Professional and Civic Activities

  • American Bar Association
  • Former Chairman, American Red Cross Oregon Trail Chapter
  • Former Chairman, Board of Governors of the American Red Cross
  • Former President, Notre Dame Club of Portland
  • Former Trustee, Oregon Association of Children with Learning Disabilities
  • Oregon State Bar
  • President, St. Sharbel Catholic Church Council

Admitted to Practice

  • Oregon, 1993
  • Washington, 2007
  • U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, 1996
  • U.S. District Court for the District of Oregon, 1993

Education

  • J.D., Willamette University College of Law, 1993
    • Certificate for Dispute Resolution
  • B.B.A., University of Notre Dame, 1990

Thomas R. Rask III

One of several Kell, Alterman & Runstein, L.L.P. attorneys born and raised in the Portland area, Tom Rask is also one of the firm’s most active community volunteers. He is the president of the St. Sharbel Catholic Church Council, and served as Chairman of the Board of Governors of the American Red Cross and as a trustee for the Oregon Association of Children with Learning Disabilities. He’s also a former President of the Notre Dame Club of Portland, and is likely the only Portland lawyer who owns both a football and basketball signed by the respective 1978 University of Notre Dame men’s teams.

“That was the season of the comeback Cotton Bowl with Joe Montana,” notes the Jesuit High School graduate and past junior-high basketball coach, whose enthusiastic support of Notre Dame extends to an annual alumni trip to South Bend for a football game each year.

Befitting a lawyer who moonlights as a coach, Tom is known for his rational, steady approach to his civil litigation work. He also enjoys a reputation for managing complex business and real estate deals, contracts, and other transactional work with a communicative, open-ended style. His structured methods typically result in versatile, equitable solutions for his clients.

“People like that I look closely at both sides,” Tom says. “I’m even-handed and fair, and that carries over from my transactional work into my litigation work.”

Tom joined Kell, Alterman & Runstein, L.L.P. in 1993 directly out of law school, in part because of the firm’s reputation for effective, efficient representation, and partly for its standing as an active supporter of community and political causes. Tom believes that Kell, Alterman & Runstein, L.L.P.’s community spirit only strengthens the firm’s ties to Portland and its people. “The key to our success is that our clients succeed,” Tom explains, “and our firm is held in high regard because of our partners’ commitment to Portland.”

In addition to his passion for all things Notre Dame, Tom is an avid hunter and angler. He also plays basketball in the Lawyers League, and spends his remaining time with his wife and three children.

Thomas Rask

503.248.1864
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Practice Areas

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