11/4/2021
Alumnus Ron Greenman knew he wanted to practice law since Career Day at West Linn High School in 1963. A local attorney described his practice as a profession where every day offered the opportunity to make a difference. That vision led to pursuing a law degree from the University of Oregon and eventually establishing a business law practice with Portland’s Tonkon Torp law firm, where he remains a fully engaged active senior partner.
Thanks in part to a $1 million commitment from Ron and Linda Greenman, future generations will have similar opportunities to pursue careers in business law, an expanding UO program that’s making remarkable strides.
“We’re very grateful for this generous gift,” says Marcilynn A. Burke, dean of the law school and Dave Frohnmayer Chair in Leadership and Law.
“Business law is an area where we are building on excellence at the university, and donors like the Greenmans are making this exciting growth possible. Ron is a leader in the legal profession and—I’m pleased to say—an active member of our Corporate Task Force. He’s dedicated to this university, the future of our law school, and the future of the profession in which he has demonstrated tremendous success.”
The gift will help raise the bar even higher for the UO’s business law program, which this fall earned an A rating from preLaw Magazine, a ranking it shares with similar programs at Columbia, Duke, Cornell, and Yale.
Last May, UO President Michael H. Schill committed $1.5 million from the donor-supported Presidential Fund for Excellence to expanding and enhancing the program. Created by an anonymous $50 million gift, the fund was established to support areas that build on the UO’s strengths. A key part of the fund’s mission is innovation, says business law director Andrea Coles-Bjerre, an associate law professor. Business law fits the bill, she adds. And investments from donors like the Greenmans are also helping the school establish this burgeoning area of excellence.
“This gift is truly transformative,” says Coles-Bjerre. “It’s an endorsement—of all that we are doing, and everything that we can do. It will enable us to bring the exciting ideas we’ve been planning into reality.
“Firms tell me our business law graduates are practice-ready, and they hit the ground running. This is an exciting time of growth. It feels a little like we’re a startup that just went public. Investments from backers like Ron Greenman are making it possible.”
As a UO undergraduate, Greenman took advantage of the broad UO curriculum while majoring in political science and was a member of Sigma Phi Epsilon fraternity. He says the liberal arts background provided a great foundation for his chosen career path.
“As is the case for many undergraduates, the college experience was transformative,” Greenman recalls. “You are on your own, making and taking responsibility for your own decisions, and being exposed to interesting and challenging courses of study that can broaden horizons and plant the seeds for critical thinking.”
After earning his bachelor’s degree in 1968, Greenman responded to a Selective Service draft notice by entering the Army’s officer candidate program, followed by two years of service at an Army company unit headquartered at the Presidio in San Francisco before returning to the UO to enroll in law school.
During law school, Greenman served on Law Review, clerked for the Lane County District Attorney during his third year to gain some practice experience, and graduated Order of the Coif. After graduating in 1974, he returned to San Francisco—a pivotal decision he attributes to his law school mentor Jim Mooney, a UO law professor who retired in 2014.
Mooney encouraged him to start his legal career with one of several large San Francisco firms if a business law practice was the ultimate objective. Following that advice, Greenman joined the prestigious San Francisco law firm Brobeck, Phleger and Harrison, and was assigned to a senior business lawyer who served as a trusted mentor in the transition from law student to business lawyer.
When their daughter Stephanie was born in 1977 (son Rob joined the family in 1980), the Greenmans decided it was time to return to Oregon. He joined Tonkon Torp in 1978, just four years after the founding of the firm by a small group of Portland’s leading business lawyers.
Greenman was active in the formation of the Lawyer’s Campaign for Equal Justice in 1991 and remains on the board of the organization, which is dedicated to providing all Oregonians with equal access to justice. He has served on the Board of Directors for the Oregon Law Foundation, the Board of Trustees for Pacific University, and the Board of Directors of nonprofit enterprises serving at risk youths. In 2019, Greenman received the James B. Castles Leadership Award from the Oregon State Bar Business Law Section.
“I feel fortunate that I chose the University of Oregon, earned a law degree, and applied it in the business arena,” he says. “The work is interesting and challenging. It never gets old. I’d like to see business law become one of the UO’s areas of excellence that attracts top students. I’d also like to see more university coursework that demonstrates collaboration between law and business.
“We are pleased to make this gift in support of the law school. We all need to be mindful of what allowed us to start down the path we chose and give back to the institutions that helped us achieve our goals. As I look back on the opportunities and client relationships that came my way as a business lawyer, the law school is definitely worth supporting.”
Eventually, Greenman plans to spend more of his available time pursuing future travel destinations with Linda and fly fishing his favorite Oregon’s rivers. But he’s not sure when that will be. “I have no intention of hanging up the spurs for now,” he says. “It’s still a pleasure and a privilege to go to work every day.”
By Ed Dorsch, BA '94 (English, sociology), MA '99 (journalism)