Paul Balmer

On August 4, Tonkon Torp Managing Partner Anna Sortun argued a Motion for a Preliminary Injunction in the firm’s lawsuit against DOGE and the National Endowment for the Humanities on behalf of Oregon Humanities and the National Federation of Humanities Councils. On August 6, the Honorable Michael H. Simon, the presiding judge of the U.S. District Court for the District of Oregon, issued an opinion in favor of the humanities councils.

Tonkon Torp celebrates another victory for the Oregon State Bar in the ongoing challenge presented in Gruber v. Oregon State Bar and Crowe v. Oregon State Bar. At question in both cases 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

In 2021, Tonkon Torp defended its client Sprinklr, Inc. in one of the largest Oregon-based commercial lawsuits to be filed in recent years. The complex case between Sprinklr and plaintiff Opal Labs began in 2017 and involved the high-end technology of two sophisticated companies offering services in content marketing.

Tonkon Torp’s Government Solutions Practice Group is celebrating a successful effort on behalf of the Oregon Farm Bureau seeking changes to an Attorney General’s ballot title, caption and summary.

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 litigation attorneys Paul Balmer and Rosie Fatta received the Associate Award at the Campaign for Equal Justice’s recent 35th Annual Awards Celebration.

Fifteen Tonkon Torp lawyers representing 18 practice groups have been named to The Best Lawyers in America® 2026 Ones to Watch directory. Best Lawyers Ones to Watch is a peer-review honor roll that acknowledges the professional excellence of attorneys who have been in private practice for less than 10 years.

On August 4, Tonkon Torp Managing Partner Anna Sortun argued a Motion for a Preliminary Injunction in the firm’s lawsuit against DOGE and the National Endowment for the Humanities on behalf of Oregon Humanities and the National Federation of Humanities Councils. On August 6, the Honorable Michael H. Simon, the presiding judge of the U.S. District Court for the District of Oregon, issued an opinion in favor of the humanities councils.

Thirty-six Tonkon Torp attorneys in 13 practice areas have been included in the 2025 Oregon Super Lawyers or Rising Stars lists.

On behalf of nonprofit clients Oregon Humanities and the Federation of State Humanities Councils, Tonkon Torp filed a lawsuit yesterday in Oregon federal court against the United States DOGE Service and the National Endowment for Humanities (NEH). The lawsuit challenges the disruption and attempted destruction, spearheaded by DOGE, of the congressionally established federal-state partnership between NEH and the 56 state and jurisdictional humanities councils.

The 2021 Oregon legislative session—mostly virtual in the midst of a global pandemic—saw legislators and draft bills largely focused on economic recovery issues. Most relevant to our narrow focus, the cannabis industry won some industry-specific economic recovery in the form of relief from overregulation, thanks to the passage of SB 408.