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People > Attorney > Max M. Miller Jr.
Max M. Miller Jr.

Max M. Miller Jr.

PARTNER

503.802.2030
max.miller@tonkon.com
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Overview

Max is a member of the firm's Environmental & Natural Resources Practice Group. His experience includes both transactional counsel and litigation representation. Using his extensive knowledge in environmental, natural resources, energy, and land-use law, he helps businesses resolve disputes regarding federal, state, and local regulations. The industries of Max's clients include manufacturing, renewable energy, real estate development, petroleum, auto, forestry, and forest products.

Max regularly works with regulatory agencies in several states to address complex hazardous waste and air and water pollution matters. His practice background includes:

  • Purchase, sale, remediation, and repurposing of environmentally impacted industrial properties
  • Environmental agency claims, agency enforced remedial and removal actions under Superfund  and RCRA and voluntary clean ups
  • Private cost recovery lawsuits and citizen suits
  • Environmental permits
  • Sustainability advice

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Get To Know

Max Miller at Tryon Creek
One of the best gifts to give a child is a consistent presence. Tonkon Torp attorney Max Miller, Jr. knows this from raising his own child, and he now offers the same support and stability as a mentor with Faithful Friends.

Faithful Friends is a community-based program that matches vulnerable children aged six to nine with mentors for a year or more. Max met the program's founder over two decades ago and ended up joining the Faithful Friends board in 2018. After becoming more knowledgeable about the program, Max and his wife Lori signed up to train to be mentors late last summer, and were matched shortly after.

“It was friendship at first sight,” recalls Max after meeting their young mentee. Born premature at just 1.5 pounds, their now eight-year-old friend remains small in stature but has grown into a vivacious personality. She is articulate, reads tremendously well, and has a loving home with her grandmother. One thing that her family felt would be beneficial to her was a consistent and positive male presence.

Max, Lori, and their mentee get together on a weekly basis to just live life and have fun. Playing games, walking the dog, going to bible study, and trips to the grocery store are sprinkled with special outings like taking in a play at the Northwest Children’s Theater. The goal isn’t to buy children in the program a lot of gifts and make every outing spectacular. Rather, mentors like Max and Lori provide a consistent and steady influence on their mentee's life, reinforcing the importance of responsibility, school, family, and making good life choices. Max shared, “The most important thing is that we show up when we say we will, and never add any disappointment to her life.”

When kids graduate from the Faithful Friends program, usually sometime after  10 years old, the hope is that the friendship continues beyond the agreed upon term of the mentorship. For Max and Lori, a long-term relationship with their new friend is something they are looking forward to building.
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Featured Representative Matters

Environmental Remediation and Purchase of Railcar Facility

In 1992, Tonkon Torp helped the Greenbrier Companies lease a large railcar repair facility in Cleburne, Texas; the lease included a purchase option. Following extensive environmental remediation performed by facility owner and negotiated by Tonkon Torp, as well as extensive additions and alterations to the property boundaries, Gunderson Rail Services LLC purchased the Cleburne facility in July 2019.

Superfund

The Portland Harbor Superfund site.

Conversion of Brownfields

Conversion of brownfields to new residential and commercial development, including prospective purchase agreements.

Automobile Dealerships

Sale of large group of automobile dealerships.

Clean Water Act

Defended citizens' suits alleging Clean Water Act violations.

EPA

EPA ordered emergency removal at a precious metals lab and a mining facility.

Disposal Site

Resource Conservation and Recovery Act cleanup of a disposal site.

Dispensing Properties

Purchase, sale, ground-leasing, and remediation of several environmentally impacted industrial, manufacturing, and petroleum dispensing properties.

Federal & State Permitting

Federal and state permitting related to timberlands and manufacturing facilities.

Renewable Energy

Siting and permitting for renewable energy facilities.

Lacey Act Compliance

TSCA Wastes

Removal of TSCA wastes from a mill pond.

