2023 OADC Annual Convention
CLE Schedule and Speaker Information

As we confirm speakers, we will be updating our website here!
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CLE Schedule 

Friday - June 16, 2023

Saturday - June 17, 2023

About the Speakers

Lawyer Well-Being: Concrete Strategies for Positive Change | June 16, 2023 8:00 - 9:30 am
Presented by Bena Stock, LL.B, MC, RCC.; Bena Stock Counselling & Consulting
Session Description:
This presentation will explore mental health and well-being in the legal profession and will offer concrete strategies regarding how to improve mental health. We are happiest, healthiest, and most successful when we adopt healthy lifestyles and work habits. Long hours, demanding clients, complex files, and difficult opposing counsel can be occupational hazards in the practice of law. Understanding how you respond to these challenges, and learning coping mechanisms that will help you manage stress and anxiety, will help you build a flourishing career. This presentation will explore:

• Lawyer mental health.
• The importance of recognizing your automatic response to stress.
• Strategies to shift your thinking so you can better manage stress and anxiety.
• How perfectionism fuels procrastination and undermines self-confidence.
• How to build resilience and optimism.
• Why setting boundaries can help you manage expectations.

Bena is a former litigation lawyer. She practiced law for over 23 years, primarily in the areas of professional negligence and insurance defense. While working for the Lawyers Indemnity Fund of BC, she discovered the role she enjoyed most was helping lawyers with the emotions that sometimes accompanied reporting an error or a possible error. She decided to retire from law to obtain a master’s degree in counselling so she could make lawyer well-being her full-time job.
Bena is the founder of Bena Stock Counselling & Consulting. She is a Registered Clinical Counsellor and a member of the British Columbia Association of Clinical Counsellors. Bena is also a former Associate Director of the Lawyers Assistance Program of BC. She has helped many clients in the areas of anxiety, depression, anger management, relationships, as well as career coaching, and career transition. Bena believes in strength-based counselling and works toward helping clients discover and build on their strengths, while learning new strategies to overcome life’s challenges.
She is a frequent presenter to law firms and legal organizations on topics relating to lawyer wellness, including how to maximize mentoring, time management, bolstering resilience, and overcoming procrastination, to name a few. She is also a law firm workplace wellness consultant.

Legal Ethics of Data Security | June 16, 2023 10:00 - 11:00 am
Presented by Nellie Barnyard, Of Counsel, Schwabe Williamson & Wyatt; and Colin Folawn, Shareholder, Schwabe Williamson & Wyatt
Session Description:
Protecting against cyber threats is an ongoing issue for companies of all shapes and sizes, including law firms. As cyber-attacks become increasingly more sophisticated and targeted, law firms are in the cross hairs of hackers, malware, and the like.  Law firms have unique obligations under applicable Rules of Professional Conduct to ensure that client files and communications with clients are properly protected.  This presentation will address these obligations and what to do in the event of a data breach. 

Nellie Bernard
Nellie Barnard is an experienced litigator who excels at providing legal ethics and risk management advice to lawyers, law firms, law students, and in-house legal departments. Nellie also represents Oregon and Washington lawyers in attorney discipline matters and character and fitness proceedings, including on appeal. Capable of defending complex business or financial services litigation disputes, Nellie guides her clients toward successful resolutions from inception through appeal, if necessary.

Colin Folawn
Colin Folawn is a trial and appellate lawyer at Schwabe, Williamson & Wyatt, P.C., admitted to practice in Oregon and Washington. He generally limits his practice to maritime law, insurance coverage, data breach advice, and legal ethics. He also serves as general counsel to the firm. Colin served on the Washington State Bar Association’s Committee on Professional Ethics from 2013 to 2018 and its Adjunct Disciplinary Counsel Panel from 2011 to 2016.

