD’18.
The journal will publish annually online, with the first issue due this winter. Any legal scholar, practitioner or Willamette Law student may submit articles. The journal is still accepting submissions for its inaugural edition at sje-law-submissions@willamette.edu.
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NEWS BRIEFS
110 STUDENTS 52% 48%
Class of 2020
CLASS SIZE
We welcomed the students in the class of 2020 to campus in August. Prior to coming to Willamette, four of them worked for Oregon legislators, one was a lobbyist, one worked for a U.S. Senator, one was an actor, two were police officers, and one worked at Powell’s Books. For the third time in Willamette Law’s history, more than half of the new class is women. Top feeder undergraduate schools included the University of Oregon, Portland State University, Oregon State University, University of Washington, Washington State University, Willamette University and the University of Nevada at Reno. In addition to the JD students, Willamette Law also welcomed 10 LLM students from around the globe and one MLS student.
152
FEMALES
30 MAJORS REPRESENTED
MEDIAN LSAT
26% STUDENTS OF COLOR
3.18
51%
OREGON RESIDENTS
61 SCHOOLS
REPRESENTED
MEDIAN GPA
25th percentile GPA: 2.83 75th percentile GPA: 3.54
AVERAGE AGE u
4 | Willamette Lawyer
25th percentile LSAT: 148 75th percentile LSAT: 156
MALES
27.7
19
STATES REPRESENTED
NEWS BRIEFS
Law symposium brings health law community to campus The Willamette Law Review held its annual Law Symposium Feb. 3, highlighting the topic of “Equity in Health Law.” The event aims to educate attendees on current issues and allow the journal’s student members to network with academics and legal professionals. “The speakers are often esteemed scholars and practitioners in the selected topic,” says Hannah Hart JD’17, editor-in-chief of the Law Review for 2016-17, “so the attendees are given an opportunity to mingle with them and receive instruction from some of the best in the field — an invaluable experience.” The symposium’s topic was chosen health law has been gaining interest at Willamette.
Though the event was planned before the election, a new presidential administration meant that health law promised to be a relevant legal issue for the 2017 symposium. Lynne Saxton, former director of the Oregon Health Authority, gave the keynote lunch address. She said 95 percent of Oregon’s population has access to health care, and the state is in a good place to get to 100 percent, making health equity a reality for all Oregonians. Panels discussed employer accommodations and federal regulations, the importance of data in health care, protections and challenges of the modern Affordable Care Act, and Coordinated Care Organizations and the challenges they face. Panelists included Portland- and Salem-area lawyers, faculty
Christine Moehl, an attorney with Saalfeld Griggs in Salem, gave a presentation on “ERISA Compliance for Employers” at the February law symposium.
members from Willamette Law and UCLA Law, and directors and attorneys from Oregon nonprofits. “The open Q&A session at the end of each of the four panels buzzed with questions,” Hart says, “which made me feel like
the attendees were engaged and genuinely curious.” About 40 people attended the symposium. Icy roads prevented about 25 people from making it to campus, but they were able to watch the event online via livestream.
In memoriam — Paul Frisch Adjunct Professor Paul Frisch passed away on Jan. 28, 2017, at the age of 67. Frisch taught at Willamette Law for three years. As former general counsel to the Oregon Medical Association, he taught several courses related to health care, including privacy law, health care law and medical malpractice. Frisch also served as the advisor for the Health Law and Policy Society (HeLPS) and helped organize two symposia on health law, including the one held after his death in February.
Third-year student Kayla Mahoney says Frisch’s passion for teaching was apparent to everyone in his classes. “Professor Frisch truly cared about his students,” Mahoney says. “He went above and beyond to introduce students to the world of health law, to help create job opportunities and to support the health law programs at Willamette.” Frisch is survived by his wife, Nancy; his daughter and son-in-law, Lexi and Aaron Brown; his son, Jesse; and his brother, Larry.
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NEWS BRIEFS
Oregon Supreme Court hears two cases at Willamette Law One of the most memorable faux pas Oregon Supreme Court Justice Jack Landau has observed while on the bench happened when the presenting attorney’s phone rang during court — and he answered it. Landau, who is also an adjunct professor at Willamette Law, was incredulous. What seemed to be obvious court protocol wasn’t necessarily evident to that attorney. On campus in March, Willamette Law students had the chance to learn those protocol dos and don’ts, ask questions of justices and watch two real cases argued before the Oregon Supreme Court. During its annual session, the court hears cases at the three Oregon law schools, giving students and the public an opportunity to connect with the judicial system. Attorneys representing Carvel Gordon Dillard v. Jeff Premo and Larisa’s Home Care, LLC v. Karen Nichols-Shields argued their cases. Justices Rives Kistler and Lynn Nakamoto were absent due to other obligations, but they will participate in the final case decisions. In Carvel Gordon Dillard v. Jeff Premo, the court weighed whether the Court of Appeals had jurisdiction under ORS 138.525 over a petitioner’s appeal of the judgment dismissing his petition for post-conviction relief with prejudice, when the post-conviction court had entered the judgment without holding a hearing. In Larisa’s Home Care, LLC v. Karen Nichols-Shields, the court
Oregon Supreme Court Justice Martha Lee Walters smiles as a student asks a question following arguments for two real cases at Willamette Law.
6 | Willamette Lawyer
reviewed if, in a case where a person or their agent commits Medicaid fraud such that a health care facility does not receive payment of non-Medicaid rates, that facility would have a reasonable expectation of being paid non-Medicaid rates. While the attorneys presented their arguments, the justices asked questions and challenged them to consider hypotheticals. During the students’ time for questions following the arguments, the justices agreed that they are not trying to trap the attorneys. “When we ask questions, it’s because we actually want to know what the answer is,” Landau says. “... That’s the point when we’re the most persuadable — when we ask questions.” After about an hour, the cases were submitted. Final decisions have yet to be released. First-year law students working on their first appellate briefs were required to attend the session. Their questions to the justices included what things to avoid doing in court, when the court considers overruling precedent, and how cases are decided following oral arguments. The justices gave thoughtful answers and advice. Among the many takeaways from the session, students should definitely remember to silence their phones when in court.
NEWS BRIEFS
Oregon bar exam changes for 2017 The 2017 Oregon bar exam posed the usual challenges for law graduates, but it also offered a couple of changes with the lowering of the cut score and the switch to the Uniform Bar Exam. In late 2016, the Oregon State Bar announced that it would adopt the Uniform Bar Exam (UBE) and accept transferred UBE scores for all tests beginning July 2017. Now, 25 states plus the District of Columbia accept the UBE under their own score requirements, with Massachusetts coming on board in July 2018. The UBE is made up of the Multistate Essay Examination, two Multistate Performance Test tasks and the Multistate Bar Examination. Examinees who take the UBE can apply to transfer their score to other UBE jurisdictions, provided they meet that state’s minimum score requirements. UBE states can add statespecific requirements, but they are much more minimal than before.
In a second change to the Oregon bar exam, the Board of Bar Examiners (BBX) recommended lowering the “cut score,” i.e. the minimum passing score, for the July 2017 exam from 284 to 274. Oregon’s requirement was the third-highest in the nation, above every state except California and Delaware, and would have easily been the highest UBE requirement. In April, the state Supreme Court accepted the BBX’s recommendation and, seeing no issues with applying the change sooner rather than later, made 274 the minimum score to pass in time for the February 2017 exam results. Even with the change, Oregon’s cut score is still the 12th-highest in the nation, four points higher than Washington’s, and more than six points higher than the national average. But many saw the change as welcome and long-overdue. “The BBX and the Supreme Court deserve a lot of credit for taking this step,” says
“The BBX and the Supreme Court deserve a lot of credit for taking this step. It gives new lawyers in Oregon a fair chance, and de-emphasizes an exam that is a very imperfect measure of what real lawyers do.” —Dean Curtis Bridgeman
Dean Curtis Bridgeman. “It gives new lawyers in Oregon a fair chance and deemphasizes an exam that is a very imperfect measure of what real lawyers do.” For the February exam, 83 percent of first-time takers in Oregon from Willamette Law passed, the best rate in the state, compared with 74 percent from the state as a whole. In Washington, three out of four Willamette first-timers passed, compared with 57 percent overall. The July 2017 results will be available soon.
Willamette alumni. After 2016 bar results were lower than usual, Willamette Law faculty, staff and administration revamped bar prep efforts. The college enhanced its partnership with BARBRI, the leading commercial bar prep provider, offered a new legal analysis for the bar course, and set up a faculty mentoring program focusing on the study period between graduation and the bar exam. With these new ventures implemented, Willamette Law is working toward consistently positive bar results and passing scores for every graduate.
Although the February exam is a small sample size, those results are positive for
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NEWS BRIEFS
Willamette Law chooses Attorney Mentor of the Year
Salem attorney Jennifer Brown JD’08 has a lot on her plate. In addition to her practice in family law, personal injury and probate matters, she participates in Oregon State Bar and other professional activities and devotes time to her family. Yet, she also mentors not one but three Willamette Law students. In recognition of Brown’s dedication to her mentees, Willamette Law named Brown its Mentor of the Year at a reception April 5. Brown, an attorney with Eggert & Associates in Salem, has been mentoring since 2010. When she first began, Brown didn’t really know what mentoring meant or entailed. She picked up tips by listening carefully to the nominations at that year’s award reception. “I made it my goal to be the best mentor I could,” she says. “Listening to the nominations this year, I felt humbled to be chosen out of so many great mentors.” Above: Salem attorney Jennifer Brown JD’08 (far right) stands with her 2016–17 Willamette Law mentees (left to right): Brittany Summer JD’18, Will Riddell JD’19 and Shelby Thomas JD’17.
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“Being a mentor allows me to give back to the legal community by helping students through the process of becoming attorneys.” Jennifer Brown JD’08
“Over the last three years, Jenny has been there for me, not only as an attorney mentor, but as a friend and confidant.” Shelby Thomas JD’17
NEWS BRIEFS
Previous Mentor of the Year Winners Brown’s students — second-year Will Riddell, third-year Brittany Sumner and Shelby Thomas JD’17 — nominated her for the award. As Thomas says, “There’s no one more deserving of being Mentor of the Year.” Most Willamette attorney mentors are paired only with first-year students. Bev Ecklund, Placement Office coordinator, says Brown is unusual in that she continues to mentor her students as they move into their second and third years, so she ends up counseling three. Brown invites her mentees to her court appearances and networking opportunities, meets them often for meals or coffee, and reviews their cover letters and resumes. She has also helped them make career connections and look for summer or permanent positions. All three students say she is more than just a mentor and is quick to offer help with school or personal problems. Brown particularly enjoys seeing students transform from nervous first-years to confident third-years and working attorneys. “Law school is an extremely difficult time,” she says. “Being a mentor allows me to give back to the legal community by helping students through the process of becoming attorneys.” Thomas was mentored by Brown for three years and nominated her every year for the award. “Over the last three years, Jenny has been there for me,” she says, “not only as an attorney mentor, but as a friend and confidant.” Sumner describes Brown as a “prime example” of how to be an attorney and still have time for family and activities. After working at a law office and seeing how busy attorneys are, Riddell expected his mentor to not have much time to meet. “My presumption was entirely flipped on its head,” he says. “Jennifer dove right in and was immediately prepared to work with me and start talking about my goals on day one.”
