Divorce law maven faces own breakup

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The Portland Tribune, Jul 12, 2005, Updated Oct 30, 2009

Could there be a divorce in the works for the well-known family relations law firm of Stahancyk, Gearing, Rackner & Kent?

Seems there’s been an exodus of 10 lawyers and support staff at the Portland-based firm, including two of the partners listed in the firm’s name. Laura Rackner, David Gearing and three other lawyers in the firm’s office recently left and formed the new firm of Gearing, Rackner and Engel LLP. Three administrative staff members left to work for the new firm.

Rackner said there were “philosophic differences and we decided to leave. We’re hoping to break off with good, amicable feelings.”

Firm founder Jody Stahancyk, who has earned a reputation as a barracuda for her wealthy divorcing clients, said the departures were “something that was not unplanned.”

“These people are still my friends, but they wanted to practice law in a different way. Doing things like feeding the Lincoln High football team before games was not what they wanted,” she said. “They wanted to practice law in a traditional way.”

Two others also recently headed out the firm’s revolving door, including lawyer Tiffany Minus-Martinez, who now works for the Lake Oswego firm of Buckley LeChevallier PC.

Stahancyk, whose new firm is Stahancyk, Kent, Johnson & Hook, said she still would make referrals to her former colleagues, and was looking forward to the courtroom competition. “We’ve played doubles for so long it will be good to face someone new across the net.”

Scare fair?

A news release with the headline “County fairs take steps to ensure health and safety of animals and people,” sent out last week by the Oregon Department of Agriculture, is packed with information that might make you think twice before petting the Jersey cow with the big brown eyes.

No matter how well-groomed the cow might look, she could be seething with germs, according to the ag department, whose “story of the week” is packed with terms like “vesicular stomatitis” and “viral hemorrhagic” Ñ references to two diseases that haven’t hit Oregon, but are being closely watched.

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