Overview
Representative Work
Activities & Membership
Awards & Recognition
News & Publications
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Overview
Justin practices general business and corporate law. Much of his practice focuses on counseling family-owned and other closely held businesses. He serves as the chair of the firm's Closely Held Business Practice Group and is a member of the firm's Mergers & Acquisitions Practice Group.
In addition to helping clients with their general business and corporate matters, Justin has significant experience working with clients who are seeking to:
- Form or reorganize a business entity
- Create joint ventures with other businesses
- Arrange debt financings
- Resolve company ownership disputes before they reach litigation
- Buy, sell, or lease real estate
- Buy or sell businesses
Justin represents clients in many industries, including senior housing, advertising and publishing, automotive dealerships, manufacturing, sports, construction, and medical and dental. He is a frequent presenter at continuing legal education courses where he teaches other lawyers on his areas of expertise.
Justin enjoys his family, running marathons, backpacking, and fishing. He also speaks conversational Tagalog (Filipino).
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Featured Representative Matters
Senior Housing Facilities
Structured and negotiated strategic joint venture that develops and operates senior housing facilities across the U.S.
Ownership Interests
Restructured corporations and LLC's to grant ownership interests to key employees.
Ownership Disputes
Represented owners and companies in resolving business ownership disputes.
Senior Housing Facilities
Represented buyers and sellers in purchasing and selling senior housing facilities, hotels, professional practices, auto dealerships, and other businesses.
Lending Institutions
Represented clients in borrowing several hundred million dollars from various types of lending institutions.
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Featured Work
Tonkon Torp Helps Create Oregon Benefit Companies
Tonkon Torp client Rogue Creamery became the first Oregon enterprise to become a Benefit Company on January 1, 2014, the date Oregon’s new law went into effect. Find details and more featured cases here.
Greenbrier MA: Mexican Wheeling and Dealing
When Oregon-based The Greenbrier Companies, Inc. decided to buy out its joint venture partner's interest in the Greenbrier-Concarril venture in Mexico, it turned to longtime counsel Tonkon Torp to assist in structuring the transaction.
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Community Involvement & Activities
Oregon State Bar Business Section
Chair, Executive Committee Member
Oregon State Bar Subcommittee
Oregon Limited Liability Company Act
Oregon Business Corporation Act
Boy Scouts of America
Local leader
Public School Council
Past member
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Professional Memberships
Oregon State Bar
American Bar Association
Multnomah Bar Association
American Bar Association
Multnomah Bar Association
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Awards & Recognitions
The Best Lawyers in America
2014, Lawyer of the Year - Business Organizations (including LLCs and Partnerships), Portland
2014–2018, Business Organizations (including LLCs and Partnerships)
2017–2018, Closely Held Companies & Family Businesses Law
2018, Mergers & Acquisitions Law
2014–2018, Business Organizations (including LLCs and Partnerships)
2017–2018, Closely Held Companies & Family Businesses Law
2018, Mergers & Acquisitions Law
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Recent News
7.16.2018
Anna Sortun and Justin Denton Discuss Buy-Sell Provisions at OSB CLE
On June 19, Tonkon Torp partners Anna Sortun and Justin Denton were featured speakers at a CLE presentation that focused on crafting and defending buy-sell provisions. The event was hosted by the Oregon State Bar Business Law Section.
8.16.2017
Best Lawyers in America® Names 49 Tonkon Torp Attorneys to 2018 List
Forty-nine Tonkon Torp lawyers representing 39 practice areas have been selected for inclusion in The Best Lawyers in America® 2018. Nearly all attorneys have been named to the list in past years, and have been recognized for more than five years…
8.15.2016
Best Lawyers in America® Names 44 Tonkon Torp Attorneys to 2017 List
Forty-four Tonkon Torp lawyers representing 38 practice areas have been selected for inclusion in The Best Lawyers in America® 2017. Each attorney has been named to the list in past years, and nearly all have been recognized for more than five years…
11.12.2015
Justin Denton Elected Chair-Elect of OSB's Business Law Section
Tonkon Torp partner Justin Denton has been elected Chair-Elect for the Business Law Section of the Oregon State Bar, effective January 1, 2016. He has served on the Business Law Section Executive Committee since 2010, most recently as Treasurer.
