Katherine O’Neil

Katherine O’Neil comes to our board with extensive nonprofit board experience ranging from the board of Chamber Music Northwest to the Board of Governors of the American Bar Association. She is currently a member of the Editorial Board of the ABA Journal. An attorney in practice in Portland for close to 40 years she was active in the Multnomah Bar Association. Susan Hammer, then the first woman president of the MBA, appointed Katherine as chair of the inaugural Committee on the Status of Women in the Legal Profession. The work of that committee evolved into the creation of Oregon Women Lawyers with Katherine as its founding president. Her legal practice was varied. She did trial and appellate work in the state and federal courts including admiralty cases, legal malpractice defense, and general trial work as well as work as a counselor to businesses and individuals. Katherine and her husband, Toby Graff, were law partners for the last 25 years of her practice. Katherine and Toby are avid birders and sea kayakers and center their travels around these two activities. She also loves her garden.