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Bruce

Bruce H. Cahn

ShareholderCommercial Litigation Team Co-Chair

Bruce Cahn is a top-rated and experienced trial and appellate lawyer whose practice is focused on sophisticated large-dollar commercial, business, and real estate disputes. He represents both plaintiffs and defendants in complex cases, including business torts, partnership and shareholder disputes, fraudulent transfer claims, banking matters, construction cost overruns, and condemnation of property. He represents clients in numerous industries, including hospitality, transportation, construction, banking, financial services, natural resources, and technology, and he represents governmental clients in a variety of matters.

His litigation experience includes securities fraud and antitrust cases, large-scale condemnation matters, natural resources litigation as well as general business disputes. Prior to moving to Portland, Bruce was a member of the corporate practice group at Sidley & Austin (in its Los Angeles office), where he worked on mergers and acquisitions, securities offerings, film financing, and copyright and trademark licensing for the entertainment industry.

Bruce often engages with the legal community by authoring articles on a variety of litigation issues and has lectured on a wide range of legal topics, including construction law, real estate disputes, condemnation law, and trial practices. He has been recognized as one of the top condemnation lawyers in Oregon, twice being recognized by Best Lawyers® as the “Portland Lawyer of the Year" in Eminent Domain and Condemnation Law. Chambers® USA ranks Bruce as a leading commercial litigation attorney in Oregon, with one source sharing, “Bruce is very proactive, knowledgeable and practical in his approach. He made himself available to meet our timeframe and was able to successfully deal with complex situations.”

In his free time, Bruce serves on the Board of Directors of Civics Learning Project, which provides educational and other programs for students to become active, engaged, and informed participants in a democratic society. Bruce also volunteers as a judge for the Civics Learning Project “We the People” Competition (which engages high school students in a curriculum designed to foster understanding of the institutions of American democracy) and served as a coach of the Central Catholic High School “We the People” team for 13 years. Previously, Bruce served on the Board of Directors of LifeWorks Northwest, a nonprofit organization dedicated to promoting a healthy community by providing quality and culturally responsive mental health and addiction services across a person’s lifespan, and currently serves on the LifeWorks NW Facilities Committee.

Professional Experience

Ball Janik, Partner (1999-2017)

Bogle Gates, Senior Attorney (1993-1999)

Negele Knophler Pierson & Robertson, Associate (1992-1993)

Sidley Austin, Associate (1990-1992)

Community Involvement

LifeWorks Northwest, Board Member (2012-2019)

Civics Learning Project, Board Member (2020-Present)

Chair of Board Development Committee
Executive Committee
Finance Committee

Central Catholic High School Constitution Team, Coach (2011-2024)

National Center for State Courts, Membership Committee (2022-2024)

Thought Leadership

August 15, 2024News
The Best Lawyers in America© 2025 Recognizes 128 Lane Powell Attorneys
Awards & Honors
July 24, 2024News
Nineteen Lane Powell Attorneys Recognized by Super Lawyers in Oregon for 2024
Awards & Honors
June 6, 2024News
Lane Powell Ranked Again Among Top Firms in 2024 Chambers® USA
Awards & Honors
August 17, 2023News
The Best Lawyers in America© 2024 Recognizes 123 Lane Powell Attorneys
Awards & Honors
July 24, 2023News
Nineteen Lane Powell Attorneys Recognized by Super Lawyers in Oregon for 2023
Awards & Honors
May 11, 2023Event / CLE
Direct and Inverse Condemnation Update
The Seminar Group
August 18, 2022News
The Best Lawyers in America© 2023 Recognizes 90 Lane Powell Attorneys
Awards & Honors
July 1, 2022News
Fifteen Lane Powell Attorneys Recognized by Super Lawyers in Oregon for 2022
Awards & Honors
August 19, 2021News
The Best Lawyers in America© 2022 Recognizes 90 Lane Powell Attorneys
Awards & Honors
July 15, 2021News
Forty-Three Lane Powell Attorneys Recognized by Super Lawyers for 2021
Awards & Honors
December 18, 2020Publication
Shelter From the Storm: Commercial Leasing Under the Cloud of COVID-19
Oregon State Bar Bulletin
December 18, 2020Publication
Shelter From the Storm: Commercial Leasing Under the Cloud of COVID-19
COVID-19 Landlord/Tenant Response Legal Update
September 11, 2020News
Lane Powell Featured in The American Lawyer Article ‘As COVID-19 Creates Curveballs, Firms Pivot Practices to Keep the Work Coming’
In the News
August 20, 2020News
The Best Lawyers in America© 2021 Recognizes 92 Lane Powell Attorneys
Awards & Honors
July 6, 2020News
Ten Lane Powell Attorneys Recognized by Super Lawyers in Oregon for 2020
Awards & Honors
April 23, 2020Publication
Potential Lender Liability Under the CARES Act
COVID-19 Resource
August 15, 2019News
The Best Lawyers in America© 2020 Recognizes 63 Lane Powell Attorneys
Awards & Honors
July 5, 2019News
Twenty-one Lane Powell Attorneys Recognized by Super Lawyers in Alaska and Oregon
Awards & Honors
August 15, 2018News
The Best Lawyers in America© 2019 Recognizes 62 Lane Powell Attorneys
Awards & Honors
July 24, 2018News
Twenty-three Lane Powell Attorneys Recognized by Super Lawyers in Alaska and Oregon
Awards & Honors
August 22, 2017News
Cahn Joins Lane Powell’s Commercial Litigation Team
Firm Announcement
August 15, 2017News
Fifty-nine Lane Powell Attorneys Named in The Best Lawyers® in America 2018
Awards & Honors

Practices & Industries

Commercial Litigation
Construction
Creditors' Rights & Bankruptcy
Real Estate
Landlord/Tenant Response Team
Business Dispute Resolution

Education

Loyola Law School, Los Angeles, J.D., 1990
- Member, St. Thomas More Law Honor Society
- Staff Member, International & Comparative Law Journal
California State University, Northridge, B.A., 1986

Admissions

Oregon
California
Washington
U.S. District Court, Oregon
U.S. District Court, Washington
U.S. Court of Appeals, Federal Circuit
U.S. Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit
U.S. Court of Federal Claims

Honors

"Portland Lawyer of the Year," Best Lawyers®, Eminent Domain and Condemnation Law (2020, 2023, 2025)

Chambers® USA: America’s Leading Lawyers for Business, Litigation: General Commercial (2024)

The Best Lawyers in America©, Eminent Domain and Condemnation (2018-2020, 2023-2025); Commercial Litigation (2019-2025)

"Oregon Super Lawyer," Thomson Reuters, Business Litigation (2018-2024)

“Oregon’s Top Rated Lawyers,” ALM Legal Leaders, Commercial Litigation (2013)

AV Preeminent® in Martindale-Hubbell® Peer Review Ratings™

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