Hello!
I hope you are all enjoying the start of summer. It seems as if the first half of this busy year flew by!
We had a busy first half of the year filled with some outstanding CLEs and wonderful social gatherings. We are hard at work planning for the second half of this year.
While our chapter traditionally takes a brief break in activities during the summer, we encourage you to check out the two events we have scheduled for members in August: Family game night at the Portland Thorns hosted by Markowitz Herbold on August 17 and the third in our series of career planning workshops with Boly:Welch on August 2 (this seminar will focus on interviewing skills). Our friends at Boly:Welch have also extended an invitation to a Lunch + Learn they are hosting about LinkedIn on July 10--you can learn more about it below.
We would also like to welcome new sponsor Jordan Ramis PC and look forward to our chapter's first event in Central Oregon with the firm (who have offices in Bend, Lake Oswego and Vancouver) in 2020!
Lastly, we are always very interested in your feedback. To that end, we will be sending out a chapterwide survey this summer to find out what you think about the Oregon ACC, and how our chapter can enhance our local events and resources. We promise to keep it short! In the meantime, please feel free to email me or any board member your feedback and suggestions.
Enjoy our beautiful Pacific Northwest summer, and we look forward to seeing you at one of our events later this summer or in the fall!
Very best,
Kat
Katerina Kogan
Chapter President
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UPCOMING EVENTS
Oregon ACC Family Night
at the Portland Thorns
Sponsored by Markowitz Herbold
6:30pm - 9:30pm
August 17, 2019
Interviewing Skills Seminar
with Boly:Welch
August 21, 2019
4:00pm - 6:00pm
Smarsh Offices
ACC Annual Meeting
October 27-30, 2019
Phoenix, AZ
*More information and
registration site available soon.
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LUNCH + LEARN
WEDNESDAY, JULY 10
11:30am - 1:00pm
Boly:Welch
920 Southwest 6th Avenue, #100
Portland, OR 97204
Boly:Welch job search experts--Corbin and Abby--are hosting a LinkedIn 101 lunch + learn on July 10 from 11:30am-1:00pm. They'll show you how to take advantage of LinkedIn for job seeking, networking and personal branding.
The cost is just $10!
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“CONTRACTOR” VERSUS “EMPLOYEE”
Misclassification Increasingly Costly
to Oregon Businesses
By Nicole Elgin, Barran
Liebman LLP
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The question of whether a person qualifies as an independent contractor versus an employee is an increasingly important one in the rise of the gig economy. For businesses, it can be an expensive question to get wrong, considering the various wages, taxes, insurance, and benefits costs—not to mention the penalties—that a business owner might owe if what the business called “contractors” are actually “employees.”
In Oregon, that question recently cost a company $3.2 million. In
Acosta v. Senvoy, LLC
, the U.S. District of Oregon ordered the owner of a courier service and three of his Portland-based companies to pay drivers $3,087,100 in wages and liquidated damages as well as $112,900 in civil money penalties for violating the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). Going forward, the company is required to classify its drivers as employees and pay for a third party audit to ensure ongoing compliance.
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Nicole Elgin, Associate
Barran Liebman LLP
To learn more about Nicole Elgin and Barran Liebman LLP, please click
here
.
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CELEBRATING THE NEW YEAR ONCE AGAIN WITH BARRAN LIEBMAN
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For the third year in a row, Barran Liebman LLP helped the Oregon Chapter of the ACC usher in the new year.
On January 10, the firm hosted chapter members and their guests at the Colosseum at the Hotel Modera in downtown Portland. This festive social event was a terrific opportunity for members to mingle in addition to being a great way to introduce in-house attorneys who were not members of the ACC to our chapter.
Barran Liebman created signature cocktails--the ACC Pomegranate Spritzer and the Barran Liebman Bourbon--for the evening (including cocktail stirrers emblazoned with the ACC and Barran Liebman logos) to go along with an array of imaginative hors d'oeuvres created by the well-regarded Nel Centro restaurant.
The Colosseum boasts over 1,600 square feet of various gaming opportunities, and attendees were able to play shuffleboard, giant Jenga and darts. Barran Liebman also provided attendees with the chance to try two different virtual reality experiences--one of which featured a very lifelike walk on a ledge of a high rise building. Prizes were awarded throughout the evening for those participating in the games.