Each year since 1993, Willamette Law, in cooperation with the Marion County Bar Association and Oregon Women Lawyers, has presented the Honorable Edward H. Howell Award for Mentoring Excellence to an attorney mentor who exemplifies the attributes of the first award winner. Justice Howell was a member of the Oregon Supreme Court from 1970 to 1980, when he retired and began mentoring Willamette Law students. During his first two years of mentoring, he counseled five students. The students wished to recognize his contribution to their education and professional growth, and so, the award was established. Winners are nominated by their mentees and judged by the following criteria: assisting with understanding the real practice of law; help with adjusting to law school; willingness to help the student; exceeding expectations; creativity in advice, discussions and get-togethers; and initiative in arranging meetings and making suggestions. 1992-93 1993-94 1994-95 1995-96 1996-97 1997-98 1998-99 1999-2000 2000-01 2001-02 2002-03 2003-04 2004-05 2005-06 2006-07 2007-08 2008-09 2009-10 2010-11 2011-12 2012-13 2013-14 2014-15 2015-16 2016-17
Justice Edward H. Howell LLB’40 Thomas K. Elden Justice Edwin J. Peterson Elizabeth Harchenko ’72, JD’76 Justice Paul J. De Muniz JD’75 Judge Beth Allen JD’96 Judge Mary James Judge Richard D. Barber Sr. LLB’55 and John F. Weisser Jr. LLB’55 Elizabeth Large JD’96 Elizabeth Gordon JD’90 Alison Kelley ’94, JD’98 and Brady Mertz JD’96 Liani Reeves ’98, JD’01 Justice Susan M. Leeson ’68, JD’81 Michael W. Dundy Concetta Schwesinger JD/MBA’88 Kate Cooper Richardson JD’00 Jeffrey L. Dover JD’04 Shenoa Payne JD’08 and Kristen Williams ’99, JD’05 Judge Claudia Burton Jason Thompson JD/MBA’01 Justin Kidd Michelle Vlach-Ing JD’01 Heather Vogelsong JD’05 David Turner JD’82 Jennifer Brown JD’08
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NEWS BRIEFS
Certificate in Dispute Resolution can be beneficial for all law students
Working as a receptionist at a veterinary hospital in Portland, Nani Apo JD’13 heard all kinds of complaints. Nani Apo JD’13
One woman refused to pay for her cat’s surgery because it did not have the hoped-for result, while another man threatened to sue after his dog had an allergic reaction to vaccinations. Numerous pet owners simply disagreed with the cost of the veterinary care. As the person at the front desk, Apo learned to listen and communicate, becoming adept at solving clients’ issues. When Apo heard about the certificate program in dispute resolution at Willamette University College of Law, her curiosity was piqued. Interested in learning about negotiation and mediation as methods of settling other disputes, she began seeking her JD at Willamette Law in 2010. Despite initial jitters, she loved her time at Willamette. “At first, I was nervous that it would be a difficult transition because I hadn’t been to school for eight years,” Apo says. “As expected, law school was challenging and stressful, but I
“Not only are there various opportunities nearby — for example, at the courts, government agencies and private firms — but the network of alumni working in the area is helpful in connecting to those opportunities.” — Nani Apo JD’13
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NEWS BRIEFS
gained a lot of satisfaction from working toward a goal and proving to myself that I could succeed.” While a student, Apo stayed busy with involvement in the Multicultural Law Students Association, engagement in negotiation and appellate competitions, and editing the Willamette Environmental Law Journal and a dispute resolution program newsletter. She also completed externships at the Legal Aid Farmworker Program and the Oregon Court of Appeals. She says the most helpful aspect of her time at Willamette was the availability of experiential learning opportunities within the law school and certificate program. “Not only are there various opportunities nearby — for example, at the courts, government agencies and private firms,” she says, “but the network of alumni working in the area is helpful in connecting to those opportunities.” As part of the certificate program, Apo participated in the school’s negotiation competition. She and Allie Wils ’08, JD’13 and their respective partners qualified for the ABA regionals and competed in Calgary, Alberta. Wils and Apo agree that the individualized negotiation skills training and time spent working with teammates was invaluable. “The certificate program creates a community,” Wils says. “By the time we reached higher-level negotiation classes, we were able to do a lot of exercises where we broke out into smaller groups. It was about practicing our skills rather than discussing or learning about them.” To fulfill another requirement for the certificate, Apo worked a minimum number of practical experience hours in an alternative dispute resolution setting. She chose to serve as a volunteer mediator through the Marion County Circuit Court’s small claims mediation program. Most mediations involved creditors and debtors, but one memorable instance was different.
“The certificate program creates a community. By the time we reached higher-level negotiation classes, we ... broke out into smaller groups. It was about practicing our skills rather than discussing or learning about them.” — Allie Wils ’08, JD’13
“It’s useful when making written or oral legal arguments,” she says, “and also for considering what outcome might constitute a just result under different circumstances.” Wils, who currently works as a lobbyist in Washington, D.C., says the certificate is useful in her position, too, since the skills learned are transferable. “Lobbying is about relationship-building and advocacy, the same skills you use in alternative dispute resolution,” Wils says. “The critical component is being able to create meaningful relationships.” For Apo, the program proved an interesting and useful experience. Her certificate in dispute resolution has been a talking point in job interviews multiple times. Plus, the skills she gained from the program are useful in many aspects of the law and everyday life. “I think that all law students can benefit from the development of communication and dispute resolution skills,” she says, “regardless of what type of legal practice they end up pursuing.”
“Two best friends had been fighting for two years over a borrowed piece of jewelry that was then somehow lost,” Apo recalls. “At the end of the mediation, both participants were hugging and crying and catching each other up on how their respective families were doing. It was quite rewarding.” Following her graduation from Willamette, Apo clerked for Judge Douglas L. Tookey on the Oregon Court of Appeals for nearly two years. Since fall 2015, she has been an honors attorney for the Oregon Department of Justice, first in the Appellate Division and now for the Criminal Justice Division. Apo says her certificate in dispute resolution is relevant in her current position because it has helped her consider legal issues from different perspectives and anticipate contrary arguments.
Allie Wils ’08, JD’13
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Journey to the top
From a humble start, Michael Levelle JD’90 reaches the peak of his profession as president of the Oregon State Bar
by amy derbedrosian
12 | Willamette Lawyer
No one in his family imagined Michael Levelle JD’90 would grow up to be a lawyer. As a young student and one of the few AfricanAmericans in Missoula, Montana, Levelle didn’t even know any lawyers. Yet he dreamed of becoming one, inspired by a high school teacher who made him aware of the movement for social change and civil rights in the mid-1960s. His nontraditional path to the law took a circuitous route. Levelle joined the Navy at age 18 and returned from Vietnam a disillusioned veteran without concrete plans for the future. “I was a laborer. I was a truck driver. I traveled around and came back to the world in 1982,” he says. “I had two kids to support and couldn’t find a job. But I had been raised to be an optimist. I realized I could change what I was doing. So I went back to school.” It was the first step toward a long and successful legal career that culminated this January in Levelle becoming the Oregon State Bar’s (OSB) first African-American president. He is serving a one-year term. “It is satisfying and gives me a sense of pride that my colleagues have determined I’m the right person to lead the board of governors and the state bar. I also feel a sense of personal accomplishment,” says Levelle, special counsel at Sussman Shank in Portland, Oregon, and Willamette Law’s 2017 commencement speaker. Levelle grew up in a blue-collar family, raised by his grandmother, aunt and uncle. “Their general level of education was not even high school,” Levelle says. “My family was focused simply on surviving — keeping food on the table and a roof over our heads — not achieving some greater accomplishment.” Indeed, when Levelle recently saw the movie “Fences,” starring Denzel Washington as a sanitation worker fighting prejudice and its fallout, he says, “It was a story reflective of my life.” Returning to Missoula after his military service, Levelle earned a bachelor’s degree in social work at the University of Montana. He served as a volunteer counselor, working with other Vietnam veterans, and says, “It was self-therapy, and I was also using my skills as a social worker. But I realized I wanted to do more, to achieve a standing where I could influence policy.” That experience, coupled with an undergraduate course placement in a law office that trained child advocates, renewed his interest in law. Then, midway through his senior year, Levelle met Danny Santos JD’86, who was in Missoula to recruit students for admission to Willamette Law. “I recall vividly that he had a strong sense of what he wanted to do with a law degree,” Santos says of their first meeting, which ultimately led to Levelle receiving a scholarship to attend Willamette Law. “He had a lot to bring to our law school and, beyond that, we were very convinced that he would contribute to the legal profession.”
When Santos went on to work in the governor’s office, Levelle became one of his first law clerks. “Michael was very energized about his work in the Citizens’ Representative Office,” recalls Santos, who recently retired as a Willamette Law associate dean. “His passion for policy was well beyond our expectations for students.” In Santos, Levelle found a mentor and lifelong friend. He also came away from law school with new appreciation for a legal education. “A significant part of how I think today was nurtured in law school,” Levelle explains. “Willamette Law provided me with an environment where I could learn to be a deep thinker, to research, to analyze and do those things that are of value to a good lawyer.” Levelle began his career as a labor lawyer at Bennett Hartman Morris & Kaplan in Portland, where he also became involved in estate planning and trust administration, major areas of his practice since then. He left to join Sussman Shank and then became a partner at Duffy Kekel before returning to Sussman Shank as special counsel in 2004. Also an experienced mediator, Levelle has applied his social work training as a lawyer. “I’ve approached my work as a social worker would in the sense that many individuals’ challenges aren’t only legal, they’re also social,” he explains. “I help individuals understand their goals and communicate their various options to provide security and peace of mind. I’m a counselor.” Like Santos before him, Levelle has come to embrace the role of mentor. He has served on the board of Self-Enhancement, Inc., a Portland nonprofit supporting disadvantaged youths and their families, many of them African-American. “I see myself in those kids,” he says, “and I realize how important it is to have a mentor — someone who can help create and nourish inspiration, and give them the confidence to pursue their dreams while also establishing the reality of what they have to do to accomplish those dreams.” Among those who have benefited from Levelle’s perspective on both the law and life is his eldest daughter, Naomi Haslitt JD’07, who followed him to Willamette Law and is now a partner in the Portland firm Miller Nash
“If diversity is a goal we hope to achieve, the action is equity and inclusion. We need to devise strategies that help to increase access to legal information and the justice system for marginalized people and communities.” — Michael Levelle JD’90
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Michael Levelle JD’90 and his daughter Naomi Haslitt JD’07.
