Spotlighting T 16
GENERAL COUNSEL TO THE GOVERNOR
OF OREGON LIANI J. REEVES BY PATRICK FOLLIARD
For attorney Liani Reeves, high school began with nonstop bullying, a misery that she attributes to being one of very few minorities in a predominately white school. “Daily name-calling and fistfights weren’t unusual, but I’m scrappy,” says Reeves, who is Asian. And while she says bullying did not make her a better litigator necessarily, it did spark her interest in a legal career. “I was searching for a way to reclaim power in not just a physical way. I perceived being a lawyer as a position of power. It was a way I could protect myself and others.”
DIVERSITY & THE BAR® JULY/AUGUST 2014
oday she is general counsel to Oregon’s Gov. John Kitzhaber. As the gover- nor’s chief legal adviser, Reeves reviews all bills submitted to the governor for his signature and vets candidates for judicial appointments. When she was appointed general counsel in January 2011, Reeves was unsure what to expect. “It’s not a job for
which you can easily prepare,” she says. “Tere’s only one person in each state who does this job, so it’s very unique.” It helped that Reeves came to the position with a deep understanding of state government and related legal issues such as constitutional matters, sovereign immunity issues and public employment. Reeves’ ease with multitasking and a strong work ethic have served her well, too. Prior to joining Gov. Kitzhaber’s Salem office,
Reeves had no political or professional affiliation with the governor. She was recommended for the job by Oregon Attorney General John Kroger, who knew Reeves from the Oregon Department of Justice where she had worked for 10 years, most recently as deputy chief trial counsel. “At the Department of Justice, I had a broad policy
impact on matters that directly affect the public like education and healthcare benefits, and environmental issues. And it’s not like the federal government where things move slowly and get lost. I was happy in the department, and I loved being in the courtroom.” As the first Asian woman to be named general coun-
sel to the governor of Oregon, Reeves describes herself as an example. “I want law students to know that whatever they want to do they can, even if that goal doesn’t fit with other people’s idea of what a certain kind of lawyer should look like.” Asians make up four percent of Oregon’s population.
And Asian representation in the state bar, says Reeves, is even smaller and very few of them are litigators. “I’ve certainly walked into plenty of courtrooms over
the years and been mistaken as the court interpreter or court reporter,” says Reeves. In fact, before her career started, she was told that she was not aggressive enough for the courtroom. “When I was in law school, I inter- viewed at a private firm and was explicit about my inter- est in doing trial work and litigation. After talking to me for 30 seconds, they told me flat out I was too passive to be a litigator without knowing anything about me. “I’m very conscious that people’s notions of what it means to be a lawyer are often based on appearance and
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