On November 15, Tonkon Torp attorneys Steven Wilker and Meg Houlihan were presented with the 2019 Oregon State Bar (OSB) President’s Special Award of Appreciation.
The award, which is presented at the discretion of the OSB President, was given to Steven and Meg, along with their co-counsel, in recognition of their outstanding service as volunteer, pro bono attorneys for the OSB and its officers in two related cases: Gruber v. Oregon State Bar and Crowe v. Oregon State Bar.
At question in both cases, which were originally filed in 2018, is whether compulsory membership in the Oregon State Bar violates individual rights to free speech and free association under the First and Fourteenth Amendments to the United States Constitution. Last spring, the U.S. District Court granted motions to dismiss in both cases. Both sets of plaintiffs appealed and the cases are currently pending at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.
Steven is Co-Chair of the firm’s Litigation Department and Information Privacy & Security Practice Group. Steven handles complex commercial litigation in trial and appellate courts and counsels clients on intellectual property, media communications and technology, information security, corporate governance, and finance issues. An AV-rated litigator, Steven is also a member of the firm’s Intellectual Property and Financial Services & Investment Management practice groups.
Meg is an associate in Tonkon Torp’s Litigation Department. Meg has represented individuals and businesses in cases of all sizes, including tort, contract, trade secrets, and Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO) cases. Meg brings her experience clerking for the Ninth Circuit and the United States District Court for the District of Oregon to her litigation practice.
