Lane County Lawyers

Bret Knewtson is a solo practitioner representing only debtors. The practice is split between bankruptcy work and defending debtors who are sued by debt collectors. He also represent consumers who are harassed by debt collectors. The primary defense in debt collection cases is that the debtor did not make a payment in a long time. How long is long enough depends on the contract with the creditor. He does not take cases just to negotiate settlement.

David A. Jakeman, founding attorney of Beacon Immigration, has been interested in foreign cultures and languages since he was a young boy. That interest culminated in his decision to dedicate his legal career to immigration. In high school, David studied Spanish and German. After his graduation, he served a mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints in Mexico City and surrounding regions, where he grew to love the Mexican people and the Spanish language. After returning home from his mission he completed a Bachelor’s degree at Brigham Young University in Near Eastern Studies, graduating magna cum laude....

Firm Founder/Managing Attorney. Randal attended Portland’s Wilson High School before heading to California for college and then New York for law school. He was lured back to Portland in 1991 to work for a large, regional law firm. Thereafter, he started his own practice in Portland, OR. Randal offers significant trial experience and has represented a variety of businesses in most industries. Randal oversees all firm matters and focuses primarily on business representation and litigation

Jim Guse is a leader in the firm’s Insurance Coverage practice group and provides guidance to other practice groups on matters of insurance coverage. In addition to insurance, he is experienced in construction defect and general business litigation. Jim has represented his clients in administrative hearings as well as state and federal courts, including argument before the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. Jim has handled cases and/or provided insurance advice on cases in Oregon, Washington, California, Idaho, and Florida. During his twenty-three career, Jim’s practice has focused on the representation of individual and corporate policyholders in insurance coverage...

I have been an active member of the Oregon State Bar since 1978. I was admitted by the United States District Court in 1985 and by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in 2001. I am also admitted to practice before the United States Supreme Court. Currently, we have a case pending before the United States Supreme Court.

I am a graduate of the University of Notre Dame Law School. While in law school I was a legal aid clinic volunteer. In my third year of law school, I worked full time while attending school as a law clerk...

Tom was born and raised in Pendleton, Oregon. In 1982 he graduated from Lewis & Clark College in Portland with a degree in psychology. Prior to attending Northwestern School of Law, Tom worked for four years, including two years as a legal assistant at this firm. While attending law school, he also worked as a law clerk for the firm. In 1989 Tom graduated from law school, magna cum laude. Following law school, Tom was privileged to clerk for the Honorable Mary Deits on the Oregon Court of Appeals and then for the Honorable Otto Skopil on the Ninth Circuit Court...

Susan L. Ford is an experienced business and intellectual property law attorney, with 24 years of experience helping businesses and entrepreneurs grow their value and enforce their rights. A former shareholder at one of Portland’s largest law firms, Susan started Res Nova Law to offer her clients her big-firm experience with the individualized attention they deserve. Ms. Ford's experience as a corporate attorney includes corporate entity formation and governance, mergers and acquisitions, employment, shareholder and member agreements, as well as registration, licensing and prosecution of patents, trademarks, copyrights and trade secrets. Ms. Ford also has deep experience litigating complex business...