Three Stoel Rives Partners Join CLSA Fellowship; Firm Receives CLSA Law Firm Award

PORTLAND, Ore. — Stoel Rives LLP is pleased to announce that construction attorneys Tamara L. Boeck, Eric A. Grasberger, and Alan R. Merkle have joined the Fellowship of the Construction Lawyers Society of America (CLSA). Boeck, who is also a CLSA advisory board member, was inducted at the CLSA 2017 International Conference held in September in Rancho Palos Verdes, California.

Additionally, the firm has been awarded an inaugural CLSA Law Firm Award, which recognizes North American law firms for excellence in construction law. Award recipients are chosen based on independent research by the society and the input of Fellows who sit on the CLSA Law Firm Awards Committee.

The CLSA is an invitation-only construction lawyer honorary society with membership limited to 1,200 practicing Fellows from the United States and other countries worldwide. Fellows are selected and invited into Fellowship after being evaluated for effectiveness and accomplishment in construction law, along with ethical reputation. The selection process is a combination of Fellow input, internal research, nominations by Fellows, attorney opinions, evaluation of client selection of counsel, limited input from active and retired judges, and reviews of acknowledgement and recognition by other peer review sources and associations.

Tamara L. Boeck is current chair of the firm’s Real Estate and Construction Development Group. She works with clients on a wide range of projects including commercial, residential and mixed-use projects, as well as construction-related aspects of oil and gas, mining, food processing, solar, wind, geothermal, biofuel, wastewater treatment, and other industrial facilities. In addition to counseling her clients on ways to avoid protracted litigation through thoughtful negotiations and effective contracts, she handles construction disputes from mediation through litigation or arbitration.

Eric A. Grasberger, chair of the firm's Construction and Design group and co-chair of its Sustainable Real Estate Development Team, focuses his practice on development and construction law, including development risk analysis and risk shifting, contract drafting and negotiating, insurance review and analysis, construction defect claims, delay and impact claims, lien and bond claims, and public contracts, bid disputes and public improvement exemptions.

Alan Merkle is a partner and former chair of the firm who focuses his practice primarily in the areas of infrastructure, energy, construction and design, and government contracts. He represents public and private owners, developers, engineers, architects, contractors, manufacturers and suppliers in a wide array of business matters. Experienced in the drafting, negotiation and administration of contracts, he also handles bid protests, claims, litigation, arbitration, mediation and other alternative dispute resolution matters. He is currently engaged in projects in the U.S., Canada, Mexico, South Africa, Chile, Egypt and Senegal.