With more than 20 years of experience, I have represented clients in construction ?defect and housing ?accessibility claims, with an emphasis on claims involving ?design defects by architects and engineers. I've ?defended design professionals ?against professional malpractice claims and drafted professional service ??contracts to minimize the risk of construction disputes and meet the needs of ?specific design disciplines and ?projects. In addition, I've litigated nearly two dozen ?Fair Housing Act and Americans with Disabilities Act claims ?in federal and state ?courts and agencies.?With a strong industry background representing public utilities and industries in ?state and ?federal regulatory matters, I represent both private and public clients ?before the Bonneville ?Power Administration, the Federal Energy Regulatory ?Commission, and the Oregon Public ?Utilities Commission. ?I also assist with ?transactions between private interests and investor-owned and publicly owned ??utilities, including negotiating power purchase agreements involving renewable ?energy resources ?and conventional energy resources. ?My professional clients rely on me to advocate for them when their livelihood is ?on the line. I've ?represented numerous clients before regulatory boards-?including the Oregon Board of Architect ?Examiners, Oregon Board of Examiners ?for Engineering, and the Oregon Electrical and Elevator Board-in ?contested case ?hearings, appeals, and negotiated settlements.?In-house perspective to help meet and outperform expectationsI am a former in-house counsel to a publicly owned electrical, water and ?wastewater utility ?company. My in-house experience helps makes me a more ?effective advocate. I understand and ?appreciate our client's business priorities, ?challenges, what they value in our approach, and how ?to leverage this experience ?to meet or exceed expectations.?

Bar Admissions

• Oregon State Courts
• Washington State Courts

Education

• Willamette University College of Law, Juris Doctor degree, cum laude (1991)
• Warner Pacific College, Bachelor of Arts degree (1986)

Significant Accomplishments

• Successfully represented a large investor-owned utility in complex federal litigation over the constitutionality of a city franchise ordinance.
• Briefed and argued Grays Harbor PUD v. Idaho Power Company (9th Cir. 2004), one of the first cases arising from the 2000-2001 West Coast Energy Crises to reach the federal appellate courts, and obtained a favorable remand.
• Advised a large investor-owned utility in ongoing efforts by cities to form municipal utilities and condemn utility facilities.
• Tried numerous court litigations and administrative contested cases as first chair, including matters before state and federal courts and professional licensing boards such as the Oregon Board of Architect Examiners and the Oregon Electricians Board.
• Drafted and negotiated hundreds of architectural, engineering and construction contracts and subcontracts, including custom forms based on specific client needs and knowledge of AIA design and construction forms.
• Advise design professionals in areas of business organization, including matters of state incorporation and professional licensing and drafting of corporate documents.

• Extrinsic Evidence-The Modern Use of the Parol Evidence Rule
• OP-ED: Review of Design Professional Liability for Construction Site Safety
• OP-ED: Design-Build Pitfalls for Owners, contractors and Design Professionals
• Does OR COVID-19 Emergency Extensions Give Time to Notice, Perfect, and Foreclose Construction Liens?
• OP-ED: Design Professional Standard of Care in Rapidly Changing Times
• Op-Ed: Pitfalls for Design Businesses Amid Promotion on the Internet
• OP-ED: Standard Form Construction Contracts: Uses and Misuses
• OP-ED: Construction documents: Know what to keep and what to toss
• OP-ED: At what point must a developer hire an architect?
• A New Wrinkle Affecting Construction Defect Battles
• Contractor House of Horrors: What to do When Subs go Bad
• Don't Panic if Licensing Board Starts to Dig

Seminar

• Oregon Energy Forum: Are You Prepared for the Clean Energy Funding Wave?
• DJC Oregon Builder Breakfast Series: PAE Living Building: Lessons Learned from the First
• Oregon Construction Law: The Design Persepctive on Traditional Design-Bid-Build and Design-Build
• Oregon Construction Law: The Design Perspective on Traditional Design-Bid-Build and Design-Build
• The Owner/Architect Relationship