Ron Sluck

I am born and raised in Portland, and I knew I wanted to begin my career here after undergrad because Portland allows close access to my favorite places in the Pacific Northwest. Before law school, I was working in operations for a financial services company.

What made you want to go to law school?

During COVID, I was working from home and spending 12 hours a day in front of spreadsheets. Like many people, I had more time to think about what my career growth would be if I stayed in my role, and I began evaluating making a change or possibly going back to school for my masters or possibly an MBA. I had always enjoyed working with individual clients and solving the unique challenges they faced, but I had no idea what career would allow for that. Thankfully, one of my closest friends was finishing law school, and after receiving his insight and researching career paths that open up from having a JD, I felt like it was a great way to shift careers.

Why did you choose Lewis & Clark?

I knew from the beginning that I was very comfortable with the idea of staying in Portland, but I decided to keep an open mind during the application process. As I began receiving acceptance letters and scholarship offers, I realized that it was important to me that I go to school in the city I wanted to practice in. It seemed like the school was well-represented in every firm I had looked at in the PNW, and the admissions team was one of the most honest and welcoming group I had spoken with during the process. Every attorney I had spoken with had loved their experience here, and given that I love the area, it ended up being one of the easiest decisions of my life.

What’s your favorite class? Why?

I have loved every tax class I have taken with Professor Bogdanski – but specifically Estate and Gift Tax. Tax law can certainly be an area that sounds aggressively dry, but his personality and knowledge allows these complex topics to be easily understandable and contextualized to real life. Instead of reading statutes and crunching numbers, he teaches in a way that can make it fun.

Tell us about your involvement and leadership with your student club/organization. How
does this work complement your academic experience?

Even with my existing background, I had no idea what I wanted to do. I came to law school with the idea that I’d start figuring out what I didn’t want to do, and hopefully by the time I graduated I would be left with the answer. Right off the bat, I was drawn into Tax Law Society – being a 1L is incredibly intimidating and overwhelming, and the officers were so helpful in helping me acclimate, offer advice, and provide encouragement when I met them at the Student Organization Fair. Because of that, I figured I should at least attend one of their meetings to say thank you. It was amazing – tax law is applicable in every area of practice, and it goes far beyond crunching numbers. I was a 1L rep and started absorbing all of the information I could, and when elections came up for the next year, I was able to take on the role of President. At the same time, I found out there was no general Business Law group on campus – that was crazy to me because while there was many fantastic groups on campus that were related to business law, there was nothing for people like me that didn’t even really know what “Business Law” was. So I founded the Business Law Society in order to give other students an avenue to learn about a variety of different career paths in Business law, but didn’t really know where to start.

How did your financial aid package influence your decision to attend Lewis & Clark?

The aid I received was one of the most important reasons I decided to attend Lewis & Clark. It is obviously very expensive to attend law school, and I was on my own, so receiving the package I got from my top school made the decision a no-brainer.

Did you visit campus before deciding to come to L&C? How did your visit influence your decision to attend?

Yes I did – and it certainly influenced my decision. A lot of campuses I’ve visited or seen are just grey buildings on a street corner. The campus being situated among the trees and trails is awesome and really helps alleviate the stress of studying. When I’m feeling stressed, being able to take 20 steps and be right in the middle of gorgeous hiking trails is priceless.

What is your favorite thing about living in Portland?

The food. This is not a fine dining city, but we have some of the most talented minds making some incredibly unique and delicious food that surprises a lot of people when they come to visit.

What did you do/plan to do during the summers?

I ended up working for an Estate Planning firm because of a relationship I developed with an attorney that Lewis & Clark had introduced to me through the mentorship program. I am still working there and hope to continue through the summer.

What is your favorite spot on campus?

Wood Hall – there is a panoramic view of the trees and it is the perfect place to get my studying done.