Tonkon Torp Announces Three New Partners

Tonkon Torp LLP has elected Anna Sortun, Kimberlee A.  Stafford, and James K. Hein to the partnership, effective January 1, 2014. All three have been associates with the firm since they began their private practices. Sortun joined Tonkon Torp following a clerkship at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. Stafford and Hein started at the firm as summer associates.

Sortun, an experienced trial lawyer in the firm’s Litigation Department, represents businesses and individuals in a wide range of disputes. Named to the 2013 Super Lawyers list of “Rising Stars,” Sortun has represented clients in jury trials, bench trials, private arbitrations, mediations and before the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. Last year she served as a special prosecutor in the Multnomah District Attorney’s office for a month, completing multiple trials as well as numerous court hearings. Sortun earned her J.D. from the University of Oregon School of Law in 2004, where she was the Editor-in-Chief of the Oregon Law Review. Prior to joining the firm, she completed a year-long clerkship with the Honorable Alfred T. Goodwin, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. 

Stafford is a business attorney in the firm’s Real Estate & Land Use practice group, and also regularly works with the Environmental & Natural Resources and Energy practice groups. She manages commercial real estate transactions involving acquisitions, sales, leases and financing, and represents a wide range of property owners and tenants, including clients in senior housing, agriculture, energy, and forest products industries. Stafford is co-editor of a new reference book on Environmental Law regulation and permitting. A 2005 graduate of Lewis & Clark Law School, Stafford is a member of Oregon Women Lawyers, Oregon Minority Lawyers Association and Commercial Real Estate Women (CREW). For four years she served on the Executive Committee of the Oregon State Bar Environmental and Natural Resources Section. Stafford has been active on the Tonkon Torp Sustainability Committee for many years, and currently serves as Chair of the committee. 

Hein is a business lawyer in the Corporate Finance and Mergers & Acquisitions practice groups, where he counsels clients on business formation and structure, corporate finance, contract negotiation and drafting, as well as the acquisition and sale of businesses. He began his legal career as a trial lawyer at Tonkon Torp, gaining first-hand experience in solving complex disputes. Hein earned his J.D. in 2005 from Boston College Law School, where he was the Editor-in-Chief of Boston College Environmental Affairs Law Review and worked as a summer judicial extern with the Honorable R. William Riggs of the Oregon Supreme Court. He volunteers as a lawyer for the Southeast Legal Clinic and the ACLU, serves on the board of Minds Matter of Portland, and is the Chair of the firm’s Pro Bono Committee.

“As a firm that prides itself in training up young lawyers by giving them meaningful work from day one, we are delighted to offer partnership to these three fine attorneys who joined Tonkon Torp at the beginning of their legal careers,” said Michael Morgan, Managing Partner. “It has been gratifying to watch them hone their legal and business skills and develop their expertise. They are among the next generation of partners to ensure that the firm continues to meet the evolving needs of our clients.”

Posted in
Filed under