Graham & Dunn. In May, the Portland Business Journal named her to its annual Forty Under 40 list of achieving young professionals. “He has been not only a great dad, but a great mentor as well. His experiences have instilled the passion my siblings and I have for social justice,” she says. “He also inspired me to be involved in the minority bar and the Oregon State Bar. He has a real dedication to making the legal profession and the community at large better.” For Levelle, becoming OSB president offers that opportunity. He is championing greater inclusion, equity and innovation in carrying out the organization’s mission of serving justice by promoting respect for the law, increasing access to justice and improving the quality of legal services. “If diversity is a goal we hope to achieve, the action is equity and inclusion. We need to devise strategies that help to increase access to legal information and the justice system for marginalized people and communities,” Levelle says. “Fortunately, I’ve stepped into a presidency where the board of governors is moving forward with a socially responsible mission, particularly in looking at access to justice.” Though Levelle’s goals are challenging, Santos believes he is prepared to tackle them. “Michael is very capable in bringing many
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people on board to be a part of the conversation,” Santos says. “ They appreciate his willingness to discuss the issues and walk away respecting his views. It’s a tribute to his skills and his passion that he is where he is, and he has much to be proud of.” Haslitt adds another reason for optimism that Levelle will bring about progress.“I think his view of equity is broader than the challenges that have been directly in front of him,” she says. “It’s about access to justice in rural communities and equity across the state. Perhaps his growing up in Montana helps to inform that view.” For Haslitt, her father’s election as the first African-American OSB president represents a historic occasion that’s long overdue. It also reinforces what she has learned about him since becoming a lawyer herself. “I realized as I got into law school and the profession how wellrespected he is by his colleagues,” she explains. “So I’m very proud of him but not entirely surprised that he’s become president. It’s an example of his drive and commitment to the profession, and a step along a path that he’s been creating for himself for a long time.”
Legal leaders By Amy DerBedrosian
Rew
Michael Levelle JD’90 is the latest in a notable list of Willamette Law alumni to become president of the Oregon State Bar (OSB) in recent years. These attorneys share bonds with him beyond outstanding leadership qualities, a commitment to service and a common law school. They include another graduate whose daughter attended Willamette Law and others, like Levelle, who represent OSB “firsts.”
Lopez
The Willamette Law graduates also elected as OSB president since 2000 are: The late Lawrence Rew JD’61, OSB president from 1999-2000. The partner in Corey, Byler & Rew was instrumental in setting pro bono standards for Oregon lawyers.
Cook
Judge Angel Lopez JD’78, the first Latino and person of color to be president of the OSB in 2002 and a Multnomah County Circuit Judge since 2009. He previously was a partner in Squires & Lopez with his wife, Wendy Squires JD’79. Nena Cook JD’91, the second youngest president in OSB history in 2005. A partner and trial attorney at Ater Wynne since 2014, she has more than 26 years of experience in complex commercial litigation. Over the years, she’s earned accolades as one of Portland’s most influential women.
Menashe
Albert Menashe JD’76, the first in his family to attend college and OSB president in 2007. He formed the Portland family law firm Gevurtz Menashe in 1982. Kathleen Evans JD’82, OSB president in 2010, practices law in Salem with her daughter, Cecelia Batlan ’04, JD’08, and son-in-law, Russell Getchell JD’10.
Evans
Mitzi Naucler JD’82, the first legal aid attorney to become OSB president, in 2012, and regional director of the Albany office of Legal Aid Services of Oregon.
Naucler
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Dual-degree alumnus Marty Wolf ’57, LLB’60 leaned on his Willamette education to build a successful career in business. Now, through his ongoing support and a recent generous estate gift, he helps a new generation of law students prepare for the future
A Wolf for Willamette Law By Christopher Tritto
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Tucked among Carmel-by-the-Sea’s art galleries, cafes and fairytale cottages, Marty Wolf ’57, LLB’60 sits in his office on California’s Monterey Peninsula. Wolf’s address on Ocean Avenue may be a long way from State Street in Salem, yet six decades after Wolf graduated with a bachelor’s in economics and 57 years after he earned his law degree — both from Willamette University — much of his heart maintains residence at his alma mater. That’s why Wolf recently made a $3 million estate gift to Willamette Law to support financially deserving students. Reflecting his own background and interests, Wolf also wants his scholarship to help students who are musicians, or distinguished themselves through service such as in a sorority or fraternity, or are interested in careers in business law or in industry. Wolf, 82, has spent his life building successful businesses, which have afforded him the lifestyle he enjoys today. But he’s not forgotten his humble roots as an immigrant’s son and the important role his studies played in his personal and professional growth. He could retire. He’s even tried a couple of times. Instead, Wolf keeps working, motivated to support privately owned businesses he sees as the backbones of small communities. He’s also embraced a mission to help current Willamette Law students receive a top-notch education and career opportunities, as he did. Most significantly, he sits on the College of Law’s 17-member Leadership Cabinet, dedicated to long-term planning, fundraising campaigns, attracting exceptional faculty and bolstering graduate job placement. For Wolf, Willamette’s motto, Not unto ourselves alone are we born, carries personal significance. “I have a sense of responsibility for not only the future but the past, too,” Wolf says. “You want to prove to your parents and contemporaries that you did the best you could and contributed the most you could. Now, I try to support education for the next generation.” Wolf grew up 60 miles north of Salem in a family where a strong work ethic was instilled at a young age. His Jewish father emigrated from Poland, arriving alone at age 17 in Portland, Oregon. He didn’t speak a word of English and enrolled in the third grade upon arrival to learn the language. After a stint in the Army, he returned home and used his $600 mustering-out pay to buy a hand-pump gas station in Vancouver, Washington. By 1919, he parlayed that business into a new venture, opening Wolf’s Home Center, a retail store that specialized in appliances and electronics. Wolf was working in the store by the time he was 12, sweeping floors and learning the business from the ground up. “My dad’s work ethic became mine,” Wolf says. “He came from nothing and took risks.”
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grandchildren, his wife, Francesca, and his many friends who have heard him play. Despite his formative undergraduate experiences, Wolf again flirted with the University of Washington for graduate business school. But as before, he returned to Willamette. Persuaded by then-dean Seward Reese, Wolf enrolled in the College of Law.
During a moot court trial on Pre-Law Day at Willamette in April 1959, Marty Wolf ’57, LLB’60 argued on defense before three Oregon Supreme Court justices. (Photo courtesy Statesman Journal)
“Law school taught me discipline, the ability to reason and think and plan clearly, and the importance of negotiating from a position of strength. Those are all things you can apply later in life, not just in the practice of law.” —Marty Wolf ’57, LLB’60
When it came time for college, Wolf considered the University of Washington but quickly realized he preferred the more intimate setting that Willamette offered. He majored in economics with a minor in political science, absorbing lessons from such professors as the late Mark Hatfield ’43, the Willamette alumnus who would go on to serve two terms as Oregon’s governor and 30 years in the U.S. Senate. Wolf joined Beta Theta Pi fraternity, where he developed friendships that have lasted decades. He wrote the music for his class’s performances in the annual Freshman Glee competition. And he nearly always worked two jobs to help pay his way through school, including playing piano in bands that performed in clubs and at sorority and fraternity dances on weekends. “Marty was super talented as a musician,” recalls friend and fraternity brother Doug Houser ’57, a member of the Willamette Board of Trustees. “His (Glee) music was great, but we couldn’t sing or dance worth a darn and lost all four years.” Wolf’s love of music, fostered early on by his violinist mother, continues to this day. He plays piano frequently, sits in with bands in Carmel and is currently producing a CD of his original compositions as a gift to his
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Wolf was a standout, most notably as part of the three-person team that would shock much larger schools and bring Willamette its first National Moot Court Competition championship. The rigorous series of legal briefs and oral arguments culminated in a final round of presentations before U.S. Supreme Court Justice Potter Stewart in New York City in December 1959. That performance with classmates Ted Carlstrom JD’60 and Richard Franzke ’58, JD’60 brought prestige to the law school and opened doors for Wolf upon graduation in 1960. He moved south and clerked for the California Supreme Court for a year. Then, after considering various job offers in Los Angeles in the field of entertainment law, Wolf joined a law firm back in Portland. For all his success and aptitude for the field, however, Wolf found the practice of law wasn’t a good fit. He left the firm in Portland after six months to take a fundraising and development job at Stanford University. By 1970, he found his way home to Vancouver to take control of the family business. “My dad realized early on that he never wanted to work for anyone else,” Wolf says, “and I learned I didn’t either.” Over the next 15 years, he grew Wolf’s Home Center and relocated the store across town to a new 36,000-square-foot location. Along the way, he formed a buying group to help companies like his increase their purchasing power with appliance, electronics and furniture manufacturers. By the time Wolf sold the family store in 1986,
he was ready to take his buying group to the “He is the youngest 82-year-old guy I think next level. He associated himself with I’ve ever met,” says attorney Marie Colmey Winston-Salem, North Carolina-based JD’89, a fellow Leadership Cabinet member. Nationwide Marketing Group, which had no “He never stops. It’s awesome and inspiring.” presence in the western United States, and Colmey points to Wolf’s unique blend of founded the marketing consultancy and relationship-building skills, fundraising buying group Nationwide West. experience, business acumen and wit when Now headquartered in Kennewick, describing his contributions to the advisory Washington, Nationwide West expanded group. and evolved under Wolf’s leadership. Today, “Many career opportunities today involve a it helps some 250 independent retail clients mix of business and law,” Colmey says. across 17 states negotiate deals with “Marty knows how that goes from his own manufacturers, produce TV commercials career and experience. It’s great to have his and marketing materials, merchandise their nontraditional perspective and to think about inventory, train their sales teams and work how we can prepare students for the real through succession planning. The world.” company’s clients represent nearly $1 billion in annual retail sales. When he turned 70, Wolf hopes his contributions help the Wolf sold Nationwide West to a partner and college continue its positive trajectory. agreed to a three-year consulting contract “There is something valuable in recognizing with the firm. Wolf points out with a laugh what you came from and how you can help that he’s now entering his 12th year of that others,” Wolf says. “I want to see the three-year contract. College of Law continue to be successful.” Despite pursuing a career outside the field of law, Wolf credits his legal education at Willamette for much of his success in business.
“He is the youngest 82-year-old guy I think I’ve ever met. He never stops. It’s awesome and inspiring.” —Marie Colmey JD’89
“Law school taught me discipline, the ability to reason and think and plan clearly, and the importance of negotiating from a position of strength,” Wolf says. “Those are all things you can apply later in life, not just in the practice of law. Many students go to law school not knowing what they want to do and not sure where they will end up. I tell them they can get so much education within school and more outside. Keep an open mind, both as to the practice of law and all the other opportunities available through your legal education.” Wolf continues to visit Willamette about six times a year. He connects with fellow alumni, visits his daughter and four grandchildren in Vancouver, speaks with current students and meets with his colleagues on the College of Law’s Leadership Cabinet.
From left: Richard Franzke ’58, JD’60, Marty Wolf ’57, LLB’60, U.S. Supreme Court Justice Potter Stewart, and Ted Carlstrom JD’60 greet each other at the December 1959 National Moot Court Competition in New York City. (Photo courtesy Ted Carlstrom)
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Faculty Focus
New additions to Willamette Law Hillary Steinbrook Gell
Willamette Law welcomed several new faculty and staff members during the academic year. In September 2016, Melodye Mac Alpine succeeded Danny Santos as associate dean for student affairs and administration. In January, Hillary Steinbrook Gell became a member of the faculty as a visiting professor of legal research and writing.
Melodye Mac Alpine
Mac Alpine has a long history with higher education. She spent the six years before Willamette as director of graduate and professional student services at Pacific University in Forest Grove, Oregon, where she provided support and advocacy for more than 1,800 students in five colleges. She previously worked at Pacific’s College of Optometry and Becker College in Worcester, Massachusetts.
Top: Melodye Mac Alpine and Hillary Steinbrook Gell
“I feel very fortunate to be part of an institution that values the student experience,” Mac Alpine says. “I look forward to supporting students as they work toward their educational and career goals.”
Three new faces on the Willamette Law staff Sarah Carlson is the interim manager of communications, focusing on law school marketing and communications. Before coming to Willamette in August 2016, she worked in marketing for the Career Development Center at Wichita State University in Wichita, Kansas.
