Sherwood Lawyers

Tax with emphasis in estate planning, trust and estate administration, and related business and real estate matters.

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....

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.

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...

Nicole is a dedicated advocate for her clients, specializing in civil litigation, administrative law, and real estate matters. She represents clients in both domestic and international disputes before state and federal courts, as well as arbitration panels. Her litigation experience includes prosecuting and defending claims involving breach of contract, breach of fiduciary duty, fraud, adverse possession, foreclosures, trespass, the Right-To-Farm Act, civil RICO, real estate disputes, and business dissolutions. Additionally, Nicole has successfully represented numerous companies in OLCC administrative hearings. Before joining Harris Sliwoski, Nicole practiced at Buckley Law and Lotus Law Group in Lake Oswego. Prior to moving to Oregon,...

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...

Vince is a business lawyer, problem solver and dealmaker. His clients range from individual investors and entrepreneurs to widely held domestic and international corporations. Vince is Harris Sliwoski’s managing partner and he has received accolades from Super Lawyers and Chambers USA for his work. Vince strives for efficient and optimal client results in every transaction. He has expertise in business/corporate law, commercial real estate, and intellectual property law. His advice is guided by a heightened awareness of all possible outcomes: in his litigating days, Vince tried civil cases and conducted numerous arbitrations and mediations. This litigation experience helps him foresee pitfalls and...