Cauble & Whittington LLP

Amanda C. Thorpe is a 2006 graduate of University of Oregon School of Law and was admitted to practice the same year.  Of counsel at Cauble & Whittington, LLP with offices in Southern Oregon and Portland she practices throughout the state primarily in family law.  She is a past chair of the Oregon State Bar Family Law Section Executive Committee and continues to serve as a committee member.  She has worked with the court to draft local rules and two county standard parenting plans.  Ms. Thorpe served as a pro tem judge from 2017 to 2020.  She is also active in Oregon Women Lawyers (OWLS) and served on the OWLS board for six years and is co-chair of the Washington County OWLS chapter.      
 
 

Ashurst Perkins Coie

Campaign for Equal Justice

Ayla Ercin is the Executive Director of the Campaign for Equal Justice.  Ayla joined the Campaign for Equal Justice in 2021, and has served as Executive Director since 2023. At the Campaign for Equal Justice, Ayla focuses on raising awareness and support for civil legal aid among the private bar. Ayla regularly conducts continuing legal education classes across the state to spread the word about the work of legal aid in helping Oregonians who would otherwise have no legal representation or assistance. Prior to joining the CEJ, Ayla was in private practice in Portland and in New York City before that. Ayla received her J.D. from Columbia Law School in 2005, and was awarded an LLM in public international law from the London School of Economics and Political Science that same year through a joint JD/LLM program. Ayla started her career working in non-profit fundraising, and worked at Amnesty International and the Whitney Museum of American Art. Ayla also serves on the Board of Directors of Oregon Women Lawyers (OWLS) and serves as co-chair of the OWLS Community Service Committee.

 

Oregon Attorney Assistance Program Attorney Counselor Associate

I joined the OAAP after practicing law in Oregon for 15 years, first as a commercial litigator at a small firm, then in local government, and finally in criminal defense. In 2024, I enrolled in graduate school for a master’s degree in mental health counseling. I feel fortunate to be using my professional and life experiences to support our statewide legal community.

Legal work very often meaningfully affects other people’s lives—we work together in a field where what we do, and how we do it, really matters. The work can also be demanding, exacting, contentious, and high stakes. We are always facing different challenges and stresses in our lives, and inevitably at some point we find ourselves turned askew, or even upside down. Fortunately, each of us has a tremendous capacity for healing, unfolding, and growth, and we do not have to do any of it on our own. My own path includes a commitment to sobriety, and in my master’s program I am specializing in addiction counseling. I find it a true privilege to offer connection and support to people wherever they find themselves.

Outside of work, I live in Northeast Portland with my husband, our son, and our golden retriever. I love spending time with family and friends and am enjoying this season of life with a lot of children around. I have a committed meditation and mindfulness practice, I get outside on long walks and in the garden, and I am usually reading a few different books, most of which I intend to finish.  

 

JD, CADC I, Oregon Attorney Assistance Program, Attorney Counselor

Bryan R. Welch, JD, CADC I, is an attorney counselor with the Oregon Attorney Assistance Program. Prior to joining the OAAP staff in 2015, he was in the private practice of law for 12 years, primarily in family law and family mediation. He is a Certified Alcohol and Drug Counselor, and is currently working on his Masters in Counseling from OSU. Bryan particularly enjoys group facilitation and currently leads peer support groups for lawyers practicing law with ADHD, or while experiencing anxiety and depression. As he says, “Being a witness to the support and healing that comes from people sharing their experience with – and learning from – others who have similar challenges, is a powerful experience.” bryanw@oaap.org 503-226-1057, ext. 19

Senior Fiduciary Services, LLC

Davis Rothwell Earle & Xóchihua PC

Christopher J. Drotzmann obtained his J.D. from Willamette University and is a shareholder of Davis Rothwell Earle & Xóchihua PC. Chris has tried and arbitrated in excess of 100 civil cases on a broad spectrum of subject matters throughout Oregon and Washington ranging in value from a few thousand dollars to in excess of tens of millions of dollars.
 