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Sarah Carlson
Will Fruhwirth is the associate director of admissions, leading recruitment for the JD, LLM and MLS programs, with a focus on international students. He joined Willamette in July 2016 from the admissions office at Washington University School of Law in St. Louis.
Professor Gell joined the legal research and writing faculty as a visiting professor. She graduated from Harvard Law following her undergraduate education also at Harvard. Especially interested in education policy, she conducted research on topics at the intersection of law and psychology, such as preventing suicides on college campuses and using peer mediation in secondary schools. Before moving to Oregon, Gell taught in a variety of programs in Massachusetts, including legal research and writing courses at Boston University, Bunker Hill Community College, New England Law Boston, Northeastern University and Suffolk University. “I appreciated receiving such a warm welcome from colleagues when I joined the Willamette community,” Gell says. “I am looking forward to fostering a similar atmosphere for the first-year students in my section of legal research and writing.”
Will Fruhwirth
Katharine Hoehne
Katharine Hoehne serves as admissions counselor and events coordinator, recruiting students from across the United States. Hoehne joined Willamette Law in November 2016 after working in admissions at her alma mater, the College of Idaho.
FACULTY FOCUS
Faculty Scholarship David Friedman: Consumers and the law David Friedman, who was recently promoted, may be new to the title of professor of law without “assistant” or “associate” preceding it, but he isn’t new to researching the intersection between law, business and decision-making. In his most recent scholarship, Friedman explores how regulation and deregulation of advertising can improve consumer decisionmaking in the public health and retail consumption arenas. “I enjoy writing about legal issues that relate to the everyday things we encounter as consumers, such as the way government tries to regulate decisions about calorie consumption or the advertising we see in the grocery store,” he says. “Law, psychology and economics all blend together at this juncture.” Friedman’s work, “Reconsidering Fictitious Pricing,” published in Minnesota Law Review in 2016, addressed whether discounted pricing in stores represents “true discounts.” His research sought to understand the magnitude of the practice and why the Federal Trade Commission has not enforced its existing fictitious pricing rules since 1969. He also wondered whether the practice truly harmed consumers and, if so, how. “If I use a phony sale to lure you to buy a sweater, at the cash register, you do know what you are buying and what the price is. But it’s very hard for courts to put a dollar amount on how consumers are harmed by the insincere lure,” he says. “Nevertheless, fictitious pricing disrupts retail markets and makes them inefficient, and regulators need to figure out whether to intervene.” The Los Angeles city attorney’s office cited “Reconsidering Fictitious Pricing” in a lawsuit against four major clothing retailers. Friedman’s recent scholarship has also been published in the Tulane (“Micropaternalism”) and Connecticut Law Reviews (“Public Health Regulation and the Limits of Paternalism” and “Refining Advertising Regulation”). The Oxford Handbook of Law and Economics deemed “Micropaternalism,” about New York City’s attempt to regulate consumption of sugary drinks, one of “three well-known behavioral law and economics works from recent years.” This year, Friedman has two more articles slated for publication. “Research gives us something to ‘profess’ and enhances our teaching,” he explains. “You have to read a lot of cases and recent research to write a major piece of scholarship, and that keeps you at the cutting edge of developments.”
Peter Molk: Homeowners insurance and moral hazard Assistant Professor of Law Peter Molk’s most recent scholarship explores an insurance concept he’s considered since he was a law student. “Playing With Fire? Testing Moral Hazard in Homeowners Insurance Valued Policies,” which is forthcoming in the Utah Law Review, looks at a particular case of whether people behave differently if they have insurance. “For example, if you have car insurance or if you’re renting a car,” Molk explains, “you might drive riskier than you would if it’s your car or if you didn’t have insurance.”
Peter Molk
In the article, Molk analyzes if residential fire rates differ based on insurance compensation laws. His paper looks at data to see if loss rates are higher in states that have valued-policy laws. Those laws mandate that insurance companies pay the house’s full insured value, regardless of its actual value. So a house insured for $250,000 and destroyed would be covered by the insurance provider for $250,000, even if it was no longer worth that much. Molk says there is a moral hazard assumption that fire rates would be higher in valued-policy states. Surprisingly, though, he found that loss rates were significantly lower than in non-valuedpolicy states. “The work is useful for academics because it informs basic theories of how people respond to incentives, how people respond on the ground and how we think theoretically they’ll respond,” he says. “For lawyers in general, homeowners insurance is something a lot of people have, and it’s interesting to see how states are going about this.” Molk says it was rewarding to be able to inform the theory with actual insurance data. “It’s really useful for me to dive deeply into a specific issue we teach in class,” he says. “You present these topics to students in a memorable way, and it helps them learn and makes you a better instructor.”
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FACULTY FOCUS
In the News Williams discusses the Electoral College Although the majority of Americans have told pollsters they want the Electoral College replaced, it lives on. Jack Rakove, a Stanford University professor of history and political science also quoted in the article, said a “one person, one vote” system might be a solution that satisfies Americans across party lines. He added, “I think it would be healthy to the body politic, having one national constituency as opposed to being divided between red and blue states.”
Norman Williams
Associate Dean and Ken and Claudia Peterson Professor of Law Norman Williams commented in a Christian Science Monitor story in November 2016 on the renewed public interest in the Electoral College. The story noted that Google searches on the Electoral College were higher that month, as they always are during election season. Before the 2016 election, the Electoral College had differed from the popular vote in just four elections, with the previous most recent occurrence in 2000. However, critics say the system forces campaigns to pay more attention to battleground states than the country as a whole.
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Two alternatives to the Electoral College are generally proposed — base the presidency on popular vote or do away with the “winner-take-all” system and allow states to split their electoral votes between candidates. Maine and Nebraska already practice the latter, while Colorado’s 2004 attempt to change its system failed. Williams said that between elections, electoral reforms are pushed to the bottom of the agenda for lawmakers and the public. “In the lead-up to elections, people view every potential reform proposal through a partisan lens,” he said. “Replacing the Electoral College would require a constitutional amendment approved by Congress and ratified by the states, but it’ll take a bipartisan consensus that the system’s broken.”
Jeff Dobbins
Dobbins considers U.S. Supreme Court nominees In January, Associate Professor of Law Jeff Dobbins weighed in on President Trump’s potential nominees to the U.S. Supreme Court following the death of Justice Antonin Scalia. On Oregon Public Broadcasting’s “Think Out Loud” segment, Dobbins and Lisa McElroy, associate professor at Drexel University School of Law, spoke about the four people whose names had been floated around as Trump’s shortlist: William Pryor, Diane Sykes, Neil Gorsuch, and Thomas Hardiman. All the judges are considered conservatives and were named to their positions by President George W. Bush. Dobbins described Gorsuch — who was eventually nominated by President Trump — as the most traditional candidate, who might fit into the existing mold of the Supreme Court in the most straightforward way.
FACULTY FOCUS
“One of the things that struck me about some of his opinions ... is that in a lot of ways, he’s already thinking a little bit like a Supreme Court justice, which is unusual for Court of Appeals judges,” Dobbins said, “because he is often seeming to push the boundaries of existing law rather than simply marching in lockstep. He often says, ‘Here’s how we should really be thinking about this,’ which is of course the sort of thing that we often saw from Justice Scalia.” Dobbins said to remember that the nominee would replace Scalia, considered a conservative on the court, so it wouldn’t necessarily sway the liberal-to-conservative ratio. He described the Senate’s decision to not hold a confirmation hearing for Merrick Garland, former President Obama’s nominee, as unusual. Dobbins predicted the newest member of the court would face issues of religion, class actions and Second Amendment considerations regarding gun rights.
Green talks about churches’ free speech Willamette Law Professor Steve Green appeared on Utah radio station RadioWest in February to discuss the Johnson Amendment and President Donald Trump’s promise to do away with it.
Since the Reagan era, he noted, religious conservatives have felt under attack. Accordingly, many feel they should be in the forefront on political issues and that the Johnson Amendment should be eliminated.
The amendment is a 1954 tax law that excludes charities, including churches, from backing political candidates. Trump said it’s a limit on churches’ right to free speech.
“Many people of faith, I think quite rightly, believe that they have something to add on social issues,” Green said. “They have a prophetic voice that is important in American culture, and so they see this as an attempt to Green, who is a historian of church and state, silence that voice.” said the debate is not only about tax law — it’s also about the role of religion in public Green explained that the law lacks teeth and life. More than anything else, he said, it’s is not often enforced. He could think of only symbolic. one instance in which a church lost its tax-exempt status after it told parishioners not to vote for Bill Clinton. Even then, the church was able to refile immediately for tax-exempt status. As to whether the law should be abolished, Green said while most churches would probably police themselves, religion could lose credibility if it is allowed to be involved in political activity. He described the argument for separation of church and state as good for both religion and the government.
Steve Green
“It’s a tenuous balance … and the (Founding Fathers) were pretty smart about this,” Green said. “They knew that it’s better for (churches to) understand the limits on how far they can go, because it will undermine their legitimacy. And, at the same time, government operates better when we don’t start saying there’s some sort of religious litmus test for any particular piece of legislation or for any public policy.”
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FACULTY FOCUS
Spotlight
Clockwise from top left: Professors Karen Sandrik, David Friedman, Warren Binford and Gwynne Skinner
of both great talent and years of hard work. I am very proud of each of them and delighted that they are each an important part of Willamette’s future.” Sandrik teaches contracts, sales, intellectual property law and patent law, among other classes. She focuses her research on the intersection of commercial law and intellectual property law. Binford directs the Clinical Law Program and teaches business law and child and family advocacy. She lectures and publishes on topics primarily related to children’s rights and legal education.
Law professors promoted and tenured At the end of February, Dean Curtis Bridgeman announced promotions and tenures for law professors. The promotions went into effect in June. The Board of Trustees approved Karen Sandrik for tenure, and she was promoted from assistant professor of law to associate professor of law. Warren Binford, David Friedman
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and Gwynne Skinner were promoted from associate professors of law to professors of law. “All four are outstanding professors who are well-deserving of these honors,” Bridgeman says. “Such promotions are real landmarks in the career of a professor, and in each case, the promotion comes as the result
Friedman teaches commercial law, business law, torts and consumer trade practices law. He publishes in the areas of behavioral economics, contract theory, advertising law and public health. Skinner directs the Human Rights and Immigration Clinic and teaches the affiliated seminar. Her research focuses on issues relating to human rights litigation and the barriers to legal remedies for human rights violations.
FACULTY FOCUS
Adjunct professor flies in for class each week Adjunct Professor Cecilia Lee JD’86 lives in Reno, Nevada, but she held classes at Willamette Law every Monday during the spring semester. Each week, she flew to Oregon to teach — and did so on her own dime.
Lee, now in her third year of teaching as an adjunct, says she’s an unlikely law professor because she’s a practicing lawyer who doesn’t even live in Oregon. Apart from the cost of travel, she worked most weekends to keep up with her regular job.
In the spring, Lee taught “Business Reorganizations,” a course on Chapter 11 bankruptcy reorganization. The class was small, interactive and focused on practical problems and solutions.
“Despite these consequences, I would not trade these last three academic years,” Lee says. “One of my greatest personal and professional achievements has been the opportunity to teach at Willamette — and give back to my alma mater.”
