Tonkon Torp LLP has hired Vanessa Lee and Andrea Schmidt as new associates in the Business Department.
“We are pleased to bring these bright young lawyers into the firm,” said Michael M. Morgan, managing partner. “In addition to their academic excellence and professional training, they bring the kind of real world experience and curiosity that makes good lawyers.”
Vanessa Lee earned her law degree, cum laude, from Lewis & Clark Law School in 2009 and completed a judicial externship for the Honorable Robert E. Jones at the U.S. District Court in Oregon. Prior to beginning her work with Tonkon Torp, she volunteered at the Lewis & Clark Small Business Legal Clinic where she served as the clinic’s interim operations manager and provided pro bono legal work. Before attending law school, Lee, who earned her undergraduate degree from the University of California at San Diego, worked for eight years as a biologist, wetland scientist and project manager for environmental consulting and civil engineering firms.
Andrea Schmidt, a Portland State University grad, earned her law degree, cum laude, from Indiana University School of Law in 2009. She was a judicial intern for Chief Judge Larry J. McKinney of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Indiana. She also was executive symposium editor for the Indiana International & Comparative Law Review and has authored a paper on trade policy. Schmidt participated in her law school’s immigration clinic, where she represented clients before the Chicago Asylum Office and the Chicago Immigration Court. Prior to attending law school, she studied Spanish and the economic impacts of NAFTA in Guadalajara, Mexico.
