Cosgrave Vergeer Kester LLP was formed in 1934. Over the years, the firm has grown, as has the scope of its practice. Nevertheless, Cosgrave has consistently maintained an outstanding reputation for representation in and out of the courtroom with its corporate and insurance clients. Today, the firm provides a wide range of business and litigation services to clients in the Pacific Northwest, nationally and internationally.
Cosgrave’s attorneys strive to settle disputes when it is feasible and in the client’s best interest. But when it is not, Cosgrave attorneys are ready and willing to go to trial and have done so with excellent results in more than 800 cases.
It is not just in trial where Cosgrave attorneys excel. Many cases are appealed and, when that happens, the attorneys continue to provide excellent service. Cosgrave’s appellate attorneys have argued hundreds of cases before the United States Supreme Court, the Oregon Supreme Court, the Oregon Court of Appeals, the Washington Supreme Court, the Washington Court of Appeals, and the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.
Of course, Cosgrave’s practice is not just about lawsuits. Clients also need help with estate planning, business organizing, real estate transactions, and the like. Cosgrave attorneys excel at providing those services.
Firm Achievements and Awards
The legal community recognizes Cosgrave’s accomplishments. For example, five Cosgrave partners were selected by their peers for inclusion in the current edition of Best Lawyers in America. And three Cosgrave lawyers have been given the Multnomah Bar Association’s “Professionalism” Award, arguably the highest honor in the profession.
For some Cosgrave attorneys, law school came after a distinguished career in another field. The attorneys’ experiences as nurses, counselors, accountants, and business people bring another dimension to its practice.
Many Cosgrave attorneys honed their legal skills working for trial and appellate court judges. Cosgrave attorneys have held rank as a past Oregon Supreme Court Justice, two former Deputy District Attorneys, a couple of former Assistant Attorneys General, a pro-tem judge on the Multnomah County Circuit Court, and a former pro-tem judge.
Cosgrave attorneys are also leaders in the Bar. Three are past presidents of the Multnomah Bar Association. The firm also boasts three past presidents of the Oregon Association of Defense Counsel. Another is the past president of the Owen M. Panner American Inn of Court. Still, others have served as members or chairs of various Oregon State Bar committees, sections, and commissions and as delegates to the Oregon State Bar House of Delegates and the American Bar Association House of Delegates. Even with all of this volunteer activity, Cosgrave attorneys still find time to speak at continuing legal education seminars and to write for various law-related publications.
Clientele
Cosgrave clients range from individuals and small businesses to regional, national, and international corporations. The firm’s clients are from many different industries, including construction, professional, private and business insurance, transportation, forest products, manufacturing, and hi-tech. No client’s needs are too small or too complex. From a simple will to a large condominium development, from simple to complex litigation, Cosgrave treats all of its clients as if each is the firm’s only client.