About Me
A Life in Law
Experience, reflection, and mentoring for lawyers and professionals seeking to practice with judgment and integrity.
Professional Background
Law, Service, and Reflection
I spent much of my professional life practicing law, advising public officials, handling complex litigation, and helping younger lawyers develop judgment about the practical responsibilities of the profession.
My legal career included private practice, service as a staff attorney with the Oregon Supreme Court, work as County Counsel for Jackson County, Oregon, and nearly a decade as a Senior Assistant Attorney General with the Oregon Department of Justice. At the Department of Justice, I worked primarily in environmental and administrative law, representing state agencies in complex matters. I later returned to private practice, concentrating on land-use and environmental matters for industry and landowners.
I am a graduate of Cornell Law School, where I graduated magna cum laude, was elected to the Order of the Coif, and served as an Articles Editor of the Cornell Law Review. Research, careful analysis, and writing have been central to my work throughout my career.
What makes a good lawyer, and how should professional success relate to character, responsibility, and a genuinely good life?
Vocation Law Path
Throughout my career, I have been interested in how lawyers develop sound judgment, meet their responsibilities, and decide what matters in their work. Mentoring gives me an opportunity to draw on that experience in conversations with lawyers facing those questions in their own professional lives.
Vocation Law Path
Professional Mentoring, Writing, and Editing.
I offer non-legal professional mentoring for lawyers in private practice, public service, and in-house roles. Drawing on four decades in government and private practice, I help lawyers think through questions of professional judgment, responsibility to clients and colleagues, and the direction of their working lives.
My Orthodox Christian faith informs my understanding of vocation and responsibility. I welcome lawyers of all faiths and none. My mentoring focuses on professional life and does not include pastoral counseling or spiritual guidance.
I also provide writing and editing for lawyers, consultants, and organizations. My work includes articles, reports, presentations, slide decks, and speeches, drawing on original research or client materials. I bring the same attention to clear reasoning, organization, and language that has been central to my legal career.
Scope of Services
I do not provide legal advice, legal representation, case analysis, or litigation strategy. My Oregon State Bar membership is inactive.