Gordon & Rees co-sponsored the OGALLA: LGBT Bar Association of Oregon's Annual Dinner and Silent Auction, held Friday, October 16, 2015, at the Portland Art Museum. Jessica Osborne, an associate in the Portland office, serves as a Board Member and the Auction Chair for this organization.
This year OGALLA recognized three the achievements of three members of the LGBT legal community in Oregon. The Community Service Award went to Susie Shepherd. Susie has been involved in the LGBT equality movement since the early 1970’s. She has been active in fighting for or against every ballot measure impacting LGBTQ equality in Oregon’s history. She has also been the guardian of the Bill and Ann Shepherd Scholarship, which provides scholarships to law students dedicated to the fight for equal rights and justice.
OGALLA presented the Merit Award to Paul Southwick. Paul is an attorney at a local firm and has dedicated substantial pro bono hours to the representation of trans clients who have been discriminated against by employers, religious institutions, and universities, amongst others over the past several years. Paul has also been recognized as one of the Best LGBT Lawyers under 40 by the LGBT Bar Association, and received recognition for his work from several other organizations.
OGALLA presented a Lifetime Achievement Award to Oregon Supreme Court Justice Virginia Linder. Justice Linder joined the Oregon Supreme Court in 2007. Prior to her service on the Supreme Court, Justice Linder served on the Court of Appeals from 1997-2007. Justice Linder’s early career involved work with the Oregon Department of Justice and the Office of the Solicitor General. Justice Linder was the first woman elected to the Oregon Supreme Court, the first openly lesbian member of a state supreme court in the United States, and the first openly LGBT person elected as non-incumbent to a state supreme court in the United States.