Thank you so much to Traci Ray and Jessica Timm at Barran Liebman for once again creating a memorable event to start the year! A long time sponsor of the Oregon Chapter, Barran Liebman LLP specializes in labor and employment law--we look forward to a CLE with the firm later on this year.
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Members and guests enjoying signature cocktails at the third annual New Year's Celebration sponsored by Barran Liebman LLP.
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Playing shuffleboard at the Colosseum at Hotel Modera.
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Members experiencing virtual reality during the celebration.
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FIRST EVER WITNESS BOOT CAMP HELD AT MARKOWITZ HERBOLD
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Firm co-founder David Markowitz and Chad Colton of Markowitz Herbold introducing the workshop and sharing witness tips with attendees.
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Chad Colton "deposing" Oregon ACC Board President Kat Kogan.
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On February 13, Markowitz Herbold PC hosted a “Witness Boot Camp for In-House Counsel” for members of the Oregon Chapter of the ACC. This half-day workshop was held at the firm's downtown offices and was designed to help in-house lawyers prepare for deposition and avoid the potentials risks and pitfalls of being the “lawyer as witness”.
The workshop, which was the first of its kind for our chapter, kicked off with breakfast while famed trial lawyer and firm co-founder David Markowitz introduced the program and shared why attorneys often make poor deponents and some of the tips and traps of witness testimony. Markowitz, along with firm shareholder Chad Colton, discussed privilege and ethical issues, key steps in preparation, testifying accurately and concisely and avoiding unnecessary damage to the company’s case.
Attendees then broke into smaller groups facilitated by several of the firm’s attorneys for mock testimony using a case study developed by the firm about a fictitious tech company (FelineTech Industries, the world’s largest cat meme generator) suing a cloud storage provider for lost data.
Chapter members had the opportunity to “act” as general counsel for the imaginary tech company while being “deposed” by Markowitz attorneys playing the role of outside counsel for the fictional cloud storage company. Each “witness” was then provided with valuable feedback from the facilitators in their small group.
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After the break out sessions, all attendees gathered together for a debriefing session over lunch provided by the firm. Several members commented that the intensive questioning by Markowitz attorneys gave them new insights into the challenges in-house lawyers face when the tables are turned.
Thank you so much to the attorneys and staff of Markowitz Herbold for hosting this unique and valuable boot camp for our members! A long time sponsor of the Oregon Chapter, Markowitz Herbold is the leading commercial litigation firm in the state. We look forward to the firm holding its annual Oregon ACC Family Night with the Portland Thorns later this summer.
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HOLLAND & KNIGHT HOSTS CLE ON SUBPOENAS AT RED STAR TAVERN
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Holland & Knight hosted a CLE about how even litigation-averse companies can get caught in crossfire of civil and criminal litigation through burdensome subpoenas from customers, business partners and the government.
Held on March 19 at Red Star Tavern's private Club Room in downtown Portland on March 19, "Caught in the Crossfire: Effectively Responding to Subpoenas in Civil and Criminal Matters" provided effective strategies for reducing the burden of civil subpoenas for documents and depositions, how to manage risk when a subpoena is a precursor for a lawsuit against your company and the special risks associated with government subpoenas.
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This highly interactive presentation was led by Matt Donohue and Shannon Armstrong--both partners with Holland & Knight.
Attendee Ben Buhayer, Senior Attorney with NWEA, shared that Holland & Knight "gave an engaging and practical session on how in house counsel can effectively triage incoming subpoenas. I walked away with a framework I could use to address lower risk situations and the knowledge to engage outside counsel at the right time. The small group format was also fun and encouraged attendees to get to know one another and collaborate on proposing solutions to HK’s hypotheticals.”
Thank you to Matt and Shannon at Holland & Knight for once again pulling together an engaging CLE for our members. We look forward to more events with Holland & Knight later in 2019!
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ORACC MEMBER SPOTLIGHT
Gary Lau
Associate General Counsel
Cambia Health Solutions
Interviewed by ORACC Board Member Yumi O'Neil
How many people work in your legal department, and in how many locations?