Buchanan Angeli Sullivan & Ferrer LLP

Deputy General Counsel, Oregon State Bar

Portland Office of City Attorney

JD, LPC, CADC I, Oregon Attorney Assistance Program, Senior Attorney Counselor

 Douglas S. Querin, JD, LPC, CADC I is the Senior Attorney Counselor with the Oregon Attorney Assistance Program (OAAP), providing resources and confidential behavioral health and addiction counseling services to Oregon lawyers, judges, and law students. He practiced law as a trial lawyer for over 25 years, subsequently returning to graduate school and earning an M.A. in Counseling and becoming licensed as a Professional Counselor and a Board Certified Drug and Alcohol Counselor. He started at the OAAP in 2006. Doug frequently presents on professional well-being issues to the Oregon legal community. douglasq@oaap.org 503-226-1057, ext. 12

Professional Liability Fund Director of Administration & Underwriting

Emilee Preble graduated from Indiana University School of Law in Indianapolis, Indiana (JD 2009) and was admitted to the Oregon State Bar in 2010. She received her BA in Telecommunications from Butler University (Indianapolis, IN) in 2005. While at Butler, she studied abroad at the University of Stirling in Scotland (2003). She also spent the summer of 2007 studying Islamic Law and International Trade at the American University in Cairo, Egypt. Before attending law school, Ms. Preble was a data analyst for the Butler University Office of Admission and the Marketing Assistant for Clowes Memorial Hall (a prominent performing arts venue in Indianapolis, IN). Emilee joined the Professional Liability Fund in 2011 as the Administrator of the Excess Program and a Staff Attorney. She is now the Director of Administration & Underwriting for the PLF.
 

Director of Pro Bono and Legal Referral Services, Oregon State Bar

Eric McClendon received his B.A. in English from Cal Poly and his J.D. from Willamette University College of Law. Before law school, he served four years in the Marine Corps as an Infantry Assaultman. After law school, Eric started a law firm with several former classmates and practiced family law for five years. In 2014, Eric started working at the Oregon State Bar managing the bar’s Lawyer Referral Service (LRS), which receives around 140,000 requests for legal information per year. Eric is currently the bar’s Director of Pro Bono and Legal Referrals, a position that oversees the LRS, the bar’s Pro Bono Program and the Free Legal Answers Program.
 

Oregon Law Center

Erika Hente attended Syracuse University School of Law. She began her legal career at Inland Counties Legal Services in Southern California in 2000 and then moved to Oregon in 2004 and began working for Legal Aid Services of Oregon (LASO) in the Albany office. Erika served as the Regional Director for the LASO office in Eugene and then the Central Oregon office of LASO in Bend. She moved back in 2017 to serve as the Managing Attorney of the Lane County office of Oregon Law Center.  In August of 2024, she began serving as the Executive Director of OLC. She has spent her legal aid career in general civil practice including eviction defense, restraining orders, family law, wage claims, guardianships and consumer practice.
 

Professional Liability Fund Director of Practice Management Assistance Program

Hong Dao is the Director of the Practice Management Assistance Program (PMAP) at the Oregon State Bar Professional Liability Fund. She leads a team of Practice Management Attorneys who provide confidential practice management assistance and education to Oregon attorneys to help them manage their malpractice exposure. Ms. Dao came to the U.S. from Vietnam with her family as boat refugees after the Vietnam War and started a new chapter in their lives in Colorado. She received a B.A. from the University of Denver and her J.D. from Drake University Law School. Before joining the PLF in 2014, Ms. Dao worked as a staff attorney at the Oregon Law Center, representing, advising, and advocating for clients in employment, housing and consumer law matters, and presenting community education programs. Prior to that, she worked as a contractor with the Criminal Division of the U.S. Attorney's Office in Oregon.  She has been an adjunct instructor of business law at Portland Community College since 2012.

Ms. Dao is a member of the Oregon State Bar, Washington State Bar, American Bar Association, Oregon Women Lawyers, the Multnomah Bar Association, and the Oregon Asian Pacific American Bar Association. She is the 2014 recipient of the Oregon State Bar Presidential Public Service Award.

