Michael C. Kron, Counsel at our Portland law office
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Michael C. Kron

Counsel
Biography

Michael Kron is Counsel in Snell & Wilmer’s Special Litigation & Compliance Practice Group. He represents clients in complex, high-stakes litigation and government investigations, with a focus on matters involving state and multi-state regulatory enforcement.

Michael brings nearly two decades of public service experience. He served the Oregon Department of Justice from 2007 through 2024. From 2014, he served as Special Counsel to Oregon Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum, a core member of the Attorney General’s executive team. In that role, he led the state’s legal work on matters of statewide and national significance, helping to develop litigation strategies and arguments in cases involving state policies, regulatory enforcement, and state and federal constitutional challenges. A few examples include defenses of Oregon’s emergency COVID-19 response measures, voter-requirements enacted gun safety laws, longstanding immigration sanctuary policies, and recently-adopted attendance for legislators.

Before he was appointed as Special Counsel Michael briefly served as the Oregon Attorney General’s Acting Communication Director, explaining the work of the Oregon Department of Justice to the public while strengthening his ties to Oregon’s journalism community. Before that, he worked for more than five years in the Office of the Chief Counsel of the Department’s General Counsel Division. There, he helped oversee the Department’s day to day legal advice to its myriad state agency clients. Following his tenure in Oregon, Michael accepted a role in the office of Hawaiʻi Attorney General Anne Lopez, helping her office represent state entities in high stakes federal litigation.

Credentials

Bar Admissions

  • Hawaii
  • Oregon


Court Admissions

  • Supreme Court of Hawaii
  • Supreme Court of Oregon


Education

  • Columbia University School of Law (J.D.)
    • Hamilton Fellow
    • Harlan Fiske Stone Scholar
  • New York University (M.A., English Literature)
  • University of Oregon (B.A., English Literature, Magna Cum Laude)
Experience

Awards & Recognition

  • Oregon Society of Professional Journalists, First Freedom Award (2016)

Previous Professional Experience

  • Oregon Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum, Special Counsel
  • Office of Hawaiʻi Attorney General Anne Lopez, Chief Compliance Officer
  • Oregon Department of Justice
    • Acting Communications Director
    • Office of the Chief General Counsel, Assistant Attorney General
  • Faulkner Banfield PC, Associate Attorney

Professional Memberships and Activities

  • Oregon State Bar Association (2007-Present)
  • Oregon Task Force on Community Safety and Firearm Suicide Prevention, Staff (2024)
  • Oregon Sunshine Committee, Member (2018-2024)
  • Oregon Public Records Advisory Council, Member (2017-2024)
  • Attorney General’s Public Records Law Reform Task Force, Chair (2015-2017)