Portland NALP Form
Practice Areas
Pro Bono/Community Service
Professional Development
Diversity
Summer Program
Meet Portland Summer Associates
What Our Summer Associates Said About Us
On-Campus Interviews/Job Fairs
City Guide
Contacts
Our Portland office is the largest in the firm, with more than 180 attorneys.
The office’s clientele has traditionally included many of the largest public
and private companies in Oregon, although our Portland lawyers are also involved with
emerging companies and new technologies. The firm’s offices are located in the
heart of downtown Portland, overlooking the Willamette River.
Practice Areas
The Portland office has the following primary practice areas: Trial; Appellate;
Construction and Design; Corporate Securities and Finance; Environmental, Land
Use and Natural Resources; Labor & Employment; Employee Benefits; Tax,
Wealth Management; Intellectual Property; Trademark; Patent; Real Estate; Public
Law & Finance; Utilities; Commercial Law; and Bankruptcy.
Pro-Bono/Community Service
The Portland office participates in State and local Bar pro bono projects,
and the firm staffs a Legal Aid office two evenings per month. Attorneys are
strongly encouraged to perform pro bono work of their choice; pro bono hours
are credited toward investment hour goals.
For more specific information about pro bono work and community service at Stoel Rives, please see the Our Communities page.
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Professional Development
The professional development of our associates is a critical measure of our
success. All first- through third-year associates are assigned both a mentor
(usually a senior associate) and a coach (a member in the associate’s
practice area). Mentors act primarily as informed friends and confidantes,
helping new associates get to know the culture of the firm and who does what.
They are available to answer silly or political questions—any question
a starting associate might not feel comfortable asking a member. On the other
hand, member coaches provide professional guidance and help a new associate
shape his or her career. Mentors and coaches take their roles seriously. They
are expected to take their associates out to lunch at least monthly (on the
firm’s dime).
Diversity
Stoel Rives is committed to an inclusive environment where all personnel are recognized for their contributions based on merit and encouraged to reach their fullest potential. The Portland office participates in the Stoel Rives First-Year Student Diversity Fellowship (summer associate position in the Portland office and $7,500 scholarship); the Northwest Minority Job Fair; the Oregon Minority Job Fair; the Oregon State Bar First-Year Internship Program; and the USC Summer Fellows program in participation with NIKE, Inc. The office also hosts lunches and receptions for local law schools’ minority law student associations.
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Summer Program
Summer Associate Mentoring/Training
We recognize that our summer associates deserve careful, constructive feedback on
the quality of their work. Therefore, in addition to the feedback that our attorneys
provide in connection with the summer associates’ work projects, each summer
associate is matched with a summer mentor. These summer mentors help their summer
associates understand the nuances and challenges of our practice and firm, offer
advice on how to take advantage of the resources and opportunities our firm has to
offer, and provide feedback throughout the summer. These mentors are typically second-
to fourth-year associates, most of whom were summer associates themselves. Stoel Rives
also provides summer associates with legal research, writing and editing seminars.
Breakfast meetings featuring informal presentations by different practice group leaders
are held each week.
Summer Associate Work Projects
A key feature of the Stoel Rives summer program is the way in which summer associates receive their work projects. Summer associates are not rotated through different practice areas. Instead, attorneys from all of the firm’s practice areas are encouraged to submit projects for summer associates, and those summer associates may choose assignments that they find of interest. Summer associates are encouraged to take projects that will allow them to work in different areas of the law.
Summer associates also have opportunities to attend strategy sessions,
contract negotiations, closings, and board meetings; draft documents; write briefs;
and help prepare for depositions, trials, and arbitrations.
Summer Associate Social Activities
A wide range of social events are coordinated by the firm to provide opportunities
for summer associates to get to know the city of Portland and our lawyers,
and to have the opportunity to make friends within the program. Planned activities
for the Portland office traditionally have included a city tour of Portland,
group dinners, backyard barbeques, a white-water raft trip, Oregon Adventure
Day, Community Service Day, outdoor concerts, softball games, art gallery
and wine tours, and a two-day, firmwide, summer associate training and social
retreat in Portland.
Summer Associate Offers of Employment
The majority of Stoel Rives’ summer associates are given offers to return
to the firm for employment after graduation. These offers are typically made
at the end of the summer. The Recruiting Committee works with the summer associate
to determine the practice group in which he or she would like to work as an
associate and to try to match the summer associate's preference with the needs
of the firm’s practice groups.
Meet 2008 Portland Summer Associates
Leila Behnampour, Lewis & Clark
Kathy Black, Lewis & Clark
Crystal Chase, Lewis & Clark
Stephen Galloway, Tulane
Luis Garcia, University of Oregon
Catherine Gonzaga, University of Washington
Daniel Kwak, University of Oregon
Rachel Lee, Stanford
Kirk Maag, Georgetown
Chad Marriott, University of Oregon
Martin Steger, University of Münster, Germany
Robert Teel, University of Michigan
Alfredo Villanueva, University of Oregon
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We asked our summer associates what they thought about
Stoel Rives as a place to work. Here's what they said:
“ It’s a great place — interesting and challenging legal work,
smart and nice people, and a great working and living environment.”
“ Excellent work for excellent clients done in a fun, professional environment.”
“ Fun, energetic place. Very talented lawyers; challenging environment.
Great mentoring opportunities.”
We asked them whether the Stoel Rives summer program met their
expectations. Here's what they said:
“ Yes. [Good] balance of work and social events.”
“ Stoel Rives easily exceeded my expectations of the summer. The work
was varied and challenging, the attorneys were kind and down-to-earth, and the social
events were terrific.”
“ Definitely. [Great] balance of work and play, got to see Portland and
the surrounding area fully, and met great people.”
“ Yes. I expected to work and play hard, both expectations were met.
I was also pleasantly surprised at how the firm didn't feel ‘overwhelmingly’
big. People made an effort to make me feel a part.”
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On-campus Interviews/Job Fairs
Click here to find out more about our scheduled on campus interviews and job fairs.
City Guide
Oregon offers you lovely beaches
to explore, beautiful mountains to climb and ski, and lakes and rivers on which you can play and
relax. Portland is an hour’s drive from both the Cascade Mountains and the Pacific Ocean.
For the arts enthusiast, the city boasts numerous art galleries and museums, a symphony and an
opera house, extensive live theater and a wide choice of fine ethnic restaurants. You might also
walk, bike, or skate Portland’s new Eastbank Esplanade. This corridor extends along the
Willamette River from the Steel Bridge to the Hawthorne Bridge and offers a unique and unmatched
view and experience of downtown Portland.
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For information about Portland businesses and practical information about relocating
to Portland, see the web sites below:
Eastbank Esplanade
Portland Chamber of Commerce
Citysearch.com—Portland Information
Portland Oregon Visitor's Association
The Oregon Coast
Portland Public School Information
Contact Information
Rebecca Whittall
Lawyer Recruiting Manager
Stoel Rives LLP
900 SW Fifth Avenue, Suite 2600
Portland, OR 97204-1268
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