How I represent clients at Schwabe
With over 40 years of experience advising large, midsize, and small businesses, my practice focuses on agricultural and food processing clients throughout the Washington and Oregon area. As a seasoned advocate, I provide counsel on corporate and commercial matters, real estate transactions, estate law, and estate planning. My decades of service as a legal counsel to major food producers and manufacturers allow me to have a deeper understanding of the dairy, fruit, vegetable, and meat industries.
I negotiate, draft, and review contracts as well as industry-specific matters such as liens, financial reorganizations, and contracts with customers, vendors, and suppliers. I also have experience in commercial transactions involving crops and livestock, food products, and heavy equipment.
Experience
- Experience with commercial transactions involving the manufacture, distribution, and sale of finished consumer goods, in particular food and crops.
- Experience with food product recalls and class action lawsuits for food and agricultural products. Helps limit liabilities while minimizing business constraints.
- Negotiated, drafted, and reviewed contracts and related documents in general business matters and industry-specific areas, such as food processing and equipment manufacturing.
- Assisted with regulatory issues, notably compliance with workplace safety.
- Represented clients before many government agencies, including the Federal Wage and Hour Division, Oregon Bureau of Labor and Industry, Oregon OSHA, Oregon Insurance Division, and Oregon Licensing Boards and Commissions.
Education
- Northwestern School of Law, Lewis & Clark College, Juris Doctor degree, cum laude (1981)
- University of Denver, Bachelor of Arts degree (1978)
Admissions
- Oregon State Courts
- Washington State Courts
- U.S. Court of Appeals - Ninth Circuit
- U.S. District Court - District of Oregon
- U.S. Tax Courts
- U.S. Supreme Court
Memberships
- Oregon State Bar Association, member (1981-present)
- Oregon State Bar Committee on Uniform Civil Jury Instructions, former Committee Chair
- Washington State Bar Association, member (2007-present)
- American Public Transit Association Legal Affairs Committee, member
- Food and Drug Law Institute, member
- Mid-Willamette Valley Estate Planning Council, former member and former President
Awards
- AV Preeminent Peer Review Rated with Martindale Hubbell
- Hearts and Hammers Award 2011, Habitat for Humanity Mid-Willamette Valley, for volunteer service on the board of directors and on the construction site
Services
Community Activities
- Mid-Willamette Valley Habitat for Humanity, former member of the Board of Directors and former President (as well as, more importantly, job site construction volunteer) (2009-2017)
- Oregon Business and Industry (formerly Associated Oregon Industries), former member of the Board of Directors, Executive Committee, and former Chairman of the Board (1994-2008)
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