About Bob Geballe
Bob Geballe is a longtime journalist based near Seattle. He has written for Washington Law & Politics and Super Lawyers for two decades, as well as for other local and regional publications. He has also worked for PBS NewsHour, Frontline, and network television stations in Seattle and Boston. He is a full-time high school teacher, specializing in science and visual media. In addition, he loves to hike, garden, cook and travel, and spend increasing amounts of time with his three grandchildren.
Articles written by Bob Geballe
The Analytical Mind of David E. Mills
Detail work is this Cleveland appellate lawyer’s forteThe rookie was coming up to bat—in the cool, cloistered halls of the U.S. Supreme Court. David E. Mills was just 33 years old and a solo practitioner at The Mills Law Office, based out of a spare room in his Cleveland apartment, when he hit the ball out of the park with a unanimous high-court victory. The ruling overturned a 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals’ decision, based on a technical issue, which had thrown out a $625,000 award to Mills’ client, Michelle Ortiz. She had sued state …
The Strategist
Stephen Graham takes battlefield strategy from Board game to boardroomAsk Stephen Graham about his life and he’ll tell you it’s not very interesting. “I’m just a small-town kid from East Texas,” he says, settling his lanky frame into a chair in the 10th floor conference room at Fenwick & West in downtown Seattle. Not just any small-town “kid,” as it turns out. Graham, 60, is the lead biosciences attorney and managing partner at Fenwick’s recently opened Seattle office. The Silicon Valley-based firm, known for its expertise in high-tech and …
Crash Expert
Kevin Durkin cushions the blow for accident victims and their familiesBy the time the sun rises over Lake Michigan, Kevin Durkin has been up for hours, at his desk since 6. The Chicago personal injury attorney has been involved in handling some of the most publicized cases in transportation law, including nearly every major commercial airline accident case in the last two decades. He represented victims of Alaska Airlines Flight 261, which fell into the Pacific Ocean off the coast of California in 2000, and American Airlines Flight 587, which crashed in Queens, …
The Accidental Author
Steven J. Harper on law, letters and comedyA compelling tale, according to Steven J. Harper, is at the center of every successful case. “You have to take complex information and make it simple and compelling,” says Harper, 60. “You have to be an effective storyteller.” Harper is talking not only about his 30-year career as a commercial litigator for Kirkland & Ellis but his burgeoning career as an author. In the last few years, Harper has written two biographies—one on his father and one on a former professor—and a …
All Business …
… Her job description, that is. But real estate lawyer Jane Rakay Nelson is about more than finance and acquisitionA 5-year-old goldendoodle named Snickers charges across the hallway and careens into the corner office, all ears, tongue and tail. It is 5 o’clock in the afternoon, and a good portion of Lane Powell’s 41st floor office in the City Center building now belongs to Snickers. “He’s a pretty excitable guy,” says his owner, Jane Rakay Nelson. She orders the pooch to calm down, then apologizes: “He loves everybody, but you’ve got to ignore him at first.” As the highly respected co-chair …
Never a Dull Moment
If you think constitutional law is dry, you haven't met Stephen A. SmithReligion, sex and politics may be taboo topics for polite conversation, but for constitutional lawyer Stephen A. Smith, they're just part of the job. His body of work is not what most people might associate with the term "constitutional lawyer." His career has never been about the dry parsing of the nation's two-and-a-half-century-old founding documents. Smith has dealt with leaders of a religious cult, pornography peddlers, a serial killer, the word of Moses and the media. Smith, who has been …
The Family Man
For Shawn Menashe, no other kind of law feels like homeIf anyone ever makes a movie about Shawn Menashe's life, he already has a title picked out: My Big (Not Fat) Greek Family. From social life to community service to career, family plays a central role. "My father's family came from Rhodes, in Greece, and most of them moved to Portland," Menashe explains. "I've got aunts, uncles, cousins; we have family gatherings with hundreds of people." The 30-year-old family law attorney spent his early childhood in the Rose City, then his parents divorced …
Sweet Spot
Steven Ungar hits his rhythm in the courthouse and on the drumsMusicians call it being in "the groove:" that indescribable sense of floating on the rhythm, melody and synergy of a musical performance. For Steven Ungar of Lane Powell, it comes when he's perched on his drum throne, riffing his way through a jazz tune. "When it works, it's beautiful," says Ungar, chair of the white-collar criminal defense and regulatory compliance practice group. But the groove is not limited to performing a Count Basie song. "It's completely analogous to litigating," he …
Extreme Lawyers
The thrills and chills of the courtroom are not enough for these adventurous spiritsYou’d think standing in front of a judge, and maybe a jury, in one high-stakes case after another would be scary enough. Not so for four local attorneys who also seek high adventure after hours. These lawyers “unwind” by doing things like jumping off a suspension bridge, dangling on a rope tethered to a 3,000-foot cliff, racing a bike on a nearly vertical incline and practicing “touch-and-go” landings in a small plane. Bob Dawson’s ‘reasonably safe’ thrills “I like to try …
Helping Hands
Four local lawyers have a soft touch and a long reachIt is not a prerequisite for admission to law school. It’s not quantified as part of the LSATs or required for admission to the Bar. But it is a quality shared by many Oregon lawyers. Call it altruism, empathy, volunteerism: the desire to give back to their community—or to the needy in other nations. Four local attorneys are shining examples of this impulse. Paul Fortino: crossing cultures The tie between Paul Fortino and Elham Battayev could hardly be more tenuous. Fortino, 62, is a …
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