We have 12 lawyers in-house and 6 paralegals. Most are based in either Portland or Seattle with the rest in Salt Lake City, UT and Lewiston, ID.
What do you like most about your job?
I like being surrounded by people who are passionate about something. As a company, Cambia’s Cause is: “To serve as a catalyst to transform health care, creating a person-focus and economically sustainable health care system.” Each day I get to work with people who are truly passionate about our Cause and making a difference in and bettering the lives of those that we serve. Health care can be complex, daunting and downright scary. I am consistently impressed by those I work with, from our front line customer services representatives to our senior leadership, on their passion to drive innovation and change.
What is the best job you had before this one—either in the legal profession or outside of it?
The first job I ever had was working at the Disney Store. Disney has the reputation of being the “Happiest Place on Earth.” And as far as working environments go, it’s pretty hard to beat. Their focus on a culture-centered approach, high standards, and attention to details in everything they do set the cornerstone for all the jobs I’ve had since them. I’d like to tell you that the Frozen soundtrack is on my phone because of my daughter, but that wouldn’t be completely honest.
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What advice would you give someone new the in-house role?
Don’t be afraid to ask questions. Each day I try to learn something new about my company and the needs of those that I support. Not only does it help me provide advice in the context and framework of our business, but it builds the relationships and trust I have with my partners.
Do you use social media in your professional life, and if so, which ones?
Yes. There is an increasing importance of social media in our profession and industry. I use LinkedIn for my professional network, career development, and for sharing thought leadership.
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What is your favorite place in Oregon or SW Washington and why?
Skamania Lodge. It’s a place that my family and I like to go visit when we want to get away and focus on us. It’s only a short drive away, but when we are there it feels like everything else just fades away.
What is the last book you read?
"The Professor and the Madman". It’s a story about the making of the Oxford English Dictionary. I heard that they are making it into a movie--I hope it will be as good as the book.
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WELCOME NEW MEMBERS!
The Oregon Chapter of ACC would like to welcome the following members who joined our chapter recently:
Joseph Buckmaster
First Tech Federal Credit Union
Cole Burgess
Dutch Bros. Coffee
Roisin Comerford
Intel Corporation
Juan Costantini
Vesta Corporation
Neva DePalma
RADAR, LLC
Spencer Gusick
Zuora, Inc.
Stephanie Hines
CLEAResult
Robert Jemerson
NIKE, Inc.
Kelly Kozich
Killian Pacific
Vittal Patel
Directors Mortgage, Inc.
Rebecca Pollack
RADAR, LLC
Bob Rohlf
Exterro, Inc.
Tony Rothenfluch
The Partners Group
Jennifer Schoof
Act-On Software
Justin Scout
NuScale Power, LLC
Eadaoin Waller
Inspiring Hospice Partners
Jessica Wilburn
NAVEX Global
We look forward to seeing you at
one of our events soon!
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Thank You
Chapter Sponsors!
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*Please click on any logo above
to visit a sponsor's website.
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OREGON CHAPTER LEADERSHIP
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President
Katerina Kogan, Attorney
MKS Instruments, Inc.
Secretary
Marc Bocci, Attorney
Treasurer
Bonnie Page, Chief Legal Officer
ProKarma
Board Members
Ben Buhayar, Attorney
NWEA
Taylor Engers, Corporate Counsel
Lattice Semiconductors, Inc.
Gary Lau, Associate General Counsel
Cambia Health Solutions
Tamara Kessler, Vice President & Senior Counsel
Umpqua Bank
Umpqua Email
David Meisels, General Counsel
Sound United
Yumi O’Neil, Associate General Counsel
Cambia Health Solutions
J. Stuart Patterson, Vice President & Associate General Counsel
HP, Inc.
Valentina Rucker, Senior Commercial Counsel
Intel Corporation
Robert Scott, Vice President & General Counsel
Opal Labs Inc.
Elizabeth Schultz, Senior Corporate Counsel
Vestas
Joshua Simko, Supply Chain & Sustainability Counsel
NIKE, Inc.
Anthony Stark, General Counsel & Vice President of Corporate Development
DiscoverOrg, LLC
Emily Warren, Attorney
Standard Insurance Company
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