Ms. Dao also has been active in the Asian Pacific American community in Oregon, having served on the board of directors for the Center for Intercultural Organizing (now called Unite Oregon) and the Asian Pacific American Network of Oregon (APANO), and was a graduate of first cohort of The Asian Pacific Islander Community Leadership Institute (API-CLI).

Ms. Dao writes for the PLF's inPractice blog and tweets technology and practice management tips on Twitter.  

Eve Miller Mediation

Eve L. Miller is a highly respected legal professional who served as a Clackamas County Circuit Judge from 1997 to 2017, and as Senior Judge until 2022. Since 2017, she has led Eve L. Miller Mediation, providing expert mediation services.

A graduate of California State University, Chico (B.A., English and Political Science, Highest Honors, 1977) and Northwestern School of Law, Lewis & Clark College (J.D., 1981), Eve has been an active member of the Oregon State and Clackamas County Bar Associations since 1981. She chaired the Clackamas Bar Association CLE Committee (2015–2021) and the Multnomah County Bar Association Alternative Dispute Resolution Committee (1990–1991), served on the Multnomah Bar Association Board of Directors (1992–1996), and was a Master of the Owen M. Panner American Inns of Court (1995–2014, Emeritus).
Throughout her career, Eve Miller has been devoted to advancing justice and professionalism in Oregon’s legal system.
 

United States Magistrate Judge

Judge Acosta was appointed a magistrate judge for the United States District of Oregon on March 5, 2008, and took senior status on March 6, 2022.  He maintains chambers in Eugene. 
 
Prior to his appointment, Judge Acosta served from 2002-2008 as Senior Deputy General Counsel for TriMet, the public transportation authority for metropolitan Portland.  Before that, he practiced law from 1987-2002 with the Stoel Rives law firm in its Portland, Oregon, office, first as an associate and then as a partner.  Judge Acosta began his legal career with the Alaska law firm of Hughes Thorsness Gantz Powell & Brundin.  He received his J.D. from the University of Oregon School of Law in 1982, where he served on the managing board of the Oregon Law Review, and his B.A. in History from San Diego State University in 1979, where he was elected to Phi Beta Kappa. 
 
Since 2006, Judge Acosta has been a member of the Oregon State Bar’s Joint Bench/Bar Commission on Professionalism and served as its chair in 2010.  He is a recipient of the Oregon State Bar’s Edwin J. Peterson Professionalism Award and the Oregon Hispanic Bar Association’s Paul J. De Muniz Professionalism Award.  In 2013 he was the inaugural recipient of the annual Hon. John V. Acosta Professionalism Award, given by the Oregon State Bar New Lawyers Division to a lawyer or judge in recognition of their commitment to promoting the highest ethical and professional standards among new lawyers. He authored the Professionalism chapter for the 2026 Oregon State Bar Bench Book.  Judge Acosta also has received the Oregon State Bar President’s Diversity & Inclusion Award; and the University of Oregon School of Law’s Frohnmayer Award for Public Service, its Meritorious Service Award, and its Pillar of the Community Award. 

Since 2013, Judge Acosta has served on the Dean’s Advisory Council for the University of Oregon School of Law, where he taught as an adjunct professor from 2002-2007, and where he has served as the incoming 1L class mentor/coach since 2014.  Judge Acosta also has been active in the community through service on the boards of several nonprofit social services organizations, membership in legal professional associations, service on school board subcommittees, and coaching high school mock trial students, among other volunteer activities. 
 
Judge Acosta speaks and writes frequently about professionalism, legal writing, and maintaining personal well-being while pursuing a demanding career in the law.  He enjoys reading and studying World War II history, avidly following Oregon Ducks football, and spending time with his wife, their two daughters and their respective husbands, their two grandchildren, and all the families’ various dogs. 

