Lewis Brisbois Boosts Professional Liability, Complex Business & Commercial Litigation, Construction Capabilities in Oregon With Experienced Litigation Team

Lewis Brisbois Boosts Professional Liability, Complex Business & Commercial Litigation, Construction Capabilities in Oregon With Experienced Litigation Team

Portland, Ore. (November 12, 2025) - Lewis Brisbois is pleased to welcome Laura Loera, Megan Cook, Erica Aquadro, and Hilary Browning-Craig to its Portland office. This team of litigators previously practiced with Bullivant Houser Bailey PC, a West Coast defense firm, where Ms. Loera served as president and Ms. Cook was the shareholder-in-charge and on the firm's board of directors. Ms. Loera joins the firm as a partner in the Professional Liability, Complex Business & Commercial Litigation, and Directors & Officers Litigation Practices. Ms. Cook joins the firm as a partner in its General Liability, Construction, Transportation, and Professional Liability Practices. Ms. Aquadro joins Lewis Brisbois' General Liability Practice as a partner, and Ms. Browning-Craig joins the Professional Liability and Complex Business & Commercial Litigation Practices as an associate.

Portland Managing Partner Jennifer Oetter stated, "I am thrilled that this talented team has joined us. They have decades of collective experience amongst them in a broad range of legal areas. They are also skilled trial attorneys with an impressive track record of courtroom successes. Our clients in the northwest and around the country will benefit from their deep knowledge and proficiencies both inside and outside the courtroom. I look forward to working with each of them."

Laura Caldera Loera

Ms. Loera, an experienced litigator and trial attorney, focuses her practice in the areas of professional liability, complex commercial litigation, intellectual property litigation, and directors and officers (D&O) liability. For more than 25 years, she has successfully defended architects, engineers, accountants, and other professionals against allegations of professional malpractice, representing them in court and before professional boards. In addition to securing positive results for her professional liability clients, she consistently achieves the business objectives of her intellectual property clients in trademark, copyright, trade secret, and patent disputes. Similarly, she has a long track record of obtaining successful outcomes for D&O clients in matters involving claims of securities fraud, business divorces, fraudulent transfer disputes, and in other complex business litigation.

In discussing her decision to join Lewis Brisbois, Ms. Loera explained that the high quality of the firm and its attorneys as well as the inclusive environment appealed to her. "I understood Lewis Brisbois to be a diverse and inclusive firm where women were in leadership positions at the management level, within the practices, and otherwise. [Portland Managing Partner] Jennifer Oetter runs a great office, and the people I have met have been kind and wonderful. I'm so pleased to be here."

Ms. Loera earned her law degree from the Willamette University School of Law and her undergraduate degree from California State University, Chico. She is admitted to practice in Washington, in state and federal court in Oregon, and before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.

Megan Cook

For more than 15 years, Ms. Cook has successfully defended general liability matters in Oregon and Washington. She focuses her practice in the areas of personal injury and wrongful death, construction - both defect and injury cases - as well as professional liability, products liability, liquor liability, and property damage issues. In recent years, she has been growing her practice to include a greater volume of transportation matters, including trucking cases.

Ms. Cook noted that Lewis Brisbois' national footprint was attractive as she considered where to continue her career. "When looking for new opportunities, I was impressed with the caliber of Lewis Brisbois' roster of attorneys, its presence in the Northwest, its various practice areas, and its national reach. I also felt that the firm had broad, high-level experience and could provide solid support for our team and our existing clients."

Ms. Cook earned her law degree from Lewis & Clark Law School and her undergraduate degree from Whitman College. She is admitted to practice in state and federal court in Oregon and Washington.

Erica Aquadro

Erica Aquadro focuses her practice on defending personal and catastrophic injury claims. She has over a decade of experience with high value and complex litigation issues. Ms. Aquadro earned her law degree from the Saint Louis University School of Law and her undergraduate degree from Rhodes College. She is admitted to practice in Washington and in federal and state court in Oregon.

Hilary Browning-Craig

Ms. Browning-Craig focuses her practice on professional liability, D&O, and employment litigation. Her 15+ year legal career has included working in the Office of the Assistant General Counsel for Ethics and Personnel Law at the federal level and working in the Office of General Counsel for a major regional utility, often appearing before administrative bodies such as the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and the U.S. Merit Systems Protection Board. Ms. Browning-Craig earned her law degree from Lewis & Clark Law School and her undergraduate degree from Portland State University. She is admitted to practice in state and federal court in Oregon.

Related Attorneys

• Partners

• Laura Loera

  Partner
  Portland, OR
  

  971.361.3000
  [email protected]

  Attorney Bio

• Megan Cook

  Partner
  Portland, OR
  

  971.334.7033
  [email protected]

  Attorney Bio

• M. Erica Aquadro

  Partner
  Portland, OR
  

  971.334.7031
  [email protected]

  Attorney Bio

• Associates

• Hilary Browning-Craig

  Associate
  Portland, OR
  

  971.361.3001
  [email protected]

  Attorney Bio