“I see in these students the future of their communities, the future of the law, the future of Willamette, and it is a great privilege to contribute to that future,” Lee says. “On balance, I am the one who is enriched by this endeavor.”
International scholars visit from China and France Three international scholars visited Willamette Law during the first half of 2017. Professors Lizhen Zhang and Yan Jiao came from China, and Yoann J. Pré from France. Zhang teaches conflicts law and international investment law at Shandong Agricultural University, and Jiao teaches conflicts law and international civil litigation at Nanjing University. Pré is a teaching fellow and doctoral student finishing his thesis on conflicts law at the University of Paris (Sorbonne).
Professor Symeon Symeonides served as the host for the scholars, who each received highly competitive grants from their home countries to fully fund their stays at Willamette. The three scholars worked with Symeonides on research projects on American and comparative conflicts law and attended his two classes. “Professor Symeonides is without a doubt the most-renowned comparative conflicts law scholar in the U.S. and probably the world,” Pré says. “Willamette is very lucky to have him.” Symeonides hopes to be able to bring more international scholars to Willamette. “Their presence here is beneficial and enriching not only for me, but also for our faculty and students,” he says. “We learn from them as much as they learn from us.”
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FACULTY FOCUS
AGSM Dean Debra Ringold to transition back to faculty One of Willamette Law’s great campus partners will begin a new professional chapter next year. Atkinson Graduate School of Management Dean Debra Ringold, who has worked closely with Law on the JD/MBA joint degree program, will step down from her position as dean in summer 2018 to go on sabbatical and return to the management faculty in August 2019. Ringold joined Willamette as an associate professor in 1994, advancing to professor, associate dean and, finally, dean, of the MBA program. Among other accomplishments, Ringold’s deanship included several successful reaccreditation cycles, strong enrollments and improved placement rates, an increase in the number of tenure-track faculty and the implementation of an experiential MBA curriculum.
“She is a great champion for interdisciplinary education.”
Law Dean Curtis Bridgeman has collaborated with Ringold to execute — Dean Curtis Bridgeman the JD/MBA program and offer more opportunities for law students to take business management courses and vice versa. He describes her as “grit personified,” as well as a tremendous leader, mentor and friend who emphasizes a student-focused environment for professional education.
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“Our work at Willamette is about the students, something we talk about a lot at the law school, and Debra never, ever forgets that, or lets anyone else forget it,” Bridgeman says. “She is a great champion for interdisciplinary education and a great believer that, done well, the skills we teach are transferable to a wide variety of circumstances.” Ringold says she benefitted from the example, values and advice from Bridgeman and Law Dean Emeritus Symeon Symeonides. AGSM Associate Dean Emeritus Judy O’Neill, who has worked with Ringold for more than 20 years, says she is constantly amazed by her dedication and abilities. “Debra’s leadership and service stems from a deep commitment to educating the managers, leaders and founders of the enterprises of the future, whether they are in the business, government or not-for-profit sector,” O’Neill says. “She is a master teacher and role model for students and faculty and an innovative thinker in MBA experiential education.” During her one-year sabbatical, Ringold will complete and submit two research papers for review and reinvigorate four graduate courses that she’ll teach. She says, “I will be very happy to end my career teaching and doing research — the reasons I was attracted to this profession so many years ago.”
Class Action Share your success Editorial Goal The ultimate goal of our websites, e-newsletters and magazine is to share both general and specific information that supports and exemplifies the quality of legal education received at Willamette University College of Law. More to the Story Editors of various college website news feeds and
Liani Reeves ’98, JD’01 named shareholder with Bullard Law
e-newsletters publish information at their discretion depending upon subject matter, space available and editorial goals for the given period of publication. There is no regular editorial schedule or calendar. The types of stories featured in publications may change from year to year based upon a balance of available information, trends or specific marketing/promotional goals of the law school and the university.
Sharing Your News We want to know about your professional successes. Submit an update about your career to willamette.edu/law/ alumni-update or email law-alumni@willamette.edu. Class Action Degree Key JD Juris Doctor. L Non-degreed. LLB
Bachelor of Law (equivalent of JD). LLM Master of Law. MM Master of Management, Master of Administration. MBA Master of Business Administration. H Honorary degree. C Certificate in Dispute Resolution, International and Comparative Law, Law and Government, Law and Business, or Sustainability Law.
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Norma Paulus H’99 recently published a book of her memoirs, “The Only Woman in the Room: The Norma Paulus Story (Women and Politics in the Pacific Northwest).”
Thomas C. Peachey was elected to the Oregon State Bar Board of Governors for Region One.
’69 Edward J. Sullivan was reappointed to the Amicus Curiae and Legislation and Policy committees of the American Planning Association, a nonprofit membership organization of planners and planning officials. ’73 Allen Lyons retired from his adjunct professor position teaching workers’ compensation law at Willamette University College of Law. He continues his private practice at the firm of Lyons Lederer, LLP, in Salem, Oregon. ’74 Mary K. Hughes was reappointed to the University of Alaska Board of Regents, on which she has served since 2002.
Bruce Campbell is chair of the Product Liability National Practice Group at Perkins Coie. ’81 James Horne is chief hearing officer in Washington state, in charge of approximately 50 hearing officers for all lawyer disciplinary hearings in the state. ’82 Brian Witt was selected by his peers for the second time to the 2017 Best Lawyers in America and the 2017 Best Lawyers in the Pacific Northwest for financial services regulation law. He practices with Farleigh Wada Witt in Portland, Oregon. ’83 Rob Sullivan teaches property transactions at Lewis & Clark Law School.
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Chris Lillegard retired from Chris L. Lillegard Attorneys at Law in Dallas, Oregon.
Rebecca Hillyer was elected treasurer of the 2017 Marion County Bar Association Board of Directors.
Bullard Law announced Liani Reeves ’98, JD’01 as a shareholder in April. Working in state government for more than 10 years before joining the office in 2015, Reeves says keeping an open mind and pursuing opportunities for change and challenge have helped her grow. Bullard Law is a boutique labor and employment firm in Portland, Oregon, mainly representing public and governmental clients. “As a shareholder, I have more responsibility in the administration of the firm,” Reeves says. “Diversity and inclusion in hiring is something that is extremely important to me. With this promotion, I have the opportunity to impact the firm’s hiring, and I am very excited about helping to build the next generation of lawyers.” Reeves mentors aspiring lawyers at Willamette Law and other Oregon law schools. She is also active with the Oregon Minority Lawyers Association, the Oregon Asian Pacific American Bar Association and the Oregon State Bar Board of Governors. She appreciates those initiatives for enabling her to build community and work to increase diversity and inclusion within the legal profession. “My professional goals have always been to do meaningful work and to do it to the best of my ability,” she says. “I have not had any specific career path in mind. Rather, I look for opportunities for professional growth and advancement, and I follow them, regardless of whether they were planned or how hard they may seem.” Reeves says the law students she mentors, especially women and minorities, sometimes hesitate to pursue opportunities that seem closed to them due to other people’s stereotypes or judgments. She encourages them to stretch and not let others’ expectations limit their careers — just as she does.
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CLASS ACTION
Gregory P. Razo is vice president of government contracting and leads Cook Inlet Region, Inc.’s efforts pursuing minority-preference, small business contracts in Anchorage, Alaska. ’85 Judge Brock Stiles serves as the Sedro-Woolley Municipal Court judge in Sedro-Woolley, Washington. He continues to practice law at Stiles Law Inc. P.S. in SedroWoolley, handling personal injury, workers’ compensation, estate planning and probate matters. Deborah Periman received the Alaska Bar Association Board of Governors 2016 Distinguished Service Award. Joseph Schierhorn JD/MBA’85, president and CEO of Northrim Bank in Anchorage, Alaska, has been appointed by the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco to a three-year term on the 12th District’s Community Depository Institutions Advisory Council.
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Danny Santos is a member of Southern Oregon University’s Board of Trustees.
Karna Gustafson is vice president of government affairs and legal counsel for the Central Oregon Builders Association in Bend, Oregon.
John Case was elected to the 2017 Marion County Bar Association Board of Directors.
P. Gregory “Greg” Frey continues to manage Hawaii’s largest divorce and family law firm with 10 attorneys and 19 support staff. Judge Daniel Hill was promoted to brigadier general with the Oregon National Guard and will also serve as assistant to the chief counsel of the National Guard Bureau and an advisor to the judge advocate general of the Army. When not on duty, Hill is a Umatilla County Circuit Court judge. ’91 Jim Green joined the Oregon School Boards Association as executive director in January. ’92 Heidi Biggs joined Sky Lakes Medical Center’s board of directors in Klamath Falls, Oregon.
’95 Douglas W. Lytle joined Klinedinst in San Diego as an attorney practicing intellectual property law. Judge Valeri L. Love MBA’92 received the 2016 President’s Membership Service Award from the Oregon State Bar. ’96 Donato B. Masaoy III is an attorney at Goldberg Jones in Portland, Oregon. Steven Williams was promoted by Standard Insurance Company to assistant vice president and associate counsel of Insurance Services Group Legal in Portland, Oregon. Jason Rosen started Rosen Resolution, PLLC, in Seattle with a focus on mediating municipal, personal injury and civil rights claims.
Scott Kauffman is the California chairperson for the National Association of Consumer Advocates and recently spoke at the National Consumer Law Center’s annual Consumer Rights Litigation Conference on the topic of maximizing Magnuson-Moss claims for consumers. He founded California Lemon Lawyers in 2004. Stacie Y. Meisner ’94 joined Samuels Yoelin Kantor LLP as of counsel. Her practice focuses on estate planning, probate, trust and estate administration, and guardianships and conservatorships. Erika Wilson is a partner of Hart Wagner LLP in Redmond, Oregon. She represents medical providers before their licensing boards in addition to focusing on claims of product liability, premises liability, automobile and trucking claims, governmental liability and general liability.
Mark Hoyt JD’92 receives Alumni Award The Willamette University Alumni Association has honored Mark Hoyt JD’92 with one of its 2017 Alumni Awards. At an Alumni Weekend ceremony in September, Hoyt will receive the Lestle J. Sparks Medallion, which recognizes graduates with demonstrated lifetime loyalty and service to Willamette. Hoyt is a partner and practicing attorney with Salem firm Sherman Sherman Johnnie & Hoyt, LLP, representing businesses and individuals in all aspects of complex civil litigation, land development and construction. Hoyt joined Willamette Law’s Board of Visitors in 2003 and has volunteered at the school ever since. He changed the direction of the board in 2014 when the group decided to
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focus on fundraising and alumni engagement as its core purpose. With Hoyt as chair, the board changed its name to the Leadership Cabinet to stress its commitment to advancing the law school’s mission. Hoyt also serves as national chair of the Law Annual Fund. Cecilia Lee JD’86, vice chair of the Leadership Cabinet, says through Hoyt’s efforts and leadership, the group has exceeded its goals for the year. “Mark never seems to refuse a request from the law school. He meets with prospective students and with graduating students searching for employment, he has taught at the law school, and he assists with particular classroom programs on an ad hoc basis,” she says. “Mark’s devotion to the law school defines what it means to serve others.”