 

Jade Priest-Maoz Coaching & Consulting, LLC

Kotoba LLC

Dwyer Williams Cherkoss Attorneys PC

Rose Legal

Oregon Attorney Assistance Program Attorney Counselor Associate

Kirsten Blume, JD, MA-candidate, was born and raised in Eugene, Oregon. She earned her law degree from Northeastern University School of Law in Boston, Massachusetts. Kirsten is in the process of obtaining her Masters in Counseling from Oregon State University. Prior to joining the OAAP in 2022, Kirsten served those in need of legal service across the globe, including a fellowship in women’s health human rights in Delhi, India, advocating to the UN Human Rights Commission in Geneva on the issue of homelessness in the U.S., working at a firm in Hawaii, clerking for Clackamas County Circuit Court in Oregon, engaging in Title IX and non-discrimination investigations in higher education, and directing a housing civil rights advocacy program for a non-profit. In addition to her professional accolades, she is a certified yoga instructor, avid runner, urban farmer, and parent to two young children. 503.226.1057, ext. 11, or kirstenb@oaap.org.

 

Oregon Attorney Assistance Program Director and Attorney Counselor

Kyra M. Hazilla, JD, LCSW, is the director and an attorney counselor with the Oregon Attorney Assistance Program (OAAP). Kyra is a 2006 graduate of the University of Michigan Law School (JD) and School of Social Work (MSW).  She was a public defender practicing juvenile law for most of her legal career and also worked as a contract attorney in the areas of personal injury law and civil rights law before joining the OAAP staff in 2014.  She is a trained counselor having completed more than 3,500 postgraduate social service hours. She is also a clinical supervisor and provides regular clinical consultation for peers in the therapeutic community. She is a national speaker on trauma-informed lawyering and other topics.  Her counseling experience includes crisis intervention; working with victims of sexual assault; drug, alcohol, and substance use counseling; mental health counseling; and survivors of interpersonal violence and their children.  kyrah@oaap.org  503-226-1057, ext. 13 

Ludwig Runstein, LLC

Lisa Ludwig is a partner at Ludwig Runstein, LLC in Portland, Oregon.  She practices exclusively criminal defense in state and federal court.  She began her career at Multnomah Defenders Inc. in 1996.  In 2008 she married her favorite expert witness and they are raising their son to be a lawyer when he grows up.  Lisa teaches a summer section of Ethics and Regulation of Laws at Lewis and Clark.  Lisa enjoys reading, movies, comedy, family time, travel and most of all, speaking at lawyer trainings.

Lissa Kaufman Law LLC

Professional Liability Fund Director of Claims

Matthew Borrillo received his Bachelor’s degree in Philosophy from the University of Santa Clara and his JD from the University of Denver, College of Law, in 1995. He was admitted to the Colorado State Bar, the Oregon State Bar, and the Washington State Bar in 1996, and to the United States District Court (District of Oregon) in 1997. While in private practice, Mr. Borrillo was involved in insurance defense, including the defense of professional negligence cases against pharmacists, chiropractors, medical doctors, osteopaths, and attorneys. He was also involved in the areas of medical malpractice defense, and product liability litigation.

Mr. Borrillo joined the PLF as a Claims Attorney in July 2002. In June 2020 Mr. Borrillo became the Director of Claims at the PLF. He is a member of the American Bar Association; the Oregon Bar Association; the Multnomah Bar Association; the Washington Bar Association; the Federal Bar Association; the United States District Court Historical Society; and the Colorado Bar Association.
 

Tonkon Torp LLP

Dunn Carney LLP

Melissa F. Busley received her J.D. from University of Oregon School of Law.  She also received a LL.M. in Taxation from University of Washington School of Law.  She has been in private practice since 2004 and is currently a partner at Dunn Carney Allen Higgins & Tongue, LLP, where she focuses on estate planning and tax.  Ms. Busley also advises tax-exempt organizations on operational matters and tax compliance, assists new organizations in forming and receiving recognition of tax-exempt status, and frequently speaks on issues related to estate planning, as well as tax-exempt organization matters.

