Fortino, Mr. Paul T.

Paul Fortino is a partner at Perkins Coie. Over the years,  he has been first chair at hundreds of jury trials, bench trials, injunctive proceedings and dispositive motions. In recent years, his focus has been on trial of complex business torts, intellectual property and patent cases, products liability claims, and resolution of large contract disputes.

Paul has been praised and recognized by his peers. He has been named to the Board of Regents of the American College of Trial Lawyers and is a Fellow of the International Academy of Trial Lawyers and a Fellow of the International Society of Barristers. Among numerous other honors, he has been recognized as one of the Lawdragon 500 “Leading Litigators in America,” a top litigator in Oregon by Chambers USA, an “Oregon Superlawyer” and listed in The Best Lawyers in America for 10 consecutive years. He recently received the Learned Hand Award in recognition of his contributions to the legal profession.

Paul has served as President of the Federal Bar Association of Oregon, President of the Oregon Association of Defense Counsel, State Chair of the American College of Trial Lawyers, and as a delegate to the Ninth Circuit Judicial Conference. He has written and taught extensively on subjects involving trials, litigation and civil procedure.

I. Representative Trials
Synetic, et al. v. Berkman, et al.
Multnomah County Circuit Court
Representation of public employee pension funds against venture capitalist and national accounting firm. Claims were theft, conversion and fraud. Trial resulted in verdicts in excess of $60 million.
United 811 MDL
U.S. District Court for the Central District of California
Defense of United and Boeing. Consolidated trials of claims of passengers who were aboard United flight 811 when it lost a cargo door in flight enroute from Honolulu to Aukland, NZ.

Semitool v. Applied Materials
U.S. District Court for the District of Oregon
Represented plaintiff in three-week patent trial. Favorable settlement on eve of closing arguments.

Jacobs v. Genie
Mobile, Alabama
Defense of Genie Industries in products liability trial involving a material lift.

Lavis & Navarro v. Cavenham Forest Industries
Clatsop County Circuit Court
Defense verdict in two-week wrongful death trial.

Layfield v. Teletronix
U.S. District Court for the District of Oregon
Defense verdict regarding claims of breach of contract and business torts.

Boeing v. Cascade
U.S. District Court for the District of Oregon
Represented Boeing in successful court trial of claims for cost recovery for environmental remediation under CERCLA § 113.

Lynde v. Patrick Lumber
Multnomah County Circuit Court
Defense of wrongful discharge claims.

OTB v. Magna Entertainment
Circuit Court of Washington County
Jury trial of claims related to suit for wrongful detainer.

II. Representative Injunction Cases with Evidentiary Hearings

Pape v. Powdr
U.S. District Court for the District of Oregon
On behalf of plaintiff obtained preliminary injunction to prevent illegal sale of shares of Mt. Bachelor ski area.

Krause v. Sunwest, et al.
U.S. District Court for the District of Oregon
Successfully defended against requested preliminary injunction related to claims of fraud, RICO, and breaches of fiduciary duty.

PacifiCorp v. Carnival Airlines
U.S. District Court for the District of Oregon
Suit to recover A-300 Airbus and enjoin further use by debtor. Represented plaintiff. Injunction granted. Aircraft recovered.

Kollman v. Cell Tech, et al.
Klamath County Circuit Court
Successful defense of several requests for preliminary injunctions by large shareholder.

Informix v. ORACLE
Multnomah County Circuit Court
Defense of Oracle against claims of inevitable disclosure of trade secrets.

 
III. Representative Pending Cases

Klamath Tribes v. PacifiCorp
U.S. District Court for the District of Oregon
Defense of PacifiCorp against claims that plaintiffs lost more than a billion dollars because of dams on the Klamath River. Summary judgment in favor of PacifiCorp. Case is currently on appeal.

Battenfeld v. Tonoloway
U.S. District Court for the District of Oregon
Prosecution of declaratory judgment action seeking ruling of noninfringement of defendants’ patents, trademarks and copyrights. Case is in the preliminary discovery stage.

Eugene Water v. California Department of Water Resources
Circuit Court of Lane County
Representation of the State of California in efforts to recover overcharges for electricity purchased during the California energy crisis in 2001. Case is currently in the discovery stage.

Professional Recognition

• Recognized by Chambers Global 2010 as one of the top 50 trial lawyers in America
• Listed in Law Dragon “500 Top Trial Lawyers in America”
• Listed in Chambers USA, “America’s Leading Business Lawyers,” 2005 - 2010
• Listed in The Best Lawyers in America
• American College of Trial Lawyers, Board of Regents 2007, Fellow, State Chair 2002 - 2005 (By Invitation Only)
• International Society of Barristers, Member (By Invitation Only)
• International Academy of Trial Lawyers (By Invitation Only)
• Listed in Oregon Law and Politics, “Oregon Super Lawyers”
• Oregon ACLU Foundation “Civil Liberties Award,” 2009

Professional Leadership

• Ninth Circuit Judicial Conference, Lawyer Representative, 1997 - 2000
• Federal Bar Association, Oregon Chapter, Past President
• International Association of Defense Counsel, Member (By Invitation Only)
• Oregon Association of Defense Counsel, Past President
• Defense Research Institute, Member

Related Employment

• Executive Assistant to the Judge Advocate General, Washington, D.C., 1978 - 1980
• United States Navy, Thirteenth Naval District, Seattle, WA, Chief Trial and Defense Counsel, 1975 - 1978
• Ford Motor Company, Labor Relations Specialist, 1967 - 1968