Lightning Round | June 16, 2023 11:15 - 12:15 pm
Presented By George Pitcher

Employment Updates: Release Restrictions & Mandatory Disclosures 
Presented By Greg Lockwood, Gordon & Rees
Greg Lockwood is a Partner in Gordon Rees Scully Mansukhani’s Portland office. He assists businesses, executives, and professionals resolve disputes in courts, arbitrations, and administrative proceedings across the country. His practice focuses on commercial, employment, and products litigation. 

Paid Leave Oregon 
Presented By Rachel Timmins, Ogletree Deakins
Rachel is an associate in our Portland, Oregon office focusing on employment litigation and traditional labor. Rachel represents employers in a wide range of employment and labor matters. She has appeared in state and federal court, as well as in front of the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) and through private arbitrations and mediations. Rachel graduated cum laude from Lewis & Clark law school, where she was the Lead Article Editor of the Lewis & Clark Law Review and mentor to incoming law students. During law school, Rachel worked in the legal department of Adidas. Rachel also served as an extern to the Honorable Magistrate Stacie F. Beckerman at the U.S. District Court for the District of Oregon. Rachel graduated with a Bachelor's in Business Administration with a concentration in Accounting and worked as an accountant prior to attending law school.

Dealing with the Difficult Opponent: Tips for Approaching Settlement when the other Side Refuses 
Presented By John Bachofner, Bachofner Arbitration & Mediation
John R. Bachofner has practiced law in Oregon since 1988 and Washington since 1989, with a focus on insurance coverage and litigation.  He retired from the private practice of law as a Shareholder and Director at Jordan Ramis, PC, where he served as the firm’s Ethics and Loss Prevention Shareholder, and Chair of the firm’s Insurance Coverage and Defense Group.  Effective 1/1/23, he is working solely as an arbitrator, mediator, and consultant with Bachofner Arbitration & Mediation.  

My Recent Experience as a Juror in Washington County 
Presented By Melanie Rose, Smith Freed Eberhard

Effectively Asserting the Economic Waste Defense to Avoid Cost of Repair Damages 
Presented By Molly Honoré, Markowitz Herbold
Molly Honoré is a pragmatic litigator who works with her clients to solve complex business problems. Molly’s clients appreciate her direct involvement and straightforward communication at every stage of their representation whether developing case themes, deciding how to structure an argument, or strategizing during negotiations. Her style is well matched to litigation involving closely-held businesses, the focus of Molly’s practice. Molly is adept at managing litigation in state and federal court. She routinely advises and represents clients in commercial disputes, including shareholder and contract matters, business tort claims, products liability, professional negligence, and real estate litigation. 

Is A Motion to Strike the Motion that’s Right? Why Judges Prefer Facts that will Get you to Admissible Evidence versus Supplying Admissible Evidence 
Presented By Michael Godfrey, SBH Legal
Michael joined SBH Legal in 2017 and became a partner in 2023. He advises clients in Washington and Oregon on mitigating risk and managing pre-litigation situations, but also represents his clients in all levels of litigation including administrative hearings, jury trials, and appellate litigation. His practice includes state and federal employment defense matters including workers’ compensation, wrongful termination, ADA, wage & hour, OSHA/WISHA claims, and all other employment-related discrimination claims. He is admitted to practice in Oregon and Washington, U.S. District Court, and the 9^th Circuit Court of Appeals. Born and raised in Eastern Oregon, he is native to the Pacific Northwest. He and his wife, Taylor, live in Portland with their son, Jackson, and golden retriever, Watson. 

Your Client’s Expert has Been Subpoenaed to Testify Against Them. Now What? 
Presented By Jason Evans, Sussman Shank Jason is a member of the Sussman Shank’s Litigation Department.  His practice is focused on representing the interests of individuals and businesses in complex and civil litigation.  Jason supports the firm’s railroad, transportation, and personal injury teams in all phases of case management and litigation.

State of the Legal Industry | June 17, 2023 8:00 - 9:00 am
Presented By Marci Taylor, JD, Principal Withum
Session Description:
After experiencing some of their best financial years ever, law firms are readjusting their business strategies for uncertain economic times. Adapting to a permanent hybrid work environment, realignment of staff and operations, shifting marketing and business development strategies and an increased focus on technology and cybersecurity are leading concerns for law firm management. This presentation will share the latest trends in law firm management, particularly as they relate to litigation practices, including key financial performance indicators, changing strategies for firm growth, talent management and building a thriving firm culture in a post-pandemic world.

