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Lewis Brisbois Enhances Employment and Professional Liability Capabilities in Northwest With New Partner Hires

Portland, Ore. (February 21, 2024) - Lewis Brisbois is pleased to welcome Christopher Hawk and Tanya O’Neil to its Portland, Oregon office as partners in the firm’s Labor & Employment and Professional Liability Practices. Mr. Hawk and Ms. O’Neil join Lewis Brisbois from Gordon Rees Scully Mansukhani, LLP (GRSM) and bring with them more than 40 years of combined litigation and trial experience.

In discussing his move to Lewis Brisbois, Mr. Hawk noted that leaving his prior firm after 24 years “was obviously not an easy decision.” Recalling his positive meetings with Lewis Brisbois’ management team, he explained, “They were moving in a good direction – a direction in which I wanted to move. I saw a better future and more opportunities. The team gave me a lot of confidence in Lewis Brisbois’ plan for the future.”

Similarly, Ms. O’Neil described, “I decided to join Lewis Brisbois because the firm and its practice areas fit well with the expertise I’ve developed over my last 20 years of practicing defense-side commercial litigation in the Pacific Northwest.” She added, “Chris Hawk and I have been successfully working together for 15 years or so, and I’m excited by the opportunity to team up with him again in bringing additional breadth and depth of experience to a national firm’s burgeoning office in Portland.”

Portland Managing Partner Jennifer Oetter also expressed enthusiasm about the attorneys’ arrival, noting, “We are thrilled to welcome Chris and Tanya to our Lewis Brisbois family.  They bring so much skill, experience, and good energy with them and will further strengthen our labor and employment and professional liability capabilities in the Pacific Northwest region.”

Mr. Hawk, who has been practicing law since 1999 and opened GRSM’s Portland office, focuses on employment law and professional liability defense. In addition to handling all aspects of litigation – including trials, arbitrations, mediations, and appeals – he has extensive administrative agency experience and counsels clients on a broad range of employment law matters. A native of New York, Mr. Hawk regularly works with businesses on the east coast in a variety of areas, including intellectual property, commercial litigation, consumer protection, products liability, and general liability. He earned his law degree from Pepperdine Law and his undergraduate degree from Clark University. Mr. Hawk is admitted to practice in state and federal courts in Oregon and Washington.

Ms. O’Neil currently focuses upon professional liability defense and commercial litigation matters. She also has significant experience in employment law, products and general liability, securities litigation, construction, as well as environmental and toxic tort law. In addition to practicing with GRSM prior to joining Lewis Brisbois, Ms. O’Neil served as in-house trial counsel for one of the country’s largest insurance companies. She also has served as both chair and a member of the Oregon State Board of Bar Examiners. Ms. O’Neil earned her law degree from Willamette University College of Law and her undergraduate degree from University of the Pacific. She is admitted to practice in state and federal courts in Oregon and Washington.


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