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’98 Heather Van Meter JD/MBA’98 was elected to the 2017 Marion County Bar Association Board of Directors. ’00 Larry Linder was elected to the 2017 Marion County Bar Association Board of Directors. ’01 Liani Reeves ’98 was elected to the Oregon State Bar Board of Governors for Region Five. ’02 Deb Lush serves as past president of the 2017 Marion County Bar Association Board of Directors. Vesna Dodge was promoted to vice president and regional manager of the Kennewick, Washington, office of Baker Boyer Bank. Nicole Hancock was selected by Idaho Women Lawyers, Inc., as the 2017 recipient of its Kate Feltham Award. The award recognizes individuals who have made extraordinary efforts to promote equal rights and opportunities for women and minorities within the legal profession and legal justice system in Idaho. Teresa Miller was nominated by Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf in May to serve as the inaugural secretary of the state’s prospective unified Department of Health and Human Services. She has served as insurance commissioner since January 2015. ’03 Casey Hoyer has started a private practice, Hoyer Law Firm, in Lehi, Utah. Reid Okimoto was admitted as a partner at KPMG LLP in Seattle. ’04 Erik Borgen JD/MBA’04 joined WestWater Research, a Boise, Idaho, provider of water marketing, water asset valuation and transaction services, as Northwest regional director. Sam Sears was elected president of the 2017 Marion County Bar Association Board of Directors.
Brian Lathen was elected to the 2017 Marion County Bar Association Board of Directors. ’05 Megan I. Livermore received the 2016 President’s Diversity and Inclusion Award from the Oregon State Bar.
Jonathan Mayes JD’87 appointed chief diversity officer for Albertsons
Melissa Tahir JD/MBA’05 was named partner of Hart Wagner LLP in Portland, Oregon. She concentrates on long-term care defense and medical malpractice defense. ’06 Mia Thibodeau was named a shareholder with Fryberger, Buchanan, Smith & Frederick, P.A., of Duluth, Minnesota. She practices in Minnesota and Wisconsin in the areas of municipal financing, general municipal law, divorce/family law, estate planning, trust and probate. Sarah A. Badten joined Birch Horton Bittner & Cherot in Anchorage, Alaska, in January. ’07 Christopher Carling is an associate at the Oakland, California, firm Kerley Schaffer LLP, where his practice focuses on representing plaintiffs in insurance bad-faith litigation. Larry Barsukoff ’03, JD/MBA’07 joined JW Industries Group as chief operations officer and senior vice president. He is also the company’s general counsel. Annie L. Robertson was elected a shareholder of Lane Powell in Portland, Oregon, where she concentrates on mergers and acquisitions, securities, corporate finance and governance, venture capital and private equity investments, and fund formation.
Albertsons Cos., the parent organization of Safeway and other grocery stores, named Jonathan Mayes JD’87 its senior vice president of external affairs and chief diversity officer in March. Mayes has worked for Safeway and Albertsons since 1994. Mayes will still have responsibility as senior vice president of government relations, sustainability/corporate social responsibility and philanthropy. Albertsons Cos. employs more than 276,000 people in 35 states and Washington, D.C. “The opportunity is to grow diversity and inclusion within the company so that in every store, office, manufacturing facility, distribution center and department, our employees reflect the rich diversity of the communities we serve,” Mayes says. Paul Rowan JD’84, retired executive vice president and general counsel for Albertsons, says, “Jonathan has a unique ability to bring groups together to discuss the important issues and then put a plan in place to achieve results.” Mayes says his goal in getting a legal education at Willamette Law was to become an effective advocate for people.
Maria Schmidlkofer’s firm Willamette Valley Estate Planning and Probate, LLC, joined with Schwabe, Williamson & Wyatt. She continues to focus on estate planning.
“I received excellent training for which I am forever grateful,” Mayes says. “In many ways, my new position is an extension of advocacy work I’ve been doing for many years.”
’08
“Great people are at the core of any great enterprise,” he says, “so recruiting and developing really talented people to serve our customers and our communities is key.”
Daniel Rice was elected vice president of the 2017 Marion County Bar Association Board of Directors.
As chief diversity officer, Mayes aims to expand mentoring programs and management training for women and people of color.
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CLASS ACTION
Order in the Court
Stephens
Holbrook
Broyles
Corey
Prall
Swanger
McAllister
Richardson
York
Alaska Alaska Chief Justice Craig Stowers reappointed Judge Trevor N. Stephens ’81, JD’85 as presiding judge for the First Judicial District in Ketchikan, Alaska, in December 2016. The appointment is a one-year term, eligible for reappointment. Stephens has served on the Superior Court since 2000, formerly practicing law privately and working as an assistant public defender, assistant district attorney and district attorney for Ketchikan.
Colorado Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper appointed Judge Sharon Holbrook JD’01 as district judge for the District Court in the 17th Judicial District, effective October 2016. Holbrook previously served as a District Court magistrate, completing rotations in the domestic, criminal, civil and juvenile divisions.
Oregon Judge Audrey Broyles ’85, JD’88 was elected to the Marion County Circuit Court in November 2016, with an investiture ceremony in January. Previously, Broyles served as a hearings referee and judge pro tem for the court. She filled a vacancy created by the retirement of Judge Dale Penn.
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The Dalles City Council unanimously chose Jason Corey JD’94 as the city’s new municipal court judge in April. Corey is a partner and continues to practice law at Dick, Dick & Corey, which focuses on probate and estate planning, family, business, real estate and criminal cases. Thomas Balmer, chief justice of the Oregon Supreme Court, appointed Judge Tracy Prall JD’95 presiding judge for Marion County Circuit Court for 2017. Former Gov. Ted Kulongoski appointed Prall to the court in 2008, and she was reelected in 2014, with her term expiring at the end of 2020.
Washington Judge James Swanger JD’79 retired from the Clark County District Court in February. The Clark County Bar Association gave him its Lifetime Achievement Award that same month. Swanger was appointed to the Clark County District Court in 1999 as commissioner and in 2005 as judge. County commissioners for Pacific County appointed Nancy (Veltkamp) McAllister JD/MBA’87 judge for the South District Court in December 2016. She replaced Judge Douglas Goelz, who was elected to the Pacific County Superior Court. McAllister’s term expires in 2018. Kristin Richardson JD’89 was elected to the King County Superior Court in Seattle and joined the bench in January. She filled
Sleight
the vacancy left by retiring Judge Bruce Heller. Before her election, Richardson served on the criminal and civil rotations for the King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office for 27 years. Judge Matt York JD’02 was chosen unanimously by King County Council to fill a judicial vacancy in King County Southeast District Court. He was sworn in April 10. He previously worked for the City of Seattle as a senior assistant prosecuting attorney and senior precinct liaison attorney. Prior to this, he worked as a deputy prosecuting attorney for King County and served as a pro tem judge for King County and the cities of Kent, Kirkland, Issaquah, Des Moines and Federal Way. Judge Chad Sleight JD’03 succeeded retiring Judge James Swanger on the Clark County District Court in March. He was unanimously appointed by the Clark County Council. He previously worked as a criminal defense attorney for his own practice and served as a judge pro tem for the District Court.
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Shannon Snow was elected to the 2017 Marion County Bar Association Board of Directors. Kattarina Simons is a tax review officer/administrative law judge for the Washington State Department of Revenue. ’09 Brook Reinhard is executive director of Public Defender Services of Lane County, Inc., in Eugene, Oregon. Andrew J. (Drew) Diener continues to practice with Musgrove Drutz Kack & Flack, a full-service, AV-rated law firm in Prescott, Arizona. He works primarily in the areas of domestic relations and probate. David M. Goldthorpe was appointed by Oregon Gov. Kate Brown as Malheur County District Attorney. He started in January.
’10 Russ Getchell was elected secretary of the 2017 Marion County Bar Association Board of Directors. Rafael Colin ’03 is an administrative prosecutor for the Bureau of Labor and Industries, where he was previously a training and development specialist.
Renée Rothauge JD’90 named to Top 25 Women of Influence list
Katelyn Skinner joined Buckley Law, P.C., as an associate attorney in the family law group. ’11 Erin Dawson was elected to the 2017 Marion County Bar Association Board of Directors. ’12 Erin Morris is an associate attorney with Gearing, Rackner & McGrath, a family law firm in Portland, Oregon. ’14
Lindsey (Burton) Schultz JD/ MBA’09 was appointed to the board of directors for the Association of Corporate Counsel, Colorado Chapter. She also serves as treasurer for the organization.
Colin McMahon was appointed by the Washington State Bar Board of Governors to a three-year term as the Snohomish County representative on the Washington Young Lawyers Committee.
Kristie Gibson was elected to the Oregon State Bar House of Delegates for Region Two. She is serving as chair-elect of the Oregon State Bar Corporate Counsel Section.
Andrea Turner joined Reynolds Law Firm in Corvallis, Oregon, where she practices family and appellate law. Allie C. Overton joined Gevurtz Menashe in Portland, Oregon, where she focuses on general family law.
Online Calendar Stay up-to-date on all of the latest Willamette Law happenings from receptions to reunions to symposiums and more. Find our online event calendar at
willamette.edu/law/events
Regional alumni events are regularly held in cities such as Salem, Portland, Bend, Seattle, Olympia, Tacoma, Los Angeles, Salt Lake City, Reno, Honolulu and Anchorage. Visit the online alumni calendar for details at
willamette.edu/law/alumni/events
The Portland Business Journal announced its 2017 Top 25 Women of Influence in April, and Renée Rothauge JD’90 made the list. The PBJ chose the 25 women committed to service and business from a field of 250 nominations. Rothauge is a shareholder at Markowitz Herbold in Portland, Oregon, where she tries high-stakes, complex business disputes. Ranked as one of the Top 25 Oregon Women Super Lawyers and one of the Top 50 Oregon Super Lawyers for more than 10 years, she is also a fellow in the American College of Trial Lawyers. According to Rothauge, Willamette Law prepared her for a trial practice with its outstanding evidence professors, such as Don Turner and Judge Robert E. Jones, and mock trial opportunities. With Willamette so close in proximity to the Oregon Department of Justice, Rothauge was able to work as a law clerk for both the appellate and trial divisions, where she “learned the art of advocacy from some of the finest lawyers in Oregon.” In 2014, Rothauge and fellow Markowitz Herbold shareholder Lisa Kaner founded the Rothauge & Kaner Women’s Trial Academy — the first of its kind in the U.S. — to help female litigators across Oregon build trial skills. Rothauge received the Oregon State Bar’s President’s Membership Service Award in 2014 for starting the academy and supporting women’s opportunities to try cases. Rothauge is also involved with Pipeline Angels, an all-women angel investors group that provides capital for female entrepreneurs. She believes it is important to have more women in business, from starting companies to running them. “I attribute much of my success to having built a multimillion-dollar business around my personal brand,” Rothauge says. “It is the thing of which I am most proud.”
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CLASS ACTION
’15
’16
Jonathan Grindell passed the Washington Bar Exam and moved to the state to practice public defense.
Abby Fitts joined the Employment Law and Litigation practice group with Saalfeld Griggs, PC, in Salem, Oregon.
Christopher Day joined Washoe County, Nevada, as a deputy district attorney.
Corrections
Rachel Staines joined Fetherston Edmonds in Salem, Oregon, as an attorney. Christina Andreoni is a corporate attorney at Alta Planning + Design, Inc., in Portland, Oregon.
In the Fall 2016 Willamette Lawyer Class Action section, Judge Joshua F. Grant JD’75 was mistakenly identified as having served 15 years as a judge in Lincoln County, Oregon, rather than Lincoln County, Washington. Judge Grant is currently practicing law as a sole practitioner in elder law, in Wilbur, Washington.
