Combining real-world construction experience with legal know-how, I help ?contractors find practical solutions to complex ?problems. Before attending law ?school, I earned a degree in Construction Management and worked as a ?construction ?manager for two large commercial contractors and the world's ?largest aerospace company. As a result, I can ?understand the business realities ?clients face daily.?Practical solutions and client ownershipI handle arbitrations and lawsuits for issues ranging from lien foreclosures, ?construction claims, and public contracting to ?employment disputes and complex ?breach of contract claims. I strive to help clients fully understand the litigation ?process ?and present creative, practical solutions.?Clients also turn to me for transactional assistance. I focus on achieving client ?goals and mitigating risk in construction ?contracts, purchase and sale ?agreements, services contracts, purchase orders, and other legal documents. I ?am ?proactive in ensuring that clients fully understand the contracting process and ?can take ownership of contract terms.?

Bar Admissions

• Oregon State Courts
• Washington State Courts

Education

• Seattle University School of Law, Juris Doctor degree (2011)
• California State University, Chico, Bachelor of Science degree, Construction Management (2005)

Significant Accomplishments

• Successfully obtained a defense verdict in an $8.2 million arbitration, including a complete award of counterclaims.

• Prevailed on a motion for summary judgment where her client was awarded over $2 million in damages and interest.

• Prevailed on a defense motion to dismiss a real property dispute at the close of plaintiff's case-in-chief.

• Successfully obtained a judgment for a material supplier in a multiple-property, complex lien foreclosure case of distressed properties.

• Prepared a claim on a federal construction project on behalf of a specialty contractor. Successfully negotiated the resolution of the claim.

• Successfully negotiated the resolution of a state public contracting claim for delays and impacts caused by unforeseen site conditions.

• Drafted and reviewed numerous prime and subcontracts for both private and public projects.

• President Biden Announces Plan to Expand the Buy American Act to Include 'All Construction Materials'
• OP-ED: DBE Certification: Rebutting the Presumption of Economic Disadvantage
• OP-ED: Contractors Should Prepare for Additional Changes to Buy American Act
• OSHA Issues Emergency Temporary Standard for COVID-19 Vaccinations and Testing
• OP-ED: Contractors Ought to Address Material Price Increases Head-On
• OP-ED: Oregon OSHA Rulemaking Substantially Increases Penalties and More
• Summary Sent to AGC Oregon-Columbia Chapter Members on Governor Inslee's Proclamation
• COVID-19: Preserving Your Payment Rights through Lien and Bond Claims
• OP-ED: A State Transportation Agency's Big Victory in Legal Battle
• OP-ED: Washington's Strict Compliance Standard is Now Stricter
• Recent Supreme Court Opinion Serves as Call to Action for Contractors to Review Contract Notice Requirements
• Op-Ed: Drafting Fair and Reasonable Construction Subcontract Clauses
• OP-ED: Washington State Agency Retracts Waiver Within Four Months
• Enforcing Public Contracts against a Surety
• OP-ED: Washington state agency taking advantage of federal waiver
• Landowners Impacted by BPA's I-5 Corridor Project Have Rights
• OP-ED: The Importance of a Balanced Approach to Writing

Seminar

• Bid Protests on Public Works Projects
• Building Your Construction Project: Critical Concepts and Issues: Owner-General Contractor Relationships
• Practicing on the Border: Construction Law in Washington and Oregon (CLE)
• DJC Oregon Builder Breakfast Series: What's Going on at the Portland International Airport?
• How the Next Generation Will or Won't Get Paid
• Traps for the Unwary Vessel Owner and Claim Professional
• Change Order Basics