11.9.2015
Three Generations of Tonkon Torp Lawyers Recognized at Business Law Lunch
Three generations of Tonkon Torp business lawyers were recognized at the Annual OSB Business Law Section seminar and lunch on November 5. Ken Stephens, a recently retired founding partner, received the James B. Castles Leadership award. Justin Denton…
8.18.2015
45 Tonkon Torp Attorneys Named Best Lawyers in America® 2016
Forty-five Tonkon Torp lawyers representing 39 practice areas have been selected for inclusion in The Best Lawyers in America® 2016. All of them have been named to the list at least once before, and many of them have been recognized for a number of…
11.24.2014
Denton and Millender Discuss Equity Compensation for LLCs and Partnerships
On November 7, Justin Denton and Michael Millender, attorneys in Tonkon Torp’s Business Law Practice, spoke at the Oregon State Bar’s Business Law Section annual seminar, “Business Law 2014: From Private M&A to Cybersecurity and Privacy Law.” Their…
8.20.2014
Best Lawyers in America® 2015 Names 49 Tonkon Torp Attorneys to Prestigious List
Forty-nine Tonkon Torp lawyers representing 40 practice areas have been selected for inclusion in The Best Lawyers in America® 2015. All of them have been named to the list at least once before, and many of them have been recognized for a number of…
6.20.2014
Denton Provides Perspective to Auto Dealers on Buy-Sell Issues
Tonkon Torp co-sponsored the 2014 Northwest Dealership Seminar held on June 18 in Lake Oswego, OR. At the event, Justin Denton participated on a panel along with three other industry experts to discuss pressing Buy-Sell developments.
4.30.2014
Why Portland's Tonkon Torp Expects to 'Benefit' from New Law Practice Group
Tonkon Torp's new Benefit Company Law practice group was featured in this morning's edition of the Portland Business Journal. The article highlights Tonkon Torp's long term commitment to sustainable principles and features an interview with Benefit…
4.29.2014
Tonkon Torp Practice Group Supports Businesses Seeking Benefit Company Status
Tonkon Torp business lawyers have formed a practice group specializing in helping Oregon business owners obtain formal registration as a Benefit Company. The registration reflects a company’s commitment to a triple bottom line of social…
4.18.2014
David Weiler and Justin Denton Speak at JRCLS Panel
David Weiler moderated a panel of four attorneys at the April 17 spring luncheon meeting of the J. Reuben Clark Law Society (JRCLS). David is a member of the JRCLS Portland Chapter board of directors. The panel, which featured Justin Denton…
1.6.2014
Justin Denton Quoted in the Medford Mail Tribune
Tonkon Torp client, Rogue Creamery became Oregon's first-recognized Benefit Company last week. Justin Denton did the legal work to maneuver Rogue Creamery into this "first place" slot, and was quoted in a January 3, 2014 article in the Medford Mail…
8.22.2013
Seven Tonkon Torp Attorneys Earn Distinction as Portland Lawyers of the Year
Best Lawyers in America 2014 has named seven attorneys from Tonkon Torp LLP as Portland Lawyer of the Year for their particular specialties. Only a single lawyer in each specialty in each community is honored as the Lawyer of the Year by the peer…
8.15.2013
50 Tonkon Torp Attorneys Named to Best Lawyers in America® 2014
Fifty Tonkon Torp lawyers representing 42 practice areas were selected for inclusion in The Best Lawyers in America® 2014. “We are honored to have more than half of the firm’s partners recognized by the larger legal community for their legal talent…
11.12.2012
Tonkon Torp Lawyers Present CLE on Structuring Joint Ventures
Tonkon Torp attorneys Justin Denton and Steven Olson recently presented a continuing legal education seminar on how to structure strategic joint ventures from the perspective of a business attorney and a litigator.
3.15.2012
Carefully Structure LLCs to Avoid Unintended Consequences
In an article for the Daily Journal of Commerce, Justin Denton warns business owners to look closely at default rules when structuring LLCs. These default rules are almost never what owners would choose if they had been aware of them. The best…
12.17.2010
Justin Denton Named to Executive Committee of the OSB Business Law Section
Tonkon Torp attorney Justin Denton has been named to the Executive Committee of the Business Law Section of the Oregon State Bar.
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Publications & Presentations
“Structuring Equity Compensation in Limited Liability Companies and Partnerships," Business Law 2014: From Private M&A to Cybersecurity and Privacy Law, OSB Business Law Section, November 2014
"Buy-Sell Developments for Auto Dealers," 2014 Northwest Dealership Seminar, June 2014
"Spinning Plates – Giving Back and Finding Balance in Life and the Law," J. Reuben Clark Law Society – Portland Chapter, April 2014
"Carefully Structure LLCs to Avoid Unintended Consequences," Daily Journal of Commerce, March 2012
"Protecting Both Ethnic Minorities and the Equal Protection Clause: Resolving the Dilemma of Language-Based Peremptory Challenges," BYU Law Review, 101, 1997