Wayne Harris retired from the practice of law in January 2021 after having been a lawyer since 1984. He worked for two years as a judicial law clerk with the federal trial court in Portland, Oregon. For the next eight years, he worked as a judicial law clerk with the Oregon Court of Appeals and as an attorney in the public and private sectors. His work in the public sector involved administrative review of unemployment compensation claims. His work in the private sector involved corporate law and litigation. During the five years he worked as a judicial law clerk, Wayne researched a variety of complex state and federal legal issues and wrote hundreds of court decisions for trial and appellate level judges.

In 1994, he decided to specialize in the field of law called employee benefits, with a primary focus on pension plans qualified under the Internal Revenue Code and subject to regulation by a federal law called the Employee Retirement Income Security Act ("ERISA"). Wayne drafted pension plan documents and advised employers about how to comply with the law that governs pension plans. QDROs formed a substantial part of his employee benefits practice from the outset and, over time, have become his practice focus. Wayne prepared over 6,000 QDROs in his career. He spoke at continuing legal education seminars about pension division incident to divorce and related topics. He is a recognized authority in his field.

Formerly Licensed to Practice Law in:

Oregon (1984)

Washington (2003)

Idaho (2003)

Education:

J.D., Lewis and Clark Law School, Portland, Oregon (1984)

Law Review Member and Editor, Environmental Law, (1982-84)

A.B. with Honors, Political Science, University of Missouri at Columbia (1979)

Park Hill High School, Kansas City, Missouri (1974)

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