Sussman Shank LLP

Professional Liability Fund Practice Management Attorney

Monica Logan is a practice management attorney at the Professional Liability Fund. She provides confidential practice management assistance to Oregon attorneys to reduce their risk of malpractice claims, enhance their enjoyment of practicing law, and improve their client relationships through clear communication and efficient delivery of legal services. Ms. Logan grew up in San Jose, California and moved to Oregon to attend Concordia University in Portland where she received her BA. She obtained her JD from Willamette University College of Law. Ms. Logan is a member of the Oregon State Bar, Oregon Women Lawyers, the Multnomah Bar Association, and the American Bar Association. She previously served as treasurer of the Mary Leonard Chapter of Oregon Women Lawyers in Salem.
 
Before joining the PLF in 2021, Ms. Logan was in private practice for four years, working with clients in family law, elder law, and estate planning in various counties in Oregon. She practiced in Roseburg, Klamath Falls, Coos Bay, Salem, and the Portland area.
 

Wildwood Law Group LLC

Professional Liability Fund Practice Management Attorney

Rachel Edwards received her BA from the University of Washington in Seattle and her JD from Willamette University College of Law. She is a member of the Oregon State Bar, Oregon Women Lawyers, Multnomah Bar Association, American Bar Association, a former elected board member of the Washington County Bar Association, and a founding subcommittee member of the New Lawyers Division of the Washington County Bar Association. She has served as a Classroom Law Project Mock Trial Volunteer Judge, an Oregon Department of Human Services Adoption Contract Vendor Attorney, and a volunteer for the Convocation on Equality and the St. Andrew Legal Clinic.

Prior to joining the Professional Liability Fund in 2016, Ms. Edwards was in private practice for four years. Her areas of practice included Social Security disability, family law, adoption, and estate planning cases. In her role as a practice management attorney for the PLF, Ms. Edwards provides practice management assistance to Oregon attorneys to reduce their risk of malpractice claims and enhance their enjoyment of practicing law. Her assistance is free and confidential.

Ms. Edwards writes for the PLF's inPractice blog and tweets technology and practice management tips on Twitter. To view her blog posts, click here.

ABA Tax Section Christine A. Brunswick Public Service Fellow

Professional Liability Fund Practice Management Attorney

Rita Alister joined the Practice Management Assistance Program in 2025 with a wealth of experience from her years of service in both military and civilian legal roles. She recently retired from her position as ethics counsel with the State Bar of Texas where she served for over a decade. Before that, Ms. Alister spent 20 years as a Judge Advocate in the United States Air Force and Air Force Reserves, a role that took her to seven foreign countries across three continents. She retired from the Air Force with the rank of Lieutenant Colonel before transitioning to her work with the State Bar of Texas.

Now licensed in Oregon, having been admitted to the Oregon State Bar in November 2024, Ms. Alister brings extensive experience in counseling attorneys on professionalism and ethics. She holds a BA in Psychology from the University of Texas at San Antonio and earned her JD from St. Mary’s University School of Law in San Antonio, Texas.

Ms. Alister looks forward to this new chapter in her career and is excited to collaborate with her fellow practice management attorneys and colleagues at the Professional Liability Fund.

Lewis & Clark Law School's Low Income Taxpayer Clinic

Weyand Law

Aldrich & Brunot LLC

Reuter Corbett LLP

Cambia Health Solution, Inc.

Yumi O’Neil is a Senior Associate General Counsel for Government Programs at Cambia Health.  She is the primary attorney for Cambia’s Medicare Advantage, Medicare Supplement and Federal Employee Health Benefits lines of business. Yumi also served as the primary attorney for a former Cambia Health subsidiary, LifeMap Assurance Company, prior to its acquisition.  Before joining Cambia Health, Yumi’s professional experience included serving as an Associate General Counsel at Moda Health, an attorney at a Portland insurance defense firm, as well as a judicial clerk at Multnomah County Circuit Court.  As a Past President of the Oregon Women Lawyers Foundation, she continues to be focused on advancing women’s professional and leadership development through mentoring women lawyers.  Yumi is a long-time member of the Portland Metro Chamber’s A Place With No Ceiling Committee, which recognizes women leaders and awards companies that have advanced women’s professional opportunities. She received a Juris Doctorate from Lewis and Clark Law School, a Master of Science degree from the London School of Economics and Political Science, and a Bachelor of Arts degree in International Relations from Wellesley College.