Sherrill Corbett

Tonkon Torp represented client Gagen MacDonald, a human-focused transformation consulting firm, in its acquisition by APCO Worldwide, a global advisory and advocacy consultancy. The two industry leaders provide complementing C-suite consulting services that focus on human-centered transformation within organizations.

In April 2020, the U.S. Supreme Court struck down non-unanimous jury convictions in criminal cases in Ramos v. Louisiana. A shameful carryover from the Jim Crow era, Louisiana and Oregon were the last two states that allowed non-unanimous criminal convictions when as many as two jurors believed a defendant was innocent. Overnight, more than 260 cases in Oregon became eligible to seek post-conviction relief for unconstitutional non-unanimous convictions. Housed in the Criminal Justice Reform Clinic (CJRC) at Lewis & Clark Law School, the Ramos Project is a statewide pro-bono initiative providing legal assistance to those seeking redress.

Tonkon Torp led Oregon’s largest M&A transaction in 2017, the $700 million acquisition of Tualatin-based Pacific Foods of Oregon LLC by Campbell Investment Company. Pacific Foods is an iconic, nationally distributed organic food brand founded in 1987.

Tonkon Torp client Enel Green Power North America (EGPNA) is the North American subsidiary of one of the largest corporations in the world, the Italian electricity company Enel S.p.A. Here’s how we helped EGPNA in a renewable energy acquisition.

Tonkon Torp represented its client Vestas, the world’s largest manufacturer of wind turbines, in the acquisition of UpWind Solutions, Inc., an independent service provider for wind power plants in nine US states. The $60 million acquisition furthers Vestas’s strategic objectives for its North America service business.

Tonkon Torp acted as Oregon corporate counsel for its long-term client The Greenbrier Companies, Inc. in finalizing a 50/50 joint venture with Watco Companies, L.L.C. The venture combines the two companies’ railcar repair, refurbishment and maintenance businesses into a new organization, GBW Railcar Services, LLC.

Albina Head Start, Inc. (AHS), which serves more than 1,000 low-income children and their families in North, Northeast and Southeast Portland, faces the future in a stronger financial position thanks to a significant pro bono effort by Tonkon Torp. Find details and more featured cases here.

Tonkon Torp represented Newberg, Oregon-based CLIMAX Portable Machining and Welding Systems, in its acquisition in 2013 of Houston-based Calder Testers. Founded in 1966, CLIMAX is the world’s largest supplier of portable machine tools for the power generation, shipbuilding, heavy construction and mining, petrochemical and engineering industries.

Earlier this year, Tonkon Torp represented Meridian Rail Acquisitions Corp., a subsidiary of the firm’s long-standing client The Greenbrier Companies, in the sale of substantially all of the equipment utilized in Greenbrier’s reconditioned wheelset roller bearing operations in Elizabethtown, Kentucky. The purchaser was The Timken Companies, a global manufacturer of mechanical components and high-performance steel, including bearings.

Forty-nine Tonkon Torp lawyers representing 36 practice areas have been selected for inclusion in The Best Lawyers in America® 2024. All of the attorneys have been previously named to the peer-review list, and most have been listed for more than 10 years.

Two Tonkon Torp partners have been named 2024 Portland Lawyer of the Year in their respective specialties by The Best Lawyers in America peer-review survey. Only one lawyer per specialty in a community is honored as Lawyer of the Year. Sherrill Corbett was honored as Portland Lawyer of the Year for her work in Corporate Governance Law while Thomas Palmer was honored for his work in Securities Regulation.

Thirty-nine Tonkon Torp attorneys in 12 practice areas have been included in the 2023 Oregon Super Lawyers or Rising Stars lists.

Tonkon Torp partner Sherrill Corbett has joined the Partners in Diversity (PID) Leadership Council. PID is an affiliate of the Portland Business Alliance Charitable Institute and is dedicated to creating a competitive advantage in Oregon and Southwest Washington by attracting and retaining diverse talent.

Chambers USA has recognized 26 Tonkon Torp attorneys in eight practice areas in its Chambers USA 2023 Guide.

By Sherrill Corbett and Adam Adkin – Several situations can prompt the sale of a Company. The owners may need to fund their retirement or succession from sale proceeds. A tempting, unsolicited offer may materialize. Or the owners may simply be ready to sell the business: to facilitate the company’s progression to the next growth stage, because the market timing seems right, or because the owners are ready to move on to something more attractive.

By Josie Jeremiah, Kate Roth, Sherrill Corbett, and Jessica Morgan – The Treasury Department’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) recently published the “Final Rule” (effective Jan. 1, 2024) under the Corporate Transparency Act (CTA), part of the government’s efforts to curb money laundering and increase financial transparency.

Notwithstanding federal law, a sign of the maturing cannabis and CBD markets is the sharp rise in M&A activity to build scale and market share. Marijuana Business Daily notes that as of August 2019, 233 M&A transactions were completed in the U.S. compared to 185 at the same point in 2018.

On September 18, 2013, the Securities and Exchange Commission approved proposed rules requiring the disclosure by public companies of the median annual total compensation of all employees of the company, the annual total compensation of the Chief Executive Officer, and the ratio between the two. Companies would need to disclose this pay ratio in proxy statements, information statements, registration statements and annual reports. The proposed rules are an effort to implement Section 953(b) of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act.