Distinguished Honors

Dean Robert Klonoff, the Hon. Michael McShane ’88, the Hon. Michael H. Simon, and Rakeem Washington ’08. (Not pictured: Jennifer L. Woodhouse BA ’03, JD ’08.) Photo by Kerry Davis.

Alumni Relations hosted its annual award dinner on January 25, 2014, celebrating honorees for their accomplishments and service to the law school community.

Distinguished Graduate Award

Honoring a graduate who has made a positive mark on the profession and whose contributions to the community have brought honor to themselves and the law school

Judge Michael J. McShane ’88

McShaneIn 1983, Michael McShane moved to Portland to work with the homeless through a placement with the Jesuit Volunteer Corps. He has remained committed to serving the less fortunate ever since.

McShane worked for the Metropolitan Public Defender in Portland for nearly a decade before being appointed to the state bench in 1997, where he presided over a variety of jury and bench trials in Oregon’s largest circuit court. In 2005, he was named to the death penalty panel. He presided over 25 capital homicide cases during his state court tenure.

In 2004, Governor Ted Kulongoski named McShane to his Council on Offender Re-Entry, tasked with improving the success rates of parolees returning to society after their incarceration by increasing the availability of counseling, mentoring, job training, and drug treatment services in prisons, jails, and juvenile facilities.

On and off the bench, McShane has been especially committed to helping at-risk youth. He spent six years on the board of St. Andrew Nativity School, a tuition-free middle school designed to ready children living in poverty for a college preparatory education. As a state judge, McShane brought students from alternative schools into his courtroom on a weekly basis to expose them to the justice system. He has partnered with several other schools and with Job Corps to provide internship opportunities, and through the Portland Classroom Law Project, McShane presided over the Summer Law Camp for inner-city kids. In his own life, he is an adoptive and foster parent.

McShane taught evidence at Oregon’s New Judge’s College and is a frequent lecturer at bar association conferences, CLE seminars, and in law school classes. He has been an adjunct law professor at Lewis & Clark, where he taught trial advocacy and the criminal practice seminar. He was also involved in the law school’s mentoring program and was named Mentor of the Year in 2009. McShane was awarded the Oregon State Bar President’s Public Service Award for his service to the community in 2012.

McShane was nominated to the federal court by President Obama in September of 2012, and was confirmed by the U.S. Senate on May 20, 2013. He serves as a U.S. District Judge in Eugene, Oregon, where he lives with his partner, Gregory Ford, and their two dogs.

Distinguished Honorary Graduate Award

Honoring a nongraduate who exemplifies commitment to the law school

Judge Michael H. Simon

SimonMichael Simon was a trial attorney with the U.S. Department of Justice, Antitrust Division, in Washington, D.C., until 1986, when he and his wife moved to Oregon. That year, he joined the Perkins Coie law firm in Portland, where he had a trial and appellate practice in federal and state courts, handling a wide variety of business cases and several First Amendment and other constitutional law matters. Simon was confirmed as a U.S. District Judge in 2011.

Simon has earned a reputation as one of the Northwest’s legal stars. In the courts, he is known as a staunch defender of consumer protection, antitrust laws, and the First Amendment. A Fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers, he has engaged in extensive pro bono work and has volunteered for many nonprofit organizations. He serves on the board of directors and is president of the Classroom Law Project. As an adjunct professor, mentor, and supporter of the law school and its students, Simon has consistently and selflessly contributed to the life of Lewis & Clark. He has found the time to be deeply involved in his community, displaying a commitment to voluntarism, civic participation, and public service.

Simon is married to U.S. Representative Suzanne Bonamici. They have two adult children.

Recent Graduate Council Rising Star Award

Honoring a graduate for outstanding achievement, entrepreneurship, or leadership in a legal field

Jennifer L. Woodhouse BA ’03, JD ’08

WoodhouseJennifer Woodhouse is an associate at Schwabe, Williamson & Wyatt, where she focuses her practice in the area of tax controversy and estate planning. Previously, she was a staff attorney with Legal Aid Services of Oregon in the organization’s Statewide Tax Clinic.

Experienced in dealing with a range of tax matters, including audits and collection, innocent spouse, and state and federal tax court cases, Woodhouse also helps clients respond to lien and levy notices and evaluate and pursue collection options. She represents clients through the trust fund recovery penalty interview process and assists estate planning clients with probate, trust administration, and the preparation of wills, trusts, advance directives, and powers of attorney.

Woodhouse is active in the Oregon State Bar Taxation Section and currently serves on the Executive, Newsletter, and New Tax Lawyers Committees. In the American Bar Association, she has been appointed to the Membership Board of the Young Lawyers Division and serves on the 2014 Fall Conference Host Committee. She is also a member of the Estate Planning and Administration Section of the Oregon State Bar, the Multnomah Bar Association, and Oregon Women Lawyers.

Woodhouse is a mentor at the law school and volunteers with the Multnomah County Library as a citizenship instructor. She was named an Up and Coming Lawyer for 2012 by the Daily Journal of Commerce of Oregon, a distinction that recognizes outstanding commitment to both the legal profession and the community.

Recent Graduate Council Community Spirit Award

Honoring a graduate for notable community, public, or humanitarian service work

Rakeem Washington ’08

WashingtonRakeem Washington’s commitment to community service runs deep. While at Lewis & Clark, he volunteered as a mentor at Rosemary Anderson High School and served as mentor program liaison for the law school community. He also started working at Youth, Rights & Justice, where he accepted employment upon graduation in order to continue his work on detention alternatives.

Washington subsequently served as a resource coordinator and student advocate at Roosevelt High School, where he worked to eliminate disparities for youth of color.

After the death of his father, who owned and operated the Portland Observer, Washington, in addition to working full-time, took the reins of the community newspaper with his brother Mark. The Portland Observer is the oldest minority publication in Oregon. The paper has historically served as a voice for the underserved in Portland and continues to fulfill that role today under Washington’s leadership. He is committed to preserving not only his family’s legacy, but the legacy of the publication as an important part of Portland’s landscape.

Washington is married to Molly Allison Washington ’08 and has two young children.

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