May 04, 2026|News, Press
Building on its recent expansion in the Pacific Northwest, Buchalter is pleased to announce the addition of a Tax and Estate Planning team in its Portland office. The group joins Buchalter from Stoel Rives LLP and significantly enhances the firm’s private client, tax, and estate planning platform in the region.
In March 2026, Buchalter announced that Emily Karr and Susan Bock had joined the firm as Corporate Partners in Portland, marking an important milestone in the firm’s growth of its estate planning capabilities in the Northwest. With the arrival of the remainder of their team, Buchalter further solidifies its ability to provide sophisticated, integrated counsel to individuals, families, fiduciaries, and closely held businesses.
The Portland team is led by Partners Susan Bock and Emily Karr, both members of Buchalter’s Corporate Practice Group and the Tax, Benefits and Estate Planning Practice. They are joined by Senior Counsel Kersten Broms, Attorney, Oleg Perry, and paralegals, Lori Kovacevic, Hanh Truong, and Sarah Pugh.
“With the addition of this team, we are deepening our Tax, Benefits and Estate Planning capabilities in the Pacific Northwest in a very meaningful way,” said Adam Bass, President and Chief Executive Officer of Buchalter. “Susan and Emily, along with their colleagues, have built an outstanding practice, and their collective arrival underscores our commitment to growing a preeminent estate planning and private client platform in this market.”
Emily Karr advises clients in Oregon and Washington on estate planning and the administration of estates and trusts, with a focus on family‑owned business succession planning and complex domestic and international estate and tax planning. She regularly represents executives, entrepreneurs, artists, and families with multijurisdictional assets, and advises U.S. and foreign citizens on cross‑border estate, tax, and asset protection matters. Ms. Karr also counsels nonprofit organizations and boards on governance, tax‑exempt status, and charitable giving strategies.
“When Susan and I made the decision to join Buchalter, it was important to us to find a firm where our entire team could grow together,” said Karr. “We were intentional about moving our practice as a group, and Buchalter’s national platform, entrepreneurial culture, and commitment to private client services made it the right long‑term home for our team and our clients.”
Susan Bock focuses her practice on income, estate, and gift tax planning, trust and estate administration, charitable planning, and business succession planning for families and closely held businesses in Oregon and Idaho. She has extensive experience advising clients on sophisticated estate and gift tax strategies, including irrevocable trusts and planning involving cross‑border assets, as well as on nonprofit organizations and charitable giving.
“Our team was built over many years, and maintaining that continuity was essential,” said Bock. “The firm’s collaborative approach and depth across corporate, tax, and private client matters allow us to continue serving our clients seamlessly while expanding the resources available to them.”
Kersten Broms, Senior Counsel in the Corporate Practice Group, advises individuals and families on U.S. and international estate planning, income, estate, and gift taxation, trust and estate administration, and tax controversy matters. She also works closely with businesses on federal income tax issues, drawing on both her legal and financial services background.
Oleg Perry supports the team’s estate planning and tax practice and brings experience in private client matters and tax law, including work with low‑income taxpayer clinics and academic research.
The team also brought over professional staff, including three seasoned paralegals.
“This is exactly the type of thoughtful, strategic growth that strengthens our firm,” said Joseph K. Fletcher, III, Co-Chair of the firm’s Tax, Benefits and Estate Planning Group. “We are very pleased to welcome a well‑established team whose expertise significantly expands our Tax, Benefits and Estate Planning capabilities in the Northwest. Just as importantly, they share Buchalter’s collaborative and client‑focused culture.”
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Buchalter is a full-service business law firm representing local, regional, national, and international clients in a multitude of practice areas and their subspecialties, among them: Bank and Finance, Corporate, Health Care, Litigation, Insolvency and Financial Law, Intellectual Property, Labor and Employment, Real Estate, and Tax and Estate Planning. Buchalter has more than 600 attorneys with offices in California, Arizona, Colorado, Georgia, Illinois, Oregon, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, and Washington.
