Stoel Rives LLP Announces Eight New Principals
1/1/2006

CONTACT: Kristen Leis, Business Development Manager, (503) 294-9343

PORTLAND- Stoel Rives announces the promotion of eight new principals in the firm's Portland, Oregon and Salt Lake City, Utah offices effective January 1, 2006.  New principals include Kassim Ferris, Mary Hull, Jim Kearney, Jennifer Martin, John Motley, Sam Panarella, Kevin Pearson and Michelle Rudd.

NEW PRINCIPALS

Portland, Oregon

Kassim Ferris is registered to practice before the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and concentrates his practice on domestic and international patent prosecution, trademark registration matters, technology licensing and intellectual property dispute resolution.  He counsels clients regularly on all aspects of intellectual property law and participates in patent infringement litigation.  His patent experience includes preparation and prosecution of patent applications directed to mechanical, electromechanical and computer-related inventions.  Ferris is a graduate of Willamette University College of Law (J.D., 1996) and Colorado State University (B.S.M.E., 1990).

Mary Hull practices in the firm's Corporate section and is a member of the Technology Ventures Group.  She has a general corporate and securities law practice and represents emerging-growth companies.  Hull regularly advises emerging-growth clients on general corporate governance matters and equity compensation issues.  She has extensive experience representing clients in venture capital and angel financings.  A significant portion of her practice includes assisting public-company clients with executive compensation matters, including securities law compliance issues and preparation of executive compensation agreements.  Hull's experience also includes representing public and private companies in mergers and acquisitions, divestitures and debt financing transactions.  She holds a law degree from Tulane Law School (J.D. magna cum laude, Order of the Coif, 1997) and a bachelor's degree from Amherst College (B.A. cum laude, 1993).

Jim Kearney practices in the firm's Corporate section.  He represents and advises public and private company clients on general corporate matters, corporate governance and Sarbanes-Oxley Act compliance, mergers and acquisitions, federal and state securities regulation, public and private debt and equity financings, periodic reporting to the Securities and Exchange Commission and general business transactions.  Kearney is a graduate of the University of Washington School of Law (J.D., 1998) and Claremont McKenna College (B.A. magna cum laude, International Relations, 1991).

John Motley practices in the firm's Intellectual Property and Technology section.  His practice involves technology licensing, product distribution, e-commerce, and trademark and copyright registration and enforcement.  Motley is experienced in business counseling, advertising law and transactions involving intellectual property assets.  He holds a law degree from the University of Chicago Law School (J.D. with honors, 1997) and a bachelor's degree from Evergreen State College (B.A., 1988).

Sam Panarella practices in the areas of land use, natural resources, real estate development and environmental law.  Panarella advises clients on the development, acquisition, sale, finance, construction and operation of projects and the structuring and negotiation of contracts, with particular expertise in acquiring land and obtaining permits for utility and energy facilities including wind energy projects throughout the western United States and natural gas storage facilities. Panarella has extensive experience in the acquisition and sale of power plants, power plant project development and financing, and the acquisition, sale, financing, development, permitting and leasing of commercial real estate.  He is a graduate of Northwestern School of Law of Lewis & Clark College (J.D. cum laude, 1998) and the University of Montana (B.A. with honors, 1994).

Kevin Pearson practices in the firm's Tax section.  He focuses principally on federal income tax law, including both transactional matters and tax controversy matters.  As part of his transactional practice, Pearson regularly advises clients on all aspects of corporate taxation, including taxable and tax-free mergers and acquisitions, debt and equity offerings and other corporate finance transactions, consolidated return issues, and general corporate tax issues.  He regularly represents clients on partnership, S corporation and limited liability company transactions and tax issues, as well as choice-of-entity tax accounting and general tax planning issues.  In addition, Pearson frequently represents clients in renewable energy financing transactions, particularly those involving the federal production tax credit.  As part of his tax controversy practice, he regularly represents taxpayers in IRS audits and administrative appeals, deficiency litigation in the U.S. Tax Court, and refund litigation in U.S. District Courts and the U.S. Court of Federal Claims.  Pearson is a graduate of Georgetown University Law Center (LL.M., Taxation, 1998), Gonzaga University School of Law (J.D. summa cum laude, 1996), Linfield College (B.S., 1992) and the University of Utah (B.S. magna cum laude, computer science, 1994).

Michelle Rudd practices in the areas of real estate, development, and environmental law, focusing on complex land use permitting and litigation.  She works with clients
to develop their property and has successfully guided a variety of development applications through numerous jurisdictions.  Rudd has extensive experience in condemnation law and has also represented parties in development approval, easement and title insurance disputes before the Oregon Land Use Board of Appeals, the Oregon Court of Appeals, the Oregon District Court and the California superior courts.  Rudd is a graduate of the University of California, Berkeley (J.D., 1994; M.S., city and regional planning, 1994) and Stanford University (B.S., civil engineering, 1985).

Salt Lake City, Utah

Jennifer Martin practices in the firm's Energy and Telecommunications section.  She focuses her practice on state and federal energy regulatory matters.  She has experience before state public utility commissions in the Western United States and the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission representing both utility and independent power producer interests.  Martin is a graduate of University of Iowa College of Law (J.D., 1999) and the University of Notre Dame (B.A., English and gender studies, 1995).

About Stoel Rives LLP:  Stoel Rives is a business law firm providing a wide range of client-focused counseling and litigation services throughout the western United States.  The firm has more than 350 attorneys and eight offices in five western states.  Stoel Rives is regarded as a regional leader in energy, natural resources, environment, litigation, corporate and intellectual property law.  For more information about Stoel Rives LLP, please visit www.stoel.com.