Education. Mr. Johnston is the senior member of the firm and is a native Oregonian. He earned an Honors Degree in Political Science at Pacific University in Forest Grove, Oregon in 1972. He earned his Juris Doctor Degree at The Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C. in 1976, from which he graduated in the top 15% of his class. While in law school, Mr. Johnston worked for Congressman Wendell Wyatt on Capitol Hill, worked for a major federal agency, and clerked for Arnold & Porter, a prestigious Washington, D.C. law firm. Among his other distinctions in professional school, Mr. Johnston researched and published four scholarly papers in nationally known law journals.
Family Law Practice. Mr. Johnston brings 29 years of litigation and counseling experience to his family law practice. He has handled family law matters throughout his career, but in the past 19 years he has concentrated 95% or more of his professional practice time to family law. Ronald Johnston handles most aspects of family law, but he has a special interest in custody, joint custody, and interstate custody matters. Mr. Johnston represents both fathers and mothers in custody disputes, but has a special reputation for father's rights litigation. He was legal advisor for Dad's, Inc.; Dad's PAC., the former Father's PAC, and the former Parents Association For Custodial Equality. He is a family law arbitrator for Multnomah County and formerly was a Family Law Reference Judge in Washington County. Mr. Johnston is often consulted for confidential second opinions in family law matters.
Family Law Professional Activities. Mr. Johnston was admitted to practice in Oregon in 1976 and is a member of the Oregon State Bar Family Law Section. He also is a member of the Oregon Academy of Family Law Practitioners and of the ABA Family Law Section. He has delivered legal education presentations on a variety of subjects, including "Interstate Custody litigation Under the PKPA," "Negotiating and Litigating Joint Custody," "Forensic Custody Evaluations," "Self-help Custody litigation," and "Winning Dissolution Trials." In April 1999, Mr. Johnston was asked to speak on this subject at the ABA Family Law Section Conference in Miami, Florida. In the 1980's, Mr. Johnston served on the Family Law Section Task Force on Joint Custody Legislation, the committee that authored Oregon's law on joint custody. In 1998, he was asked to serve on the Domestic Relations Work Group of the Oregon Supreme Court Task Force on Gender Fairness.
Mr. Johnston was lead appellate counsel in Kozlowsky and Kozlowsky, 88 Or App 294 (1987) and State ex rel AFDC v. Buethe, Or 307 Or 89 (1988). The latter case established a precedent for paternity procedure in Oregon. In 1987, Mr. Johnston and Ms. Root were co-counsel in Etlin and Etlin, which was the first case tried in Oregon under the Parental Kidnapping Prevention Act.
KATHRYN SMITH ROOT
Education. Ms. Root earned her B.A. from Lewis and Clark College in 1980 and her Juris Doctor from Northwestern School of Law of Lewis and Clark College in 1984.
Family Law Practice. Ms. Root has concentrated her practice in family law for 16 years. She handles most areas of family law practice, but has a special interest in contested child custody and parenting time disputes and in domestic law appeals. She is a leading authority in Oregon and on the west coast on interstate and international custody and child support litigation. She has handled more than 100 contested interstate custody litigations. She also litigated the first petition filed in the United States District Court for Oregon under the Hague Convention in 1997. The Hague Convention is an international treaty of the United States that governs international child custody disputes.
Family Law Professional Activities. Ms. Root was admitted to law practice in Oregon in 1985, and has been a leader in family law bar activities throughout her career. She is a member of the Oregon State Bar Family Law Section, and previously served three years on its Executive Committee. This Committee governs the Family Law Section, and recommends family law policy and legislation to the Oregon State Bar and Legislature. She also is a member, former board member, and former President of Oregon Academy of Family Law Practitioners. Kathryn Root is a member of Operation Stop, an international anti-child abduction organization. She is also on the board of the Oregon Women Lawyers Foundation (OWLS). In the early 1990's, she was a director and Vice-President of Oregon Women Lawyers. In 1991, Ms. Root was appointed Chair of the prestigious Oregon State Bar Committee on Procedure and Practice. This Committee studies legislation and court rules on behalf of the Oregon State Bar and makes recommendations to the Oregon Supreme Court and Oregon Legislature. Ms. Root also has been a frequent legal education speaker before Oregon bar groups on the subject of Interstate and international Child Custody litigation.
Education. B.S. Indiana Univ. (Business-economics): J.D. Willamette Univ. School of Law (Law Review). DePaul Univ. School of Law Family Law Mediation.(40) Pepperdine University School of Law Mediation (42). Admitted to Oregon State Bar 1994.
Family Law Practice. Mr. Leibenguth has a general practice emphasizing family law mediation, the representation of children and divorce cases which include, property rights, businesses, alimony, child and spousal support, child custody, parenting disputes and children's rights. Mr. Leibenguth further litigates issues related to estates, wills, trusts, and probate law. He is a member of the ABA, MBA, OMA, ACR, AFCC, the Multnomah County Family Law Advisory Committee and the Oregon Academy of Family Law Practitioners. Mr. Leibenguth has been a speaker at the Oregon State Bar Annual Family Law Conference and for the National Business Institute and has also appeared Pro Hac Vice in the State of Washington on the issue of grandparent's custody rights. He has served on the OSB executive committee, the MBA Judicial Screening Committee and the Continuing Legal Education Committee. He is a Paul Harris Fellow and a former Director of the Gresham Rotary Club and Fairlawn Ethics Committee.
BECKY DOUGANEducation and Background. Becky Dougan is a native Oregonian and earned her B.S. Degree in Business Administration from Portland State University in 1994 and her Juris Doctor Degree from McGeorge School of Law, University of the Pacific in 1997. She was admitted to the Oregon State Bar in 2007.
Becky is a combat veteran as she served in Saudi Arabia during the Gulf War from 1990 to 1991 with the Oregon Army National Guard's 206th Transportation Detachment. Becky was honorably discharged at the rank of 1st Lieutenant in 1998.
Family Law Practice and Professional Activities. Becky is a member of the American Bar Association, Oregon State Bar, Oregon State Bar Family Law Section, Oregon Academy of Family Law Practitioners, Multnomah County Bar Association, Oregon Trial Lawyers Association, and she participates in meetings conducted by the Multnomah County Family Law Advisory Committee.
Becky's practice is devoted to family law, and she handles most areas of family law.
Community service is a high priority for Becky. She is a frequent volunteer for the night clinic operated by St. Andrew Legal Clinic and is also active in the Service to the Public Committee of the Multnomah Bar Association's Young Lawyers Section.