Crane Preserve

Establishment of sandhill crane preserve.
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Featured Work

Tonkon Torp Helps Albina Head Start Purchase Property for Community Cornerstone

Attorneys from Tonkon Torp’s Real Estate & Land Use Practice Group are celebrating a successful real estate purchase for pro bono client Albina Head Start (AHS). For more than 40 years, AHS has leased space at a former church building in NE Portland for its Tina Clegg Center. The Center, a community pillar for one of Portland’s historic communities of color, houses both a Head Start program serving 60 low-income families and AHS administrative offices that coordinate and provide services for numerous additional families.

Tonkon Torp Helps Columbia Land Trust Establish Sandhill Crane Habitat Preserve

Attorneys from Tonkon Torp’s real estate and land use, and environmental and natural resources teams represented the Columbia Land Trust in negotiating and completing the transfer of property for a habitat preserve. Find details and more featured cases here.

Tonkon Torp Finds Solution to Property Purchase Dilemma

Tonkon Torp attorneys Owen Blank and Max Miller represented the buyer in a recent purchase of Portland area property that was previously the site of a gas station and had contaminated soil that presented potential liability and development risk issues.

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Community Involvement & Activities



Faithful Friends PDX
2017-Present, Board Member  

1000 Friends of Oregon
Past Cooperating Attorney

Friends of the Children
Past Mamber, Endowment Committee

The Right Brain Initiative
2009-2015, Governing Committee
2011-2013, Chair, Development Committee
2010-2012, Secretary

City of Portland
2011-2013, Mayor's Economic Cabinet

MetroArts, Inc.
2000-2014, Secretary

Business for Culture and the Arts
2004-2010, Board Member
2008-2010, Board Chair

Oregon Episcopal School
1997-1999, Chair, Alumni Board
1997-1999, Board of Trustees

Regional Arts and Cultural Council
2009-2015, Board Member, Secretary, Vice Chair, Nominating Committee

West Coast Chamber Orchestra
1984-1989, Board Member
1986-1989, Chair
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Professional Memberships

Oregon State Bar
Member, Real Estate & Land Use, Environmental & Natural Resources, and Sustainable Future Sections

Past Treasurer, Sustainable Future Section
Member (2015-2017), Sustainable Future Section Executive Committee
Past Chair, Public Service and Information Committee
Past Chair, Environmental & Natural Resources Section
Past Member, Sustainability Task Force
Co-Editor, Environmental and Natural Resources Law (Oregon CLE 2002)
Editor (1994-1997), Oregon Environmental and Natural Resources Outlook

American Bar Association
Natural Resources, Energy and Environment Section
Real Property Section

Multnomah Bar Association

Oregon Lawyers for a Sustainable Future
Green Team Task Force
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Awards & Recognition

The Best Lawyers in America

The Best Lawyers in America

2009-2021, Environmental Law
2009-2021, Land Use & Zoning Law
2021, Lawyer of the Year – Environmental Law, Portland
Chambers USA: America's Leading Lawyers

Chambers USA: America's Leading Lawyers

2006-2020, Environment

Oregon State Bar

2013, President's Sustainability Award
2010, Sustainability Leadership Award

Multnomah County

2013, Volunteer Award
2011, Volunteer Award
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Recent News

8.26.2020

Four Tonkon Torp Attorneys Earn Portland Lawyer of the Year Honor

Four Tonkon Torp partners have been named Portland Lawyer of the Year in their specialties by Best Lawyers in America 2021. In each community, only one lawyer per specialty is honored as Lawyer of the Year by the peer-review survey.
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8.20.2020

Best Lawyers in America® Includes 49 Tonkon Torp Attorneys on 2021 List

Forty-nine Tonkon Torp lawyers representing 36 practice areas have been selected for inclusion in The Best Lawyers in America® 2021. A majority of attorneys have been named to the peer-review list in past years, and most have been recognized for more…
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4.27.2020

Chambers USA Names 20 Tonkon Torp Attorneys in 2020 Ranking

Chambers USA: America's Leading Lawyers for Business has recognized 20 Tonkon Torp attorneys in seven practice areas in its 2020 USA Guide. Eighteen of the Tonkon Torp attorneys named have been previously ranked by Chambers.
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8.15.2019

