Stoel Rives Promotes Nine Attorneys to Partner

PORTLAND, Ore. — Stoel Rives LLP, an Am Law 200 law firm, today announced nine attorneys were promoted to the partnership effective January 1, 2022. This year’s class of new partners includes six women and three men who practice in the firm’s offices in Anchorage, Portland, Salt Lake City, Seattle, and Washington, D.C. Four are transactional attorneys, two practice environmental law, two have energy and renewable energy practices, two focus on the real estate and construction sectors, and one is a bankruptcy attorney.

“Amid the challenges of the past year, our new partners consistently delivered exceptional legal counsel to clients on matters of significance and complexity and demonstrated leadership supporting Stoel’s future growth as a client-focused law firm and an engaged member of our community,” said Melissa Jones, Firm Managing Partner, Stoel Rives. “Our 2022 partner class reflects Stoel’s exceptional strength across a range of industries and practices.”

The new Stoel Rives partners are:

Anchorage

Andrea Canfield is a Corporate attorney with an extensive mergers and acquisitions practice. She is experienced in a wide range of industries and represents clients with diverse ownership structures, including Alaska Native corporations, large public institutions, middle market companies, as well as privately held and emerging businesses. She also counsels small business owners and startups in corporate governance, commercial transactions and debt financing. A graduate of the University of Virginia School of Law, Andrea is a Member of The University of Alaska Anchorage’s Legal Studies Program Advisory Committee, a Member and former President of the Anchorage Association of Women Lawyers (AAWL) and also serves on the Board of Abused Women’s Aid in Crisis (AWAIC), the largest domestic violence safe shelter in Alaska.

Portland

Will Goodling is a Corporate attorney with a practice that focuses on mergers & acquisitions. He represents companies of all sizes in M&A transactions, including growth companies, middle-market companies, private equity funds and publicly traded companies, and has M&A experience in various industries, including consumer products, industrial manufacturing, professional services, technology and transportation. Will also advises clients on equity financings, securities law matters and certain antitrust matters such as joint ventures and HSR Act filings. He graduated from the University of Washington School of Law and served as a law clerk to Justice Deborah L. Stephens on the Washington Supreme Court (2014-2015). Will currently serves on the Executive Committee of the Business Law Section of the Oregon State Bar and is a member of the firm’s Consumer Products, Manufacturing and Transportation industry group.

Laura Kerr is an Environment, Land Use and Natural Resources attorney. She is highly experienced in counseling clients on compliance, enforcement, permitting and cleanup matters arising under federal and state laws governing air and water quality, waste management, land contamination and other environmental liabilities. She is a creative problem-solver who uses a results-oriented approach to help clients navigate complex regulatory programs. Laura earned her J.D. at Lewis & Clark Law School with a Certificate in Environmental and Natural Resources Law and served as a Judicial Extern for Chief Judge Aiken, U.S. District Court, District of Oregon (2013). Prior to becoming a lawyer, she was an environmental researcher and educator. She is currently a member of the Executive Committee of the Oregon State Bar Environmental & Natural Resources Section, serves on the Steering Committee for the Northwest Environmental Business Council’s Cascade Chapter and maintains an active pro bono practice.

Mario Nicholas is a member of the firm’s Construction and Design practice group. He has extensive experience negotiating construction and design agreements and litigating complex construction disputes. He represents a wide range of clients, including owners, developers, contractors, subcontractors, architects and homeowners, in contract negotiations and disputes regarding large-scale public and commercial projects, and residential projects. He has trial and arbitration experience, and has assisted clients before federal and state courts, domestic and international arbitration panels, and administrative bodies. A graduate of the University of California, Hastings College of the Law, Mario is licensed in California, Oregon, and Washington, and regularly practices in multiple jurisdictions. He is a Member of Associated General Contractors, Oregon-Columbia Chapter, a Committee Member of nonprofit LEAP Wilderness Programs, and a Board Member of his local Portland Neighborhood Association.

Erica Valli is a Corporate attorney with extensive transactional experience and a practice focus on the energy sector. She represents clients in a wide range of industries on complex debt financing transactions, including leveraged acquisition financings, syndicated credit facilities, private placements, asset-backed financings and project financing. She also represents sponsors, developers and investors in the acquisition and sale of operating and development-stage renewable energy projects. Erica received her GDL and LPC in Corporate Law from BPP Law School in London and, in addition to earning her undergraduate degree from the University of California, San Diego, also completed the General Course in Law & Sociology at The London School of Economics. She is a Board Member of the Renewable Energy Scholarship Foundation, where she serves as Secretary and Treasurer.

Salt Lake City

Ellen Ostrow is a bankruptcy attorney in the Corporate group with extensive experience representing major stakeholders, including secured and unsecured creditors, asset purchasers, debtors, unsecured creditor committees, trustees, and receivers, in bankruptcy cases and creditors’ rights litigation. She counsels clients through the technical bankruptcy process, including section 363 asset sales, Chapter 11 proceedings, post-petition financing, lien disputes and bankruptcy claims litigation. Ellen has comprehensive knowledge of bankruptcy court processes and procedures, acquired through her clerkship to then-Chief Judge William T. Thurman of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Utah (2013-2015). A graduate of American University Washington College of Law, she currently serves as a Trustee and the Secretary to the Utah Bankruptcy Lawyers Forum and is a Member of American Bankruptcy Institute, Utah State Bar, Litigation Section, and Women Lawyers of Utah. Ellen also represents Stoel on the Law Firm Anti-Racism Alliance’s Banking Committee.

Seattle

James Graves is an Environment, Land Use and Natural Resources attorney. He counsels clients working with state and federal regulators through all phases of investigation and remediation of contaminated sites, and is experienced in cost recovery through litigation and alternative dispute resolution, including equitable allocation proceedings at complex, multi-party sediment cleanup sites. In addition to counseling clients on environmental aspects of real estate and business transactions, he advises industrial and municipal clients regarding Clean Air Act regulatory and enforcement defense matters as well as low-carbon clean fuel standards, greenhouse gas (GHG) cap-and-trade legislation, and other GHG reduction regulations recently enacted in Washington State. James also has extensive experience providing counsel on federal and state environmental regulations and laws, including the Endangered Species Act, Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA), Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act, Clean Water Act, and National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). He received his J.D. from William & Mary Law School.

Kate Mathews is a Real Estate & Construction attorney with a specialized practice focus on real-estate secured financing and affordable housing development. Her client base includes private real estate developers, tax-credit investors, and public housing authorities, and she is highly experienced in major acquisition and disposition deals and development of multi-family, mixed-use and industrial real estate projects, including structuring, construction and permanent financing, leasing, low-income housing tax credit (LIHTC) financing, and workforce housing initiatives. Kate earned her J.D. from Northwestern University Pritzker School of Law.

Washington, D.C.

Jessica Bayles is an energy regulatory attorney in the Energy Development group. Her practice focuses on regulatory support for renewable project development and transactions, compliance counseling, and regulatory controversies. She counsels renewable energy developers and asset managers on compliance with the requirements of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) and has significant experience in complex FERC litigation and settlement proceedings. She also advises large electric customers in state public utility commission proceedings. While earning her J.D. at the George Washington University Law School, she was a law clerk for the U.S. Department of Justice, Environment & Natural Resources Division (2012) and for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance (2011). Jessica serves asylum applicants in her pro bono practice.