Ater Wynne LLP was an American

law firm A law firm is a business entity formed by one or more lawyers to engage in the practice of law. The primary service rendered by a law firm is to advise clients (individuals or corporations) about their legal rights and responsibilities, and to r ...

based in

Portland Portland most commonly refers to: * Portland, Oregon, the largest city in the state of Oregon, in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States * Portland, Maine, the largest city in the state of Maine, in the New England region of the northeas ...

in the U.S. state of

Oregon Oregon () is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of it ...

. Established in 1990, the

limited liability partnership A limited liability partnership (LLP) is a partnership in which some or all partners (depending on the jurisdiction) have limited liabilities. It therefore can exhibit elements of partnerships and corporations. In an LLP, each partner is not ...

had 39 attorneys in Portland, and also had an office in

Seattle, Washington Seattle ( ) is a port, seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the county seat, seat of King County, Washington, King County, Washington (state), Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in bo ...

. In 2018, it was ranked by ''Oregon Business'' as one of the top 20 law firms in Oregon, based on number of Oregon and southwest Washington lawyers. In September 2019, the firm announced it was purchased by the law firm Buchalter. Previously known as Ater Wynne Hewitt Dodson & Skerritt, it was the first law firm in Portland to include a female partner's name in its title. As of 2003, nearly 26 percent of the firm's partners were women, well above the national average for firms of its size.

History

The firm was founded in 1990 as Ater Wynne Hewitt Dodson & Skerritt, LLP by

Ron Saxton Ronald L. Saxton (born 1954) is an American lawyer, business person, and Republican politician in Oregon. He has run twice for Governor of Oregon, losing in the 2002 primary election, and winning the Republican nomination in 2006, but losing ...

, Steve Wynne, Jonathan Ater, and others.Law, Steve. Oregon governor's race party profile: Republicans. ''

Statesman Journal The ''Statesman Journal'' is the major daily newspaper published in Salem, Oregon, United States. Founded in 1851 as the ''Oregon Statesman'', it later merged with the ''Capital Journal'' to form the current newspaper, the second-oldest in Orego ...

'', April 23, 2006. It was created out of a split of firm Lindsay Hart Neil & Weigler, with Ater Wynne retaining 30 partners shortly after the larger firm's Boise office switched to become an office of

Davis Wright Tremaine Davis Wright Tremaine LLP is an American business and litigation law firm. Founded in 1944, the firm is a limited liability partnership and employs over 500 lawyers. Davis Wright Tremaine is headquartered in Seattle, Washington, and has offices ...

, a split that had been contentious. At that time the firm was located in the KOIN Tower in downtown Portland where the prior firm had been located since 1985. The firm established the Oregon Children's Foundation with

Neil Goldschmidt Neil Edward Goldschmidt (born June 16, 1940) is an American businessman and Democratic politician from the state of Oregon who held local, state and federal offices over three decades. After serving as the United States Secretary of Transportat ...

, which created the SMART Reading program. Founding partner Saxton made unsuccessful runs for

Governor of Oregon The governor of Oregon is the head of government of Oregon and serves as the commander-in-chief of the state's military forces. The title of governor was also applied to the office of Oregon's chief executive during the provisional and U.S. ter ...

2002 File:2002 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 2002 Winter Olympics are held in Salt Lake City; Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother and her daughter Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon die; East Timor gains East Timor independence, indepe ...

and

2006 File:2006 Events Collage V1.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2006 Winter Olympics open in Turin; Twitter is founded and launched by Jack Dorsey; The Nintendo Wii is released; Montenegro 2006 Montenegrin independence referendum, votes to declare ...

, while Wynne later served as leader of Adidas America and other corporate leadership positions. Wynne left for Adidas in 1995 to become the CEO for the Portland-based affiliate of the German company. Thomas Balmer rejoined the firm in 1997, and served as the firm's managing partner. The firm became Ater Wynne in 1998. Balmer left when he was appointed to the

Oregon Supreme Court The Oregon Supreme Court (OSC) is the highest state court in the U.S. state of Oregon. The only court that may reverse or modify a decision of the Oregon Supreme Court is the Supreme Court of the United States.chief justice. Ater Wynne had an office in Washington, DC in the 1990s, where it employer abortion rights activist Ronald J. Fitzsimmons. As of 2000, it was the 948th largest law firms in the country. The firm added six new attorneys in October 2000, followed by five more in November 2001. Ater Wynne then expanded its public finance, business, and energy practices by adding five attorneys in June 2002. The next year six attorneys and four other employees left the firm's public finance section to join Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP. A bar complaint was filed in 2005 by the City of Portland and later dismissed by the

Oregon State Bar The Oregon State Bar Association (OSBA) is a public corporation and instrumentality of the Oregon Judicial Department in the U.S. state of Oregon. Founded in 1890 as the private Oregon Bar Association, it became a public entity in 1935 that regulat ...

concerning the firm first representing the city in negotiations to buy

Portland General Electric Portland General Electric (PGE) is a Fortune 1000 public utility based in Portland, Oregon. It distributes electricity to customers in parts of Multnomah, Clackamas, Marion, Yamhill, Washington, and Polk counties - 44% of the inhabitants of O ...

but later worked for

Texas Pacific Group TPG Inc., previously known as Texas Pacific Group and TPG Capital, is an American investment company based in Fort Worth, Texas. The private equity firm is focused on leveraged buyouts and growth capital. TPG manages investment funds in growth c ...

