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Oregon State Bar Bulletin — NOVEMBER 2008
November Issue Table of Contents Navigating Water Law Climate Change Bar Counsel
The Legal Writer Legal.online Managing Your Practice Legal Practice Tips
Profiles in the Law Parting Thoughts Departments Letters Briefs OSB CLE Bar News
Discipline Applications Among Ourselves Moves In Memoriam Classifieds

Profiles in the Law
Thrill Ride
Lynn Ashcroft Adds Adventure to Life Through Variety of Pursuits
By Melody Finnemore



Lynn Ashcroft


There aren’t many people who could look at a Harley Davidson motorcycle and
imagine ways to make it better, but Lynn Ashcroft is one of them. When the
Marion County Circuit Court judge and a friend bought Harleys several years ago,
it inspired Ashcroft to begin custom designing and building motorcycles.

A self-confessed gearhead with obsessive-compulsive tendencies, Ashcroft
discovered his affinity for designing motorcycles in an everlasting effort to
keep busy. He already was respected for his woodwork, which includes a
handcrafted, shaker-style conference table and several oak desks and chairs in
his Salem law office. He’s also made furniture for some of his colleagues.

In 1995, he opened Ashcroft Motorcycles in Salem. The shop employs half a dozen
workers who do the paint and bodywork, while Ashcroft does the design and much
of the fabrication work. Each year, Ashcroft produces a number of full custom
motorcycles as well as hot rods that have been featured in videos and on TV as
well as in national and international publications such as Robb Report,
MotorCycling, Stuff and Easyriders.

Ashcroft’s creations also have been displayed in museums and even aboard the
Queen Mary ship. His customers range from riders and enthusiasts in most of the
western United States to a contractor in Iraq who bought an Ashcroft creation he
saw in a magazine. Perhaps his most famous customer is "CSI" actor Gary Dourdan,
who purchased a model called the "Evil Bastard," which won Best of Show at an
Easyrider show, for $48,000.

From designing award-winning, custom motorcycles to retiring from the Oregon
Army National Guard as a brigadier general to his recent appointment as a Marion
County judge, it’s been an exhilarating ride for Ashcroft. However, he didn’t
plan to sit on the bench — or even become a lawyer. The Pendleton native’s first
love is history, and his early career plans involved a management position with
a national retail chain.

"I grew up in a fairly small community and college — not only within my family
but in the community — was nice to have but wasn’t really expected," he says.
"Coming out of high school, you could either go to work on a farm, drive a truck
or go to college."

Inspired by a high school history teacher, Ashcroft enrolled as a history major
at Brigham Young University. At just 19, he withdrew from college to enlist in
the military. The Vietnam War raged overseas and Ashcroft wanted to avoid being
drafted so he could somewhat control his options.

"Joining the military, other than being a dad, is the best thing I ever did,"
Ashcroft says.

By 1971, he was a commissioned lieutenant in the U.S. Army. Ashcroft’s active
duty with the United States Army, and reserve duty with the Army National Guard
and Army Reserve, included assignments with I CORPS, the 91st Infantry Division,
116th and 163rd Armored Cavalry Regiments, the 41st Infantry Brigade, and
various other military commands. These included temporary duties with the 1st
Special Forces, 19th Special Forces Group (Airborne) of the Utah National Guard,
and as an active duty advisor to 2nd Battalion, 75th Rangers, with duties and
service performed both within the U.S. and overseas. Ashcroft concluded his
military career as a brigadier general in command of the Oregon State Defense
Force.

After completing his initial active duty tour, Ashcroft worked in retail for
major national department store chains, including Macy’s group, in management
and as a buyer. Oddly enough, it was his goal to obtain an upper management
position with the chain that led Ashcroft to pursue a law degree.

"Their top management all had law degrees or MBAs, so I really went to law
school not necessarily to become a lawyer but to be in a top management position
for Macy’s or something like that," he says.

Ashcroft returned to college to finish his undergrad degree in history. However,
because he had withdrawn to join the military — and possibly had what he called
too much "recreation time" — he received a slate of low grades as a consequence.
Ashcroft made up for his .7 grade point average during his last two years of
undergrad studies and, ultimately, was accepted to study law at the University
of the Pacific, McGeorge School of Law in Sacramento.

Ashcroft earned his law degree in 1979 and launched his legal career as a
military prosecutor where, ranked as a senior captain near the top of the pay
scale, he cut his teeth in an aggressive environment.

"I chose the military because I knew I would be able to get lots of trial
experience there," Ashcroft says, noting he prosecuted for three brigades
representing about 10,000 soldiers. "For any crime that was committed by any
soldier in that command, I was the prosecutor for it. Whether it was a murder
case or an AWOL case, and whether it was committed in the United States or
overseas, it fell into my charge.

"You got in with both feet early on, and the trial scheduling was very
expeditious. It was not unusual for a prosecutor to try two or three cases a
week to a jury," he adds.

After his military career, Ashcroft went into private practice with Rhoten,
Rhoten Speerstra. He admits he had some initial misgivings about joining the
venerable Salem firm because of the advanced age of its partners. He quickly
discovered, however, that the colleagues he would later join as a partner were
among the most honorable people he had ever met.

"I had an incredible opportunity and it wasn’t because of my personality or
strengths, but because I worked with some lawyers who had the experience and
gave me the opportunity," he says.

Ashcroft became a partner with the firm, and continued to work there with fellow
partner Sarah Reinhart after the three senior partners retired. Ashcroft and
Reinhart eventually formed Ashcroft and Rinehart LLP, where his practice was
primarily insurance defense, complex litigation and business law, and Reinhart
practiced probate and estate.

After practicing together for a number of years, substantive differences in
their practices led Ashcroft and Reinhart to dissolve their partnership.
Ashcroft then partnered with a friend from the armed forces, David Wiles.

In addition to his role as managing partner of Ashcroft Wiles, Ashcroft began
serving as a Marion County pro tem judge in 2004. Then in May 2008, Gov. Ted
Kulongoski appointed him to fill the vacancy created by Judge Terry Leggert’s
retirement in Marion County. Along with criminal cases, Ashcroft has taken on
civil, domestic and juvenile cases through the retirement of another judge and
the succession of a new presiding judge.

His first few months on the Marion County bench have shown Ashcroft that it’s
one of the most rewarding, albeit toughest, jobs he’s ever done.

"As a lawyer we sit out there and look at judges and think, ‘He’s got it easy,
he gets to control everything,’ and to an extent that’s true," Ashcroft says.
"As a judge, though, the hardest thing for me to do is keep from worrying about
the consequences of what I do, and whether I made the ‘right’ decision.
Sometimes it’s very hard to decide these cases and make the decision in such a
way that it complies with the law and serves the interests of justice, but also
resolves the issues."

A recent sex abuse case involving juveniles is a prime example. "I found both
sides to be very believable, and the decision I made is going to affect both of
those children for the rest of their lives," he says. "That’s very difficult. I
will do it, but I don’t always like the decisions I have to make. Neither judges
nor attorneys make the facts."

Ashcroft strives to treat everyone — whether they are the plaintiffs, defendants
or the attorneys representing them — equally and with respect.

"As a judge, it’s my role to be fair and impartial and, in particular areas like
juvenile and criminal law, I feel that as an individual I can make a difference
in our society," he says. "It’s not just a matter of processing the numbers, but
of doing your best to do the right thing and the legal thing that will benefit
the individuals and the rest of us. At the end of the day, it’s about whether I
did the right thing and made things better."

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Melody Finnemore is a Portland-area freelance writer and a frequent contributor
to the Bulletin.

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