In Memoriam Faculty and Staff Mary Edith Gilbertson, 91, passed away on Sept. 10, 2016. Born in Washington, D.C., she graduated from Northwestern University and married Gordon Gilbertson in 1947, later moving to Oregon. She started working at Willamette’s Hatfield Library in 1968. When her children were grown, she received her master’s degree in library science from the University of Oregon and became a librarian in the College of Law Library in 1975. She worked
there until her retirement in 2000. She is survived by two children, five grandchildren and one great-grandson. Paul Frisch, 67, passed away on Jan. 28, 2017. Frisch was an adjunct professor at Willamette Law. See article on p.5. ’53 Meredith “Van” Van Valkenburgh, 88, passed away on Aug. 16, 2016. He grew up in Deer Creek, Oklahoma, and married Delores Hatcher in 1950 after meeting her at the University of Oklahoma. He
Political Report Ray Baum JD’83 was appointed staff director of the House Energy and Commerce Committee by U.S. Rep. Greg Walden in December 2016. The committee has broad jurisdiction over health care, energy and telecommunications policy.
The Stump Baum
Buckley
Goodwin
In the 2016 elections, several Willamette Law graduates ran for positions in Oregon and Washington and on the national level. Washington Gov. Jay Inslee JD’76 ran for reelection and defeated Republican Bill Bryant with 56 percent of the vote.
Helm
Inslee
Murkowski
Rich Vial JD’81 ran for election to the Oregon House of Representatives in District 26, which serves the Clackamas County area in the state’s northwest region. He defeated Democrat Ray Lister. Vial will replace State Rep. John Davis JD’09, R-Wilsonville, who decided not to seek re-election. U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) JD’85 was reelected to the Senate with 44 percent of the vote after defeating several opponents. State Rep. Ken Helm ‘87, JD’93 ran for reelection to the Oregon House of Representatives in District 34, which serves the northern Beaverton area in the state’s northwest region. He defeated Independent Donald Hershiser to win the race.
Rayfield
Vial
Willis
Political Influence Stephen H. Buckley JD’80 was nominated by Oregon Gov. Kate Brown and confirmed by the Oregon Senate to serve a three-year term as a member of the Oregon Public Employees Retirement Board. The five-member board administers the Oregon Public Employees Retirement System, which provides retirement benefits for approximately 95 percent of Oregon’s public employees.
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State Rep. Daniel A. Rayfield JD’06 was reelected to the Oregon House of Representatives in District 16, comprised of Corvallis and Philomath in the state’s western region. Jeffrey D. Goodwin JD/MBA’12 campaigned for the Oregon House of Representatives in District 17, which serves the Linn County area in the state’s central region. He lost to incumbent Sherrie Sprenger. Colm Willis JD’15 received 43 percent of the vote but lost his race for the U.S. House of Representatives, Oregon District 5 seat. The district is comprised of Oregon’s central coast through Salem, north to the southern Portland suburbs, and east to the summit of Mount Hood. Incumbent Kurt Schrader won with 54 percent of the vote.
CLASS ACTION
graduated from Willamette University College of Law in 1953 and moved to The Dalles to work with his brother-in-law, who was then district attorney. He practiced law there for more than six decades, continuing to practice up until a few months before his death. He is survived by his wife, Delores, three brothers and sisters, five children, six grandchildren and many nieces and nephews. ’55 Judge Richard D. “Dick” Barber, 88, passed away on Dec. 5, 2016, just six months after the death of his wife, Sallie Sue. He grew up in Salem, Oregon, and served two years in the U.S. Navy. After completing a bachelor’s degree at the University of Oregon in 1952, he received his law degree from Willamette in 1955. After working at Salem Title Company and then practicing law privately for 15 years, he was appointed to the bench in 1974. He served as a circuit court judge in Marion County until his retirement in 2003. He held the distinction of being the only circuit judge to preside in every county in Oregon. He also performed more than 5,000 weddings during his career. He is survived by his five children and several grandchildren and great-grandchildren. ’58 Robert E. “Bob” Thompson, 88, passed away on Jan. 2, 2017, in Reno, Nevada. He lived most of his life in Oregon, graduating with a degree in forestry from Oregon State University in 1950 and with a law degree from Willamette University College of Law in 1958. He practiced law in Beaverton for 40 years and was named the city’s “First Citizen” in 1968. Bob loved Oregon and the outdoors and enjoyed camping with his family in the Cascades. He also volunteered time with the Oregon State Bar, Portland Community College and AARP. He is survived by six children, three stepchildren, 17 grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.
’78 Judge Christy Cufley, 63, passed away on Nov. 11, 2016, after fighting a courageous battle with breast cancer. She grew up in Seattle, graduated from Willamette Law in 1978, and spent her professional and volunteer career in public service. She worked as an administrative law judge for the state of Washington, served as a judge pro tempore for almost 10 years and upon early retirement represented unemployment appeal claimants. Throughout her career, her primary goal was to ensure the claimants and defendants not only had a fair hearing, but felt that it had been fair. She is survived by her three children, Travis Jo, Colin and Kimberly, as well as her granddaughters, Harper and Mabel, and steadfast companion and love of eight years, Ron Buxton.
Centrella receives WUPILP’s Raising the Bar award
’87 Carol Barker, 61, passed away on March 21, 2017, due to complications from a severe spinal cord injury suffered more than 40 years ago. Carol grew up in Walla Walla, Washington, and was the eldest of five children. As a result of a sledding accident in 1975, Carol used a wheelchair. Undaunted, she graduated from Whitman College in 1981 and taught middle school for several years. After moving to Salem, she earned her JD from Willamette Law in 1987. She worked for the Oregon Court of Appeals and then opened a private practice focusing on the Americans with Disabilities Act. Carol was very active with her church, Salem Alliance, leading Bible studies for more than 25 years and authoring nearly 40 Bible study guides. She is survived by her parents, siblings and many nieces, nephews and other extended family, as well as her many caregivers. ’11 Krystl (Mitchell) Murphy, 32, passed away unexpectedly on Feb. 28, 2017, due to a cyst erupting on her brain. At the time of her death, she was working as an assistant attorney general in Washington. She is survived by her husband of nearly three years, Mark Murphy, and many family and friends.
At the 25th annual Bid for Justice Auction in March, the Willamette University Public Interest Law Project (WUPILP) presented its Raising the Bar award to Jeremiah Centrella JD’07. The award recognizes Willamette Law alumni who are dedicated to public interest law. Centrella began working for Mercy Corps, an international aid agency, in 2010 and was named general counsel in July 2016. Alicia LeDuc JD’17 helped nominate Centrella for the award after working for him at Mercy Corps as a WUPILP fellow in 2015. “I have great admiration for the work he does and his dedication to the organization’s mission and impact,” LeDuc says. “I don’t think a person could do what Jeremiah does — nearly nonstop, on a local and international scale — if they didn’t have their heart, as well as their mind, in the work. He’s clearly committed.” As general counsel, Centrella is Mercy Corps’ chief legal officer, head of its legal department and part of its global executive leadership team. He advises on issues ranging from complex social venture investments to compliance with U.S. counterterrorism laws for operations in places like Syria and Somalia. In addition, he serves on the boards for several groups, including InsideNGO, the trade organization representing the operational side of over 300 international non-governmental organizations. In a letter nominating Centrella, Barnes H. Ellis, senior legal counsel for Mercy Corps, said Centrella “is widely respected within the agency and within the broader NGO community. He is clearly someone of whom Willamette should be immensely proud.” Centrella says he was thankful to be chosen for the award. “WUPILP’s ethos of tireless support for others is inspiring. So are the students it supports,” Centrella says. “Mercy Corps shares this ethos. I am grateful to be selected for the Raising the Bar award, but I can’t wait to see what good in the world the students engaged in WUPILP can accomplish.” Photo courtesy Igor Shapiro
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Honor Roll 2016–17 Willamette University College of Law is grateful to every donor who makes our law school a philanthropic priority. The support we receive from our alumni and friends has real impact in the education of our law students. Together, we ensure that today’s law students are well-educated and well-positioned to find professional success in the future.
Rebecca L. Coleman Lerback and Jens R. Lerback
Richard R. Neilson JD’83 and Kathryn L. Hall
Ronald L. JD’72 and Linda R. Coleman ’73
Roscoe C. JD’73 and Debra Nelson
We are honored to recognize our community of donors for their generous support of the College of Law between Jan. 1, 2016, and May 31, 2017.
