Eugene attorney Gwendolyn Griffith has joined the tax practice group of Tonkon Torp LLP in Portland. Her practice is focused on advising clients of closely held businesses in matters of taxation, succession and estate planning, and the formation, reorganization, purchase or sale of businesses. She also advises many Oregon nonprofits as general counsel.
Griffith’s nearly 30-year career includes both practicing and teaching law. Before joining Tonkon Torp, she was a partner for nine years at Speer Hoyt PC in Eugene. For the past 18 months she also has served as Executive Director of the Oregon Facilities Authority, a state agency responsible for facilitating the issuance of tax exempt bonds for nonprofit organizations. “Affiliating with Tonkon Torp’s tax practice offers me the opportunity at this stage of my career to work with an outstanding group of attorneys whose practices complement my own,” she said. “I’m delighted to be part of this dynamic firm.”
Griffith earned her law degree in 1981 from Stanford University, where she was editor-in-chief of the Stanford Journal of International Law. She holds a B.A. in economics, with highest distinction, from Rollins College, Winter Park, Florida.
She began her legal career in Florence, Italy on a one-year Ford Foundation Project on Comparative Law. Following her return to the U.S., Griffith joined the Dallas, Texas firm of Akin, Gump, Strauss, Hauer & Feld and taught international tax law as an adjunct professor at Southern Methodist University. From 1986 to 1999, she taught law at Florida State University, University of Richmond and Willamette University. While managing her Eugene law practice, she also was a visiting professor at the University of Oregon School of Law.
“Gwen has impeccable credentials and tremendous knowledge and experience in all types of tax law,” said Michael M. Morgan, chairman of Tonkon Torp’s managing board. “She is a fantastic addition to our tax practice group.”
