Caroline Harris Crowne

In her 17 years at Tonkon Torp, Caroline has taken more than thirty cases to trial or final hearing and has resolved many more through motions and settlement. Caroline excels at presenting complex concepts in a way that makes sense to judges, juries, arbitrators, and other decision makers. She regularly handles matters in state and federal courts, in private arbitration, and in regulatory proceedings.

Caroline's litigation practice focuses on disputes over business transactions and relationships. She is well versed in commercial contracts and accounting concepts. She has a special interest in matters relating to the ownership, governance, and sale of businesses. She has handled numerous cases involving claims for breaches of fiduciary duty, disputes over stock and asset purchase agreements, and indemnification claims. She also regularly represents clients in federal and state administrative proceedings, involving the regulation of utilities, financial institutions, and the practice of accounting.
                                                     
Through the course of her career, Caroline has developed deep expertise in arbitration and mediation procedure. She trained in mediation while a college student in Houston and then volunteered as a mediator during law school in New York, resolving dozens of cases in civil court, in small claims court, and at a neighborhood mediation center. She has published several articles and given presentations on topics of arbitration procedure under federal and state law.

Before joining Tonkon Torp, Caroline clerked for the Honorable Charles S. Haight in the Southern District of New York.

Caroline and her husband, Adrian, are parents of two teenagers. As a family, they enjoy all kinds of outdoor activities—camping, hiking, skiing, and biking. Caroline and Adrian also enjoy going out dancing. They both started with East Coast Swing, learned how to do the Texas Two Step when they were in college together at Rice University, and then studied the tango in New York. Now, after more than twenty-five years as dance partners, they don't follow any rules and everything blends together. 

Multnomah Bar Association
Board of Directors, 2018-Present

Court Liaison Committee
2015-2018, Member

CLE Committee
2009-2012, Member
2011-2012, Chair

City Club of Portland
2017-Present, Board of Governors
2005-2008, Chair of Research Committee on Partisanship
2009-2010, Advocacy Committee for Report on Partisanship
2010-2012, Chair of Agora Steering Committee
2010-2011, Member of the Year Award
2013-2016, Research Board Member
2015-2016, Research Award

Suite Talkers Toastmasters Club
2010-Present, Member
2010, Founder
2010-2011, President
2011-2012, Treasurer

Religious Society of Friends (Quakers)
Multnomah Monthly Meeting
2014-Present, Nominating Committee
2004-2005, Nursery Committee
2005-2007, Nursery Clerk
2007-2010, Personnel Clerk
2010-2012, Middle School Friends Committee

Oregon Food Bank
2013-2017, Firm Campaign Chair

Legal Aid Domestic Violence Project
2004-2011, Volunteer Attorney

Southeast Legal Clinic
2003-2011, Volunteer Attorney

Portland Business Alliance
Leadership Portland, Class of 2009
Program Day Co-Chair for Class of 2010 and Class of 2011

The Lawyer's Campaign for Equal Justice
2004-2007, Associates Committee

American Bar Association
Federal Bar Association
Multnomah Bar Association
Oregon Women Lawyers

"Drafting Mediation Provisions in Transaction Documents," Oregon State Bar CLE, March 2020

Panelist, "An Insiders Look at the Bank of Oswego Fraud/Conspiracy Trial," Oregon State Bar CLE, November 2018

Panelist, "Expect the Unexpected – How to Communicate Uncertainty While Maintaining Credibility," Oregon Association of Corporate Counsel, May 2018

"Expert Witnesses," Multnomah Bar Association Young Lawyers Section, Advanced Litigation Series, May 2018

Panelist, “Mississippi Burning: Pro Bono Service – Then and Now,” Oregon State Bar’s 25th Annual Litigation Institute & Retreat Meeting, March 2018

"Keep Your Arbitration Clause Clean: Three Easy Steps to Avoid Making a Big Mess," Association of Corporate Counsel of Oregon Newsletter, July 2017

"Practice Note – Enforcing Arbitration Awards in Oregon," Practical Law, April 2017

"Discovery for New Attorneys," Multnomah Bar Association, Young Litigators Forum, February 2017

"Dispute Resolution for Startups," January 2016

"Commercial Litigation," SuperSaturday CLE, Oregon State Bar New Lawyers Division, October 2014

"Out of the Frying Pan, Into the Fire? Forum Selection and its Consequences," OSB Debtor-Creditor Section, Annual Meeting, September 2013

"Forensic Accounting in Litigation," Portland State University, School of Business Administration, February 2012

"Intake and Case Management: The Complaint is Not the Beginning of the Case," Multnomah Bar Association, Young Litigators CLE Series, February 2011

Co-Presenter, "Getting in Front of the Jury," American College of Trial Lawyers Northwest Regional Conference, July 2010

Co-Presenter, "Fewer and Fewer Civil Trials: Why, What Does it Mean, and What Can Be Done?" Oregon Association of Defense Counsel Annual Convention, June 2010

"Are Mandatory Mediation Clauses Enforceable?" Litigation Journal, Oregon State Bar, Summer 2010

"Arbitration and Federalism: Conflicts in Federal and State Substantive and Procedural Law," Arbitration and Mediation, Oregon State Bar, 2008

"Federal Arbitration Act Preempts Oregon Legislature's 2007 Amendment to Oregon Arbitration Act," Litigation Journal, Oregon State Bar, Summer 2008

Co-Presenter, "Arbitration Clauses in Contracts: Drafting, Enforcing, and Challenging Them," Multnomah Bar Association, November 2007

"The Alternative Dispute Resolution Act of 1998: Implementing a New Paradigm of Justice," 76 N.Y.U. L. Rev.1768, 2001