Paul J. JD’75 and Mary S. De Muniz
Marie E. Colmey JD’89
C
Mary D. JD’85 and Carl A. Del Balzo C
Thomas H. Denney JD’66 Robert L. JD’66 and Carolyn A. Engle Brian C. Erb JD’89
Visionary $25,000+
A.R. Grant LLB’64
Robin O. JD/MBA’83 and Barbara Brena
Mark C. Hoyt JD’92 and Maggie Hudson
Maribeth Collins
Peter T. Kashiwa JD’79 and Jill A. Nakagawa-Kashiwa
T
James R. Dyke JD’66 Melvin Henderson-Rubio ’74
T
Kenneth D. JD’80 and Claudia J. Peterson
Keith W. ’65, JD’68 and Linda Lovett ’67
Louis T. Giaquinto JD’89 Douglas E. JD’81 and Jennifer L. Goe Cody Gregg JD’19 Randall JD’81 and Julie A. Grove
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Michael D. Haight JD’95
Mike JD’68 and Marcia A. Rodgers
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John D. JD’87 and Mary R. Hawkins
Cherida C. Smith ’72
Peter C. JD’88 and Megan C. Sheridan JD’88
Dale M. ’65, JD’69 and Allen R Hermann ’65
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Sustainer $10,000–$24,999
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Ron ’56, JD’61 and R Gayle Hershberger R
Pioneer $2,500–$4,999
Ronald R. ’71, JD’74 and Barbara A. Pinckney Daniel P. Santos JD’86 and R Beth Graham R
Joseph M. JD/MBA’85 and Nancy J. Schierhorn JD’86 Bonnie Serkin JD’78 and William H. Emery
Russell D. JD’88 and Margaret C. Garrett C
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Douglas S. JD’81 and Janice R. Parker ’77
June A. Smith JD’82 and Kenneth A. Schwartz W. Ron Stone LLB’64 and R Laarni P. Gonzales R
Charles J. L’67 and Caroline H. Swindells Yvonne A. Tamayo Julie R. Vacura JD’84 and Whitney P. Boise JD’85 Edgar W. Van Valkenburg JD’78 and Turid L. Owren
Daniel J. JD’81 and Kathleen S. Hess
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Richard B. ’77, JD’80 and Pamela A. Borgman
David A. JD’07 and Erin Drinkward
Henry H. JD’69 and R Sharon C. Hewitt
David P. Weiner JD’72 and Teresa J. Spada
Marcia Graham
Eva M. Kripalani JD’86
Karin Holma JD’89
Michael B. Wise
John L. JD’74 and Arlene L. Murdock
Lester R. JD’70 and Claudia M. Huntsinger
Keliang Zhu JD’00 and Hongxia Xiao MBA’04
Susan T. Alterman JD’86
C
J.D. Bennett JD’71
James Barrett
TC
Elizabeth J. Large JD’96 and Blaine Morley T
Cecilia Lee JD’86 and Peter Lenz C
Robert J. Lytle
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Timothy R. JD’76 and Mary A. Osborn Frank D. ’53, JD’55 and Nancy P. Riebe Lynn E. Ristig JD/MBA’85 and Craig H. Shrontz JD’81 T
Michael J. Ryan JD’02 and Joe Montiel
Roderick C. JD’80 and Carol M. Wendt T
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and
Founder $5,000–$9,999 Curtis Bridgeman and Elizabeth King C
Terrence M. Finney LLB’62 and Lenore F. Rice
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Norma J. Paulus LLB’62
E
Jeffrey C. JD’79 and Janice T. Thede C
Li JD’97 and Lily Wei
Faith Ireland JD’69 John A. ’60, JD’64 and Suzanne Jelderks
Member $1,000–$2,499
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Dina E. Alexander JD’96
Anthony L. Larson JD’00
David J. JD’81 and Ruth E. Arthur
Eric B. Lindauer JD’66
Donna L. Barnett JD’05
John H. JD’74 and Anne C. Ludwick
Keith J. ’69, JD’73 and Madge ’69 Bauer
Douglas A. JD’85 and Sherrey Luetjen
C
Paul L. JD’69 and Mary E. Stritmatter
Martin R. Wolf ’57, LLB’60 Francesca Barattucci
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C
Wendi Warren H.W. Binford and Christopher A. Ross Mark E. Birge JD’78 and Tenley N. Webb Frank J. Bothwell JD’76 and Linda Becker-Bothwell
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Jon B. JD’66 and Rosiland D. Lund James C. JD’53 and Joann E. Maletis James L. JD’76 and Lynn A. Maxwell James A. JD’65 and Kay McClaskey D
Albert A. JD’76 and Julie Menashe
Robert W. JD’80 and Susan K. Burns
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Wallace P. JD’62 and Gloria Carson
Gary A. Morean JD’81
Richard S. JD’65 and Maria Ciceric
Rudolph M. JD’75 and Anita A. Murgo
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$500-999 Sheena R. Aebig JD’76 and Eric W. Taylor Sarah E. Akinaka JD’03 Carl R. JD’85 and Tami Amala Karen M. Art JD’85 Jean B. Avison
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Baron C. JD’91 and Brenda L. Bartel Robert P. JD’90 and Rhonda M. Brouillard Mark L. JD’70 and Margaret M. Bubenik Dean JD’66 and Judy E. Buffington Virginia V. JD/MBA’80 and Giles H. Burgess Donald A. LLB’53 and Judy E. Buss Theodore C. JD’60 and Alzora Carlstrom
HONOR ROLL 2016–17
Jeremiah W. Centrella JD’07
David M. LLB’63 and Lee Hollingsworth
Lauren and Matthew Murdoch
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Ronald C. JD’79 and Dorinda A. Holloway
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George H. JD’75 and Kathy Hoselton
Mark L. DeLapp JD’83
James D. JD’81 and Lindsey H. Hughes JD’81
Brett E. Engel JD’95 and Theresa K. Fuchs
Burgundy N. Featherkile ’59 and David G. Baldwin William J. JD’78 and Abigail Fleming R
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P. Gregory JD’86 and Maria F. Frey R
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Dallas L. Graham
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Douglas S. JD’68 and Katherine Green Wally ’55, JD’57 and Virginia L. Gutzler W.E. JD’74 and Mary Hallman Susan M. Hammer JD’76 and R Lee Kelly ER
Scott A. JD’96 and Schnell B. Hart Alayna Herr JD’12
Lori A. Oliver JD/MBA’95
Kerry R. ’81, JD’84 and Rebecca J. Tymchuk ’81
Jeffrey A. Ostomel JD’79 and Connie Steinheimer JD’79
Eric B. JD’77 and Carolanne C. Watness
Audrey P. ’62 and Albyn Pearn
David A. JD’72 and Susan L. Webber
Clifford L. Peterson JD’81
Stephen R. Wegener MM’93, JD’95
Art and Mary James
Travis S. JD’00 and Kendell Prestwich
Douglas J. LLB’58 and Denise White
Christopher P. Jennings JD’79 and Ann M. Vandeman
Shelby Radcliffe and Thad Russell
Benjamin J. JD’12 and C Lucy M. Jensen JD’12, MBA’14
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William P. JD’69 and Barbara S. Hutchison
Ernest E. JD’76 and Evangeline E. Estes
Kirk S. MM’93, JD’95 and Valerie Tracey
Douglas C. JD’82 and Beth Kirkpatrick
Julie E. JD’98 and Sean Ragsdale
Charese A. Rohny JD’95 and Jonah Edelman
Ted Kulongoski and Mary Oberst
Michael R. JD’80 and Mary A. Sandoval
Kenneth R. JD’74 and Marlyn K. Marble
Norman J. Smith JD’72 James O. JD’69 and Jane L. Smyser
Jonathan O. JD’87 and Varetta P. Mayes
Tony J. JD’90 and Patrice R. Steenkolk
Benjamin G. ’61, JD’63 and R Beverly J. McBride R
James Sullivan JD’18
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C Leadership Cabinet E Life Trustee Emeriti R R.A. Booth Society T Trustee D Deceased Every effort was made to ensure the accuracy and completeness of this report. Please contact Rebecca Lerback, director of development, at 503-370-6837, with any questions or concerns.
Less debt, more opportunity: Jim Dyke JD’66 establishes James and Eleanor Dyke Law Scholarship
Dyke
Prompted by his golden anniversary reunion and his desire to set a philanthropic example for members of his class to follow, Jim Dyke JD’66 gave $100,000 to establish the James and Eleanor Dyke Law Scholarship. He wanted to help students committed to leadership, teamwork and service to graduate with less debt and more opportunity.
Dyke came to Willamette Law in 1963, at the beginning of the Vietnam War. He’d received his undergraduate degree in political science from the University of Washington and, with a deferment from the draft to continue his education, decided to attend law school. “Willamette’s small school and community attracted me — and I was not disappointed,” Dyke says. “You could feel the electricity on the campus, the Supreme Court across the street and the legislature down the street. Everything I envisioned was right there — law, government and politics.” Dyke studied diligently, clerking with the Public Utility Commissioner and joining the Law Review. To reduce stress, he played industrial league basketball with classmates Judge John Jelderks ’60, JD’64 and Ted Gooding ’62, JD’65.
“I enjoyed law school; for all the pressures, it provided unparalleled opportunities for its students,” Dyke says. “The dean and faculty were very helpful as we faced the draft, military service and an uncertain future.” When he passed the bar, Dyke reported to Newport, Rhode Island, to begin Naval indoctrination and Naval Justice School to become a Judge Advocate General. He was released from active duty in 1969 and continued in the Navy Reserve for 25 years, retiring as a captain. For three years, he worked for the Internal Revenue Service in San Francisco before moving to Stockton, California, with his wife, Eleanor, and two children. Dyke has practiced there with Neumiller & Beardslee since 1973, focusing on estate planning and trusts and probate administration. Eleanor passed away in 2013, and he says the gift for the scholarship was a good way to honor her support throughout his legal career, as well as assert his affection for the school. “This scholarship was created because of the opportunities I received as a student and graduate of Willamette,” Dyke says. “I pick two ingredients for a successful legal career. You should enjoy competition — life is a series of competitions. The other ingredient is teamwork. Most of us do not succeed alone.”
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Scene of the Crime
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1 Portland Alumni and Admitted Student Reception at Markowitz Herbold May 3, 2017
[1] Laurie Doucet-Normandin JD’20, Jason Shandler JD’20, Will Fruhwirth (associate director of admissions) Mikayla Frei JD’20 and Sara Gomez (guest). [2] Aaron Reichenberger JD’14 (co-chair of Portland Law Alumni Network) and Mary Del Balzo JD’85 (Law Leadership Cabinet member). [3] James Meiers JD’15, Jack Dekovich JD’12 and Gabe Lee JD’16.
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[4] Phylis Myles (assistant dean for placement) and Thomas Miller JD’79. [5] Taylor Hurwitz JD’20, Kerry Shepherd JD’89 and Janel Hill (guest). [6] Janna M. Giesbrecht-McKee JD’14 (host at Markowitz Herbold), Scott Rennie JD’14 (co-chair of Portland Law Alumni Network) and Layla McLean JD’14.
End of the Year BBQ April 28, 2017
[1] Natasha Torres JD’19 speaks with Willamette MBA representatives about the JD/MBA program that is a partnership between Law and the Atkinson Graduate School of Management.
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[2] Law students and Dean Curtis Bridgeman enjoy the rain-free evening by eating their burgers outside.
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[3] Law Professor Steve Green fills his plate at the End of the Year BBQ put on by the Student Bar Association.
SCENE OF THE CRIME
1 Bandon Alumni Retreat May 19-21, 2017
Mark Hoyt JD’92, Dean Curtis Bridgeman, Marie Colmey JD’89 and Roscoe Nelson JD’73 enjoy a golfing retreat for law alumni at the coastal Bandon Dunes Golf Resort in southern Oregon.
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3 Day of Thanking
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April 4, 2017
[1] Brooke Boyes JD’18 works on a thank-you card to a Willamette Law donor.
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Salem Alumni and Admitted Student Reception at Illahe Hills Country Club
[3] Rebecca Larson JD’19 and Jackie Steeh JD’19 work on their thank-you cards.
May 17, 2017
[1] Megan Kriz (guest), Katherine Denning JD’12, Michael Chartrey JD’12, Alayna Herr JD’12 and Melodye Mac Alpine (associate dean for student affairs and administration).
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[2] Kasandra Vo JD’18 writes a Law donor a thank-you card to celebrate the Day of Thanking.
[2] Morgan Thompson JD’20 and Mark Hoyt JD’92 (chair of Law Leadership Cabinet).
[3] Dean Curtis Bridgeman and Robert Jackson JD’83. [4] Breanna Thompson JD’15, Brianna Wellman JD’15, Suzanne Johnson JD’19 and Lisa Norris Lampe JD’95.
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NONPROFIT ORG US Postage PAID Salem, OR Permit No.152
College of Law 900 State Street Salem, OR 97301 CHANGE SERVICE REQUESTED
Santos Scholarship Will Create Willamette Legacy Daniel P. Santos JD’86, and his wife, Beth Graham, appreciate the difference that Willamette University College of Law has made in their lives. When Danny’s classmates started the Daniel P. Santos Law Scholarship in his honor, Danny and Beth were humbled and wanted to help the endowment grow. “Including a provision for the Daniel P. Santos Law Scholarship in our estate plans was easy to do, and we were pleased to do it,” Danny says. “Beth and I had long careers in the public sector. The best way we can make a sizable gift
that’s meaningful to us is through a bequest.” Danny and Beth feel fortunate to remain connected to Willamette, including as members of the R.A. Booth Society, the university’s legacy giving society. They also enjoy meeting current recipients of
the Santos Scholarship, like third-year student Felipe Rendón. “Knowing Felipe keeps our investment in Willamette personal and relevant,” adds Danny. “It feels good to know future generations will benefit similarly.”
Leaving a gift to the College of Law through your will or trust is a simple way to make a huge impact on the next generation of Willamette Law students. For more information, contact Cathy McCann Gaskin JD’02 in the Office of Gift Planning at 503-370-6492 or email cmccann@willamette.edu.