Marci Taylor, JD
Marci Taylor provides strategy, management and marketing consulting services to law firms throughout the country. A former practicing attorney, Marci has been working in law firm management for nearly twenty-five years. 

Appellate Update: Keeping your Practice Current | June 17, 2023 9:15 - 10:15 am
Presented by Judge Stephen Bushong, Oregon Supreme Court; Judge Anna Joyce, Oregon Court of Appeals, and appellate attorney Matt Kalmanson, co-managing partner, Hart Wagner PC
Session Descriptions:
The ever popular appellate update returns with Oregon Court of Appeals Judge Anna Joyce and Multnomah County Circuit Judge Stephen Bushong reviewing the most recent significant Oregon appellate court opinions impacting the civil defense practice.

Judge Stephen Bushong
Stephen Bushong earned his B.A. from the University of Michigan in 1980 and a J.D. from the University of Michigan Law School in 1984. His career experience includes working as a judicial clerk for United States Magistrate Marc L. Goldman; as an attorney in several law firms; as an assistant attorney general, attorney-in-charge, and chief trial counsel for the Oregon Department of Justice; and as a judge for the Multnomah County Circuit Court.^[2]  

 Judge Anna Joyce
Anna Joyce is a judge on the Oregon Court of Appeals.  Prior to being appointed to the Court of Appeals, Joyce was a shareholder at the Markowitz Herbold law firm in Portland. Her practice focused on complex civil litigation motions and appeals, and she served as the managing shareholder. She argued hundreds of appeals before Oregon’s appellate courts and the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, and briefed cases before the U.S. Supreme Court. Before joining the Markowitz firm, Joyce practiced in the Appellate Division of the Oregon Department of Justice from 2003 to 2015, and served as Oregon’s Solicitor General. Joyce has taught appellate advocacy at Lewis & Clark Law School, is a mentor for the Oregon State Bar New Lawyer Mentoring Program, and serves on the board of directors for Outside In. Joyce began her legal career as a law clerk for Oregon Court of Appeals Judge Rives Kistler. She is a native Oregonian and received both her bachelor’s degree and her J.D. from the University of Oregon.

Motions on the Pleadings | June 17, 2023 10:45 - 11:45 am
Presented by: Judge Benjamin Souede, Multnomah County Circuit Court
Session Description:
In this presentation, Multnomah County Judge Benjamin Souede will provide his observations about modern pleading and motions practice. He will discuss recent developments in Oregon law that impact pleadings and motions and tips about some of the best – and least – effective practices he has seen from practitioners.

Judge Benjamin Souede
Judge Benjamin Souede has been a Multnomah County Circuit Judge since 2017.  Prior to his appointment to the bench, Judge Souede moved between private practice and public service throughout his legal career.  His private practice in Oregon (first at Lane Powell and then as a founding member of the Angeli Law Group) focused on complex civil and white collar criminal litigation.  His public service career included stints as a Senior Advisory to Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton, and as General Counsel to Oregon Governor Kate Brown. 

Comparative Fault in a Reckless World: How Miller v. Agripac Alters (or Maybe Doesn’t Alter) the Landscape | June 17, 2023 12:00 - 1:00 pm
Presented by: David Cramer, Partner, MB Law Group; Tom Purcell, Partner, MB Law Group
Session Description:
The Court of Appeals’ decision in Miller v. Agripac, 322 Or App 202 (2022), relying on State v. Gutierrez-Medina, 365 Or 79 (2019), held that a finding of recklessness against a defendant took that defendant out of the rubric of comparative fault set forth in ORS 31.600, et seq. This presentation will look at the differing levels of culpability, their impact upon allocations of fault, and Miller’sramifications for defending cases and third-party practice.