Merlin Environmental Lawyers

Aggressive Representation Against a Range of Criminal Charges Criminal charges are serious matters. Accusations that qualify as Ballot Measure 11 charges are not only serious, they carry mandatory prison sentences. Our law firm, located in Portland, Oregon, represents clients with a variety of criminal defense needs, including clearing a criminal record through expungement, representation in grand jury investigations and criminal defense in state and federal courts. Our criminal defense lawyer, Mark Cogan, received an AV - Preeminent 5.0 out of 5.0 Rating* through Martindale-Hubbell, the highest ranking available to attorneys. He is an Oregon SuperLawyer® (only 5% of...

My law practice focuses on environmental law, water rights, waterways, and property and boundary disputes. I have been licensed to practice law in Oregon since 1997 and in Washington since 2006. I began my legal career as judicial clerk to Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals Judge Otto R. Skopil. After eventually becoming a partner in the Portland, Oregon, office of Stoel Rives LLP, I left to found my own natural resources law practice in early 2014. I hold a B.A., magna cum laude, from the Robert D. Clark Honors College at the University of Oregon, as well as an...

I am a land use, real estate and regulatory attorney, licensed in Washington State and Oregon. I have been practicing law since 1994. My practice includes assisting clients with land use applications and appeals, regulatory approvals, drafting and reviewing real estate purchase and sale documents, easements and leases. I have particular experience working with regulatory agencies including the Oregon Liquor Control Commission and the Washington State Liquor Control Board with respect to marijuana licensing and the Oregon Department of Agricultural concerning industrial hemp. I also have experience defending clients' constitutionally protected private property rights in the context of...

Thomas Benke received his bachelor's degree in Chemical Engineering from the University of Texas at Austin in 1984, working summers as an Engineer in Training in the petrochemical plants and oil fields of east Texas. He began his career as a hazardous waste permit writer at the Texas Water Commission (now the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality) and was the lead permit writer for most of the commercial hazardous waste Treatment, Storage and Disposal Facilities in the state. He graduated from Lewis and Clark Law School in 1992 and specializes in environmental law (with extensive experience in RCRA,...