Background

I've worked in the legal profession for more than 25 years.  Before launching The Brief Doctor, I was Public Records Counsel at the Oregon Department of Justice, where I advised state agencies on public records issues and made recommendations to the Attorney General regarding petitions to compel disclosure of public records.  I also spent almost 15 years with the Oregon Court of Appeals as a staff attorney.  For much of that time, I was staff attorney to the Chief Judge and part of the court's administrative team.  I served as primary counsel to the Oregon Rules of Appellate Procedure, trained law clerks and externs, acted as the court's media contact, and helped lead the appellate courts' joint committee to revise and update the Oregon Appellate Courts' Style Manual.  I drafted complex opinions in the range of subject areas that come before the court and reviewed other draft opinions as a member of the court's editorial board.  Early in my career, I held several judicial clerkships -- first at the Oregon Court of Appeals for its motions department and for the Hon. Rick T. Haselton, and then at the Oregon Supreme Court for the Hon. Robert D. Durham.  I attended Lewis & Clark Law School, where I let my organizational freak flag fly as managing editor of Environmental Law, the school's then-primary journal.  Before law school, I worked for seven years as an administrator for several large San Francisco-based law firms.  I hold a B.A. from St. John's College in Santa Fe, NM, a "great books" school.  St. John's has no majors, but a degree represents significant engagement with disciplines including philosophy, literature, languages, mathematics, and science.  Did I mention that I like to read? 

Work philosophy

I am a pragmatic perfectionist.  My motto is, "Eliminate needless thinking."  (With apologies to Strunk & White.)  I enjoy listening to my clients and making sure I understand their needs and priorities.  I then either provide a direct service -- taking work I can do more efficiently off my client's "to do" list -- or help the client develop skills or techniques so that they don't have to revisit the same issues over and over again. 

Education

LEWIS & CLARK LAW SCHOOL
Juris Doctor, magna cum laude, 1995

ST. JOHN'S COLLEGE
B.A., Liberal Arts, 1985

Activities & affiliations

• Oregon State Bar

• Appellate Practice Section

• Oregon Women Lawyers

• Garden Home Community Library Association

Best book(s) read last year

• Caste, Isabel Wilkerson

• Becoming Duchess Goldblatt, Anonymous

• Dreyer’s English, Benjamin Dreyer