Brett Applegate

Bar Admissions

• Oregon
• Washington

Court Admissions

• Supreme Court of Oregon
• Supreme Court of Washington
• United States District Court, District of Oregon
• United States District Court, Eastern District of Washington
• United States District Court, Western District of Washington

Education

• Lewis & Clark Law School (J.D. summa cum laude, graduated first in class)
  • Article Editor, Lewis & Clark Law Review
• The University of Arizona (M.F.A. Creative Writing)
• The University of Arizona (B.A. English and Creative Writing, summa cum laude, with honors)

Awards & Recognition

• The Best Lawyers in America®: Ones to Watch, Commercial Litigation (2021-2025), Banking and Finance Litigation (2021-2025)
• Oregon Super Lawyers®, Rising Star (2020-2023)

Representative Experience

• Represented a national labor union in a multi-million-dollar labor relations dispute
• Represented a national law firm in a $20 million fee dispute with its former client
• Represented a Portland-area business in arbitration in an ownership dispute involving a multi-million-dollar apartment complex
• Represented financial institution in multiple cases involving violations of the bankruptcy stay
• Represented a homebuyer in a mediated settlement in a dispute involving failure to disclose important information about a nearby housing development
• Represented financial institution in a case involving fraudulent account opening and strategic motion practice to prompt settlement
• Represented financial institution enforcing a non-solicitation agreement against a former employee
• Represented a financial institution under the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act (RESPA) and on appeal
• Represented homeowner in boundary line dispute involving adjacent homeowner and city
• Represented a state government in multi-party dispute involving interpretation of the Commerce Clause

Previous Professional Experience

• Larkins Vacura Kayser, Associate (2016-2020), Partner (2021-2024)
• Harrang Long Gary Rudnick PC, Summer Associate (2012), Associate (2013-2016)
• Oregon Department of Justice, Criminal and Collateral Remedies Litigation, Law Clerk (2011-2012)

Professional Memberships and Activities

• Owen M. Panner American Inn of Court (2020-2021, 2023 to present)
• Oregon Women Lawyers Working Parents Committee, Member (2018-2020), Co-Chair (2024-present)
• Multnomah Bar Association Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Committee (2017-2020)
• Multnomah Bar Association YLS Service to the Public Committee (2015-2017)

Community Involvement

• Lewis and Clark Law School
  • Mentor (2014 to present)
• Animal Aid
  • Volunteer Cat Caregiver (2012-2016)

Representative Presentations and Publications

• “Statutes of Limitations and Statutes of Repose,” Co-Author, Tort Law in Oregon, Oregon State Bar Association (2024)
• “Dave Frohnmayer in the United States Supreme Court,” Co-Author, The Oregon Constitutional Law Newsletter (Winter 2016)
• “They Made It Up,” Co-Author, Oregon State Bar Administrative Law Newsletter (Spring 2015)
• “When Stranahan Doesn’t Get You Where You Need to Go – Advocating for New Approaches to Interpreting the Oregon Constitution,” Co-Author, The Oregon Constitutional Law Newsletter (Summer 2014)
• “Prior (False?) Accusations: Reforming Rape Shields to Reflect the Dynamics of Sexual Assault,” Author, 17 Lewis & Clark L. Rev. 899 (2013)