PORTLAND, Ore. —Stoel Rives, an AmLaw 200 firm, is proud to announce that the Daily Journal of Commerce named partner Laura Kerr its 2022 Women of Vision “Jean Richardson Industry Impact Award” recipient, recognizing her as a trailblazer in her field within Oregon and Southwest Washington. Richardson was a pioneer for women in engineering and the first woman to earn a degree in civil engineering at Oregon State University.
Kerr is a partner in the firm’s Environmental & Natural Resources Law practice group and was honored for her positive impact on the natural and built environment in Oregon and the Pacific Northwest. Advising clients on meeting their environmental goals and complying with federal and state environmental laws, Kerr does a significant amount of work in the field of brownfield redevelopment—cleaning up contaminated properties and returning them to productive, environmentally safe, and sustainable uses. Kerr has worked on the cleanup and redevelopment of some of the most complex and challenging contaminated sites in Oregon and Southwest Washington, including contaminated sites within the Portland Harbor Superfund Site and an urban renewal project on the Vancouver waterfront. She has also worked with regional public agencies and developers to cleanup and redevelop brownfield properties in order to create new local affordable housing inventory.
Kerr was also recognized for her professional leadership and community service. Kerr co-founded Stoel Rives’ Women Lawyers Affinity Group in 2019 to create a forum across the firm for female attorneys to share experiences and provide mentoring and career support. She also supports the efforts of Innovation Law Lab on a pro bono basis, providing legal services to immigrant asylum seekers, and helped launch the Center of Excellence at Innovation law Lab, training lawyers in asylum and asylum-related legal protections and creating a hotline linking refugees to pro bono attorneys who provide legal guidance and representation. In addition, Kerr is an active member of the Oregon State Bar Environmental & Natural Resources Section’s Executive Committee, where she presents at environmental law programs and mentors young lawyers. She is also a leading environmental lawyer in Oregon as recognized by Chambers & Partners, Best Lawyers, and Oregon Super Lawyers.