Kell, Alterman & Runstein LLP

Kell, Alterman & Runstein: A Portland Institution

Few Portland firms have as rich a history as Kell, Alterman & Runstein, which celebrated its 75th anniversary on May 17, 2004. The firm helped pioneer public power in Portland, helped conceive and create the TriMet mass transit system, and represented many of Portland's longest-tenured businesses. And though Kell, Alterman & Runstein has evolved through the years into a general-practice firm, it is still influenced by the outsized personalities of its founders.

Kell, Alterman & Runstein traces its roots to 1929, when Gus Solomon established a practice in downtown Portland, relying on business from friends, acquaintances, and word of mouth. Solomon, a graduate of Stanford Law School, cultivated a varied clientele but counted public power as a pet project. The community-minded Solomon actively supported the creation of a public-utility district in Portland, along with the development of the Columbia River hydrosystem. In 1939, the Bonneville Power Administration (BPA) was created, and Solomon became the liaison between the public-power movement and the BPA. The BPA's primary mission was to deliver electric power to underserved rural and urban areas.

In 1940, Solomon met Ray Kell, a graduate of Harvard Law School and member of the BPA legal staff. The like-minded lawyers quickly bonded, and after war service in the Navy, Ray Kell joined Solomon in April 1946. Renaming the firm Solomon & Kell, they centered their practice on public power and a local farmer's union, the Oregon Grange.

Over the ensuing years, the firm underwent several changes. In 1949, President Truman appointed Solomon as a U.S. District Court Judge. Ray Kell continued to work in the public power and Grange circles, while also actively supporting a number of community initiatives. Cliff Alterman joined Ray Kell in 1955, and the firm was renamed Kell & Alterman. Alterman was known for his intellect and near-photographic memory, and his personal skills contributed to the firm's growing stature

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