2020 List for Best Lawyers in America® Includes 48 Tonkon Torp Attorneys

Forty-eight Tonkon Torp lawyers representing 39 practice areas have been selected for inclusion in The Best Lawyers in America® 2020. A majority of attorneys have been named to the list in past years, and most have been recognized for more than five…
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4.29.2019

Chambers USA Names 23 Tonkon Torp Attorneys in 2019 Ranking

Chambers USA: America's Leading Lawyers for Business has recognized 23 Tonkon Torp attorneys in seven practice areas in its 2019 USA Guide.
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9.21.2018

Tonkon Torp Sponsors Wild Splendor 2018

Tonkon Torp's Environmental & Natural Resources Practice Group was an associate sponsor at the Wild Splendor 2018 event put on by Columbia Land Trust on September 13. Max Miller organized Tonkon's involvement. Megan Reuther and Will Gent attended the…
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9.14.2018

Tonkon Torp Sponsors Faithful Friends Event

Tonkon Torp was a table sponsor at the "Be a Rock in a Child's Life" event put on by Faithful Friends on September 13. Max Miller, who recently joined the Faithful Friends Board of Directors, led Tonkon's involvement with the event. Faithful Friends…
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8.17.2018

Best Lawyers in America® Names 51 Tonkon Torp Attorneys to 2019 List

Fifty-one Tonkon Torp lawyers representing 41 practice areas have been selected for inclusion in The Best Lawyers in America® 2019. Nearly all attorneys have been named to the list in past years, and have been recognized for more than five years
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6.4.2018

Chambers USA Names 20 Tonkon Torp Attorneys as Leaders in Their Field

Chambers USA: America's Leading Lawyers for Business has named 20 Tonkon Torp attorneys in seven practice areas as leaders in their field for 2018. The annual reference directory ranks Oregon’s leading lawyers based on interviews with clients and…
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5.30.2018

Max Miller Joins Board of Directors of Faithful Friends Mentoring Program

Tonkon Torp partner Max M. Miller, Jr. has joined the Board of Directors of Faithful Friends Mentoring Program. The community-based program matches at-risk children with mentors – selected from partnering churches – who provide support and stability…
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Recent Alerts

6.24.2015

Oregon Senate Passes Brownfields Land Bank Bill

By a vote of 26-2, the Oregon Senate passed the "Brownfields Land Bank Bill" today. HB 2734 had previously passed the House with a vote of 43-15. The bill now heads to the Governor's office for signature. With the enactment of the Brownfields Land…
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6.13.2007

Supreme Court Allows Superfund Cleanup Cost Recovery

On June 11, 2007, in U.S. v Atlantic Research Corp., the United States Supreme Court solved a portion of the puzzle that has confounded so-called potentially responsible parties (PRPs) since the Court's decision in Cooper Industries, Inc. v Aviall…
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Publications & Presentations


"Determining Who Pays for Environmental Remediation: Legal and Technical Issues," 22nd Annual Superfund in Oregon Conference, October 2016

"What Does the Papal Encyclical, Laudato Si', Say to Lawyers?," The Long View, Oregon State Bar Sustainable Future Section, Summer 2015

"Determining Who Pays for Contaminated Sediment Cleanup," Cascade Luncheon, Northwest Environmental Business Council, June 2015

"The Portland Harbor Superfund Site," Multnomah Bar Association, November 2014

"Decker v. NEDC," Environmental & Natural Resources Law Section E-Outlook, Oregon State Bar, April 2013

"Tax Credit May Give Wind Energy a Gust," Daily Journal of Commerce, January 2013

"Encouraging Lawyers to Adopt Sustainability Goals," Sustainability: The Journal of Record, October 2011
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Services

Environmental Litigation Environmental & Natural Resources Real Estate & Land Use Law Sustainability Law Administrative & Regulatory Law
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Education

J.D., Lewis & Clark Law School, 1983

B.A., Economics, Pitzer College, 1979
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Bar & Court Admissions

Oregon State Bar
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