February 20, 2026
An Open Letter on Forthcoming Judicial Elections:
We are a group of leaders of Portland’s civil practice bar. We represent plaintiffs and defendants (sometimes in cases against one another) and our cases span diverse areas of law from contracts, to employment, to securities, to personal injury, to class actions, and many others.
Despite our differences, we share a commitment to a strong and capable trial court bench in our community.
We are fortunate in this community to have exceedingly skilled judges able to manage our most challenging civil cases. The Multnomah County Circuit Court has recently included such luminaries as former Presiding Judge (now Justice) Stephen Bushong, Judge Henry Kantor, Judge Jerry Hodson, Judge Adrienne Nelson, Judge John Wittmayer, Judge Karin Immergut, Judge Janice Wilson, and many others.
The familiarity that these judges had with the civil rules and litigation process gave us and our clients confidence that our clients’ cases would proceed toward appropriate resolution based on deep knowledge of the law, thorough preparation, and well-reasoned decisions.
All the above-mentioned judges have departed the Multnomah County bench in recent years and the impending retirements of Judge Christopher Marshall and Judge Nan Waller deepen our concern for the expertise in civil cases that our bench has lost and is losing.
Our clients, both plaintiffs and defendants, depend on Multnomah County judges to adjudicate their most significant and complex disputes.
In many instances, the matter being adjudicated in a client’s case is the biggest event in the course of their personal or professional life. They deserve judges of the very highest caliber.
For that reason, we offer our strong endorsement of Joanna Perini-Abbott, whom several of us encouraged to run for one of the open positions on the Multnomah County bench.
Jo will bring to the bench a bright mind and deep experience in civil practice. We are confident in her ability to handle our most complex cases. The combination of her experience, work ethic, and fair-mindedness is perfectly suited for our community’s trial court bench.
We understand that Multnomah County judges preside over many kinds of cases and members of the bench must have expertise beyond civil law and practice. Fortunately, Jo began her career as a federal defender and has maintained a criminal defense practice.
Many of us were pleased to support Judge Jeff Auxier in the last contested election; expertise in criminal law and practice are well represented on the bench, as they should be.
This time, we hope you will join us in supporting Jo for election to the bench. Her mastery of civil practice will be indispensable to the court.
In short, our community needs her.
Respectfully signed,
(Listed in alphabetical order; firm names and organizational affiliations provided for identification purposes only and not to suggest organizational endorsement.)
/s/ Courtney Angeli
Courtney Angeli
Buchanan Angeli Sullivan & Ferrer LLP
Founding Partner
/s/ David Angeli
David Angeli
Angeli & Calfo LLC
Principal
/s/ Brent Barton
Brent Barton
Barton Trial Attorneys
Partner
/s/ Ian Christy
Ian Christy
Miller Nash LLP
Litigation Practice Group Chair
/s/ Clifford Davidson
Clifford Davidson
Snell & Wilmer
Office Managing Partner
/s/ Matt Donohue
Matt Donohue
Holland & Knight LLP
Practice Group Leader/West Coast Litigation
/s/ Anne Foster
Anne Foster
Smith Foster King LLP
President, American Board of Trial Advocates Oregon Chapter
/s/ Todd Hanchett
Todd Hanchett
Stoel Rives LLP
Office Managing Partner
/s/ Misha Isaak
Misha Isaak
Stoel Rives LLP
Litigation Partner
/s/ Tom Johnson
Tom Johnson
Stoel Rives LLP
Firmwide Litigation Chair
/s/ Eric Kekel
Eric Kekel
Dunn Carney LLP
Litigation Chair
/s/ Julia Markley
Julia Markley
Perkins Coie LLP
Firmwide Litigation Co-Chair
/s/ Yoona Park
Yoona Park
Keller Rohrback
Office Managing Partner
/s/ Joel Parker
Joel Parker
Schwabe, Williamson & Wyatt, P.C.
Litigation Department Head
/s/ Christopher Rich
Christopher Rich
Perkins Coie LLP
Office Managing Partner
/s/ Laura Salerno Owens
Laura Salerno Owens
Markowitz Herbold PC
Firm President & Shareholder
/s/ David Sugerman
David Sugerman
Sugerman Dahab
Partner
/s/ Tom Tongue
Tom Tongue
Schwabe, Williamson & Wyatt, P.C.
CEO
/s/ Frank Weiss
Frank Weiss
Tonkon Torp LLP
Litigation Department Co-Chair
/s/ Joshua Sasaki
Joshua Sasaki
Miller Nash LLP
Litigation Partner
/s/ Anna Sortun
Anna Sortun
Tonkon Torp LLP
Managing Partner
/s/ Dana Sullivan
Dana Sullivan
Buchanan Angeli Sullivan & Ferrer LLP
Founding Partner
/s/ Julie Vacura
Julie Vacura
Larkins Vacura Kayser
Founding Partner