Senior Counsel N. Robert Stoll served as law clerk to Justice Arno Denecke on the Oregon Supreme Court (1968-1969) and then opened his own law practice, which later evolved into Stoll Stoll Berne. He is one of the most experienced trial lawyers in the Northwest, having successfully tried more than 150 jury and non-jury trials, in both state and federal courts, in Oregon and elsewhere on the West Coast. He has tried a wide range of cases, including criminal and civil cases, but his emphasis during the last 30 years has been in major complex business and environmental litigation, both class actions and individual, non-class actions.

Robert has been very active in community affairs over the years, especially in matters related to children and the disadvantaged. For many years he has been involved in mentoring disadvantaged children, and in civil rights issues. He was the founder of a not-for-profit venture capital fund that provides capital on a nonprofit basis to minority and women entrepreneurs. Robert has been very active in Democratic politics having chaired successfully numerous gubernatorial, U.S. presidential, and other campaigns in Oregon.

Over the years, Robert has received numerous awards for his trial skills. The Oregon Trial Lawyers Association gave Robert both its Distinguished Trial Lawyer and Public Service awards, the Oregon State Bar rewarded him with its Campaign For Equal Justice Award, the National Law Journal cited him first of the "Top Ten Litigators in Oregon," and he is recognized in both Best Lawyers In America, and Super Lawyers. Chambers USA: America's Leading Lawyers list of "Leading American Business Litigators" has identified him for several years and there have been profiles of him in local publications, including The Portland Business Journal and The Oregonian. He is a member of the International Society of Barristers. He has published a number of law review and law-related articles, and is a frequent lecturer on trial and related matters at continuing legal education seminars and at law schools. He serves on the National Editorial Advisory Board of Class Action Reports and on the National Board of Directors of the Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights Under Law.

Areas of Practice:

Business Dispute Resolution and Litigation

Class Action Litigation

Securities/Investor/Broker Litigation

Representative Cases :

Representative Cases:

Class Action / Employment:

Obtained a $14.5 million settlement in class action on behalf of civil service custodian staff against Portland School District for unlawful termination.

Securities Fraud:

$88 million jury verdict in nationwide securities fraud class action against investment banking subsidiary of international insurance company.

Securities Fraud:

$65 million pretrial settlement of nationwide securities class action against New York Stock Exchange Fortune 500 company.

Securities Fraud:

$7.2 million jury verdict in Oregon securities class action against "Big Four" international accounting firm.

Securities Fraud:

Pretrial settlement of $28 million against national bank sued for securities fraud.

Securities Fraud:

Pretrial fraud settlement of $15 million against national church.

RICO:

Pretrial settlement of $7.25 million in RICO case against law firm and international accounting firm involving "off-shore" tax shelter scheme.

Securities Fraud:

Numerous class and non-class action verdicts and settlements for literally hundreds of individuals in securities fraud cases.

Breach of Fiduciary Duty / Pension Fund:

$3.2 million recovery for class of retired teachers in pension benefit claims.

Closely-Held Family Corporation:

Within six months of being retained, settled 20 years of multi-million dollar breach of fiduciary duty litigation involving closely-held family corporation.

Nursing Home:

Jury verdict for recovery of all losses, plus then-largest Oregon punitive damage award and attorney fees, on behalf of class of nursing home residents.

Employment Law:

$52.5 million trial judgment in national overtime pay class action.

Sale of business:

$23 million jury verdict, plus $1 million attorney fee award, in business fraud case for seller of business to New York Stock Exchange company.

Punitive Damages:

Obtained on two occasions the then-largest punitive damage award in Oregon state court history.

Power Contract Litigation:

$106 million pretrial contract settlement for privately held power supplier company against NYSE energy corporation.

Contract Dispute:

Multi-million dollar breach of contract settlement for individual against national cell phone company.

Antitrust:

Obtained settlement for Northwest industrial purchasers of sugar of 175% of the antitrust damages recovered by sugar purchasers in other areas of United States.

Antitrust:

Jury trial representation and pretrial settlements in other non-class action antitrust actions in state and federal courts.

International:

Represented Cavalese, Alto-Adige, Italy with respect to economic damage claims against United States as result of U.S. Marine jet severing ski lift cable.

Environmental:

Represented Alaskan municipalities at trial, and selected by all plaintiff counsel as lead state court trial counsel in Exxon Valdez oil spill litigation.

Trial:

Represented criminal defendants in 14 homicide cases (12 acquittals).

Professional Experience:

Stoll Berne; founder and chairman, 1978-present

Law Offices of N. Robert Stoll, 1969-1977

Hon. Arno Denecke, Oregon Supreme Court, law clerk, 1968-1969

Education:

Harvard Law School, LL.B., 1968

University of Wisconsin, Madison, B.S., cum laude, economics, 1964

Admitted to Practice:

Oregon State Bar, 1969

United States District Court (Oregon), 1969

United States Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit, 1969

Professional Activities:

United States District Court for Oregon, Committee on Local Rules

Oregon State Bar: Correction and Detention Committee; Antitrust Section (past chairman); Securities Law Section (past chairman); Litigation Section

Multnomah County Bar Association, Circuit Court Liaison and Attorney Fee Committees

Oregon Association of Criminal Defense Counsel, president

Oregon Trial Lawyers Association, member of Executive Committee and Treasurer

American Bar Association: Litigation Section (Committee on Jury Instructions in Accounting Liability Cases), Antitrust Section (Private Litigation Committee) and Business Law Section (Securities Litigation Committee)

International Society of Barristers

Editorial Advisory Board, Class Action Reports

Author of numerous law review and law-related articles

Frequent lecturer on complex litigation issues and trial strategy/techniques

Community Activities:

Numerous non-profit boards, including the Portland Urban League, Oregon ACLU, Oregon Art Institute, Portland Center for Visual Arts and Pacific Northwest College of Art

National boards of directors for the following: the National Lawyers Committee for Civil rights Under Law, and Oregon Center for Public Policy

Vice Chair of the Oregon Democratic Party, a member of the Democratic National Committee, and the general chair or finance chair for many Democratic presidential, gubernatorial, U.S. Senate and congressional races in Oregon