Please join us in welcoming Literary Arts’ two new board members, Gustavo (Tavo) Cruz and Janet Hoffman!
Gustavo (Tavo) Cruz is a versatile business transactions lawyer with a broad range of experience, including commercial and corporate finance, mergers and acquisitions, and general corporate matters for financial institutions, companies, and individuals. Tavo served as a partner in an AMLAW 100 firm, as well as in-house counsel with a large financial institution. Prior transactions include complex commercial loans, workouts and restructurings, corporate acquisitions, private placements, initial public offerings, real estate transactions, and corporate governance matters. Tavo’s clients include banks and private lenders, closely-held companies, and individuals. Tavo has been a speaker and moderator for numerous commercial lending and real estate-related presentations.
Janet Hoffman is a highly experienced criminal defense attorney based in Portland, Oregon. Ms. Hoffman has dedicated her career to providing the highest quality defense to all of her clients, while at the same time, she strives to raise the standard of practice through creative and zealous advocacy. In the more than 30 years Janet Hoffman has practiced criminal defense, she has obtained the highest professional ratings. She is a member of the International Society of Barristers and was awarded an AV Preeminent rating from Martindale-Hubbell (top rating in skill and ethics by her peers). Janet is also a member of the Portland Business Journal’s BizWomen Coalition, a membership group of C-level executives and business owners. Ms. Hoffman has been listed in Best Lawyers in America every year since 2001 and in early 2013, she was selected by her peers as the Best Lawyers® “Lawyer of the Year” in the Criminal Defense: White-Collar category – Portland area.
Ms. Hoffman is a frequent speaker and instructor. She has taught trial practice skills in multiple states. She began her career as a public defender and is currently a member of the Gus J. Solomon Inn of Court and an editor of the Oregon State Bar Litigation Journal. In the past, Ms. Hoffman served as a member on the Board of Governors of the Oregon State Bar, and the Board of the Multnomah Bar Association. She also served on the Uniform Trial Court Rules Committee and the ACLU Lawyers’ Committee (Northern District).
She received her BA from the University of Redlands in 1973 and her JD from Boston College Law School in 1977. She worked as a public defender until 1981, when she entered private practice.