, who was also looking to buy the utility. The Lovejoy in the Pearl District - Portland, Oregon

In 2008, it announced it would leave the KOIN Tower and move to the

Pearl District The Pearl District is an area of Portland, Oregon, formerly occupied by warehouses, light industry and railroad classification yards and now noted for its art galleries, upscale businesses and residences. The area has been undergoing significan ...

to the top floor of The Lovejoy, and completed their move at the end of that year. A lawsuit was filed in 2011 related to the collapse of Grifphon Asset Management due to a

ponzi scheme A Ponzi scheme (, ) is a form of fraud that lures investors and pays profits to earlier investors with funds from more recent investors. Named after Italian businessman Charles Ponzi, the scheme leads victims to believe that profits are comin ...

, in which Ater Wynne later became a defendant. The next year the firm was sued over handling of the issuance of bonds for the

Oregon Garden The Oregon Garden is an botanical garden and tourist attraction in Silverton, Oregon, United States. Opened in 1999, it is home to over 20 gardens including the Rose Garden, Children's Garden and Silverton Market Garden. It is open 365 days a ye ...

. The firm settled the Grifphon related case in May 2014 for $8 million. Ater Wynne had been Grifphon's law firm for a few years prior to the collapse of the scheme, though the firm's attorneys were unaware of the illegal activities by the company. The firm was hired by the

Oregon Bureau of Labor and Industries The Oregon Bureau of Labor and Industries (BOLI) is an agency in the executive branch of the government of the U.S. state of Oregon. It is headed by the Commissioner of Labor and Industries, a nonpartisan, statewide elective office. The term of ...

(BOLI) to represent it in a dispute with the

Oregon Legislature The Oregon Legislative Assembly is the state legislature for the U.S. state of Oregon. The Legislative Assembly is bicameral, consisting of an upper and lower house: the Senate, whose 30 members are elected to serve four-year terms; and the Ho ...

in 2018 during an investigation into sexual harassment in the legislature. In September 2019, the firm announced it was purchased by the law firm Buchalter. Adam J. Bass, president and CEO of Buchalter, issued a statement explaining that the acquisition of Ater Wynne enabled Buchalter to "continue helping business leaders and innovators throughout the Pacific Northwest stay ahead of the curve". Buchalter added 22 attorneys from the acquisition.

Details

Ater Wynne was housed in at the nine-story The Lovejoy. Located in the Pearl District on Lovejoy Street, it occupied the top two floors of the building and included a deck and fireplace. As of 2014, it had 39 attorneys at its Portland office along with 46 support staff, making it the twelfth largest in Portland. The Seattle office was located in

Union Square Union commonly refers to: * Trade union, an organization of workers * Union (set theory), in mathematics, a fundamental operation on sets Union may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * Union (band), an American rock group ** ''Un ...

in downtown. Practice areas for the firm included business, energy, antitrust, insurance coverage, healthcare, appellate work, construction, trusts and estates, bankruptcy,

intellectual property rights Intellectual property (IP) is a category of property that includes intangible creations of the human intellect. There are many types of intellectual property, and some countries recognize more than others. The best-known types are patents, cop ...

, labor and employment law, litigation, taxes, natural resources, business law, construction and real estate, and law related to Native Americans, among others.

Notable lawyers and alumni

* Thomas A. Balmer, former justice on the Oregon Supreme Court *

Shemia Fagan Shemia Patricia Fagan (born September 20, 1981) is an American lawyer and politician serving as the Oregon secretary of state. She previously served as a Democratic member of the Oregon Senate, representing Senate District 24 from in 2019 to 20 ...

Oregon Secretary of State The secretary of state of Oregon, an elected constitutional officer within the executive branch of government of the U.S. state of Oregon, is first in line of succession to the governor. The duties of the office are auditor of public accounts, ch ...

* Ronald J. Fitzsimmons, abortion rights activist *

Susheela Jayapal Susheela Jayapal (born October 31, 1962) is an American politician. Since January 2019, Jayapal has been serving as a county commissioner for Multnomah County, Oregon, the state's most populous county. She is the first Indian American to hold an ...

, Multnomah County Commissioner *

, Republican politician

References

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External links

Ater Wynne LLP
- ''U.S. News & World Report'' 1990 establishments in Oregon Law firms based in Portland, Oregon Privately held companies based in Oregon Law firms established in 1990