John C. Young
main: (971) 285-3525
d: (971) 259-4724
e. john@gressandclarklaw.com
Brett B. Schoepper
main: (971) 285-3525
d: (971) 232-5247
e. brett@gressandclarklaw.com
Kelly C. Myers is a partner in the firm. She graduated from the University of Washington in Seattle with a Bachelor’s Degree in English and Political Science in 2008 and graduated from Seattle University School of Law in 2011. In 2011 Kelly began her legal career working as a criminal prosecutor and municipal attorney for the City of Kennewick in Eastern Washington. Following her time at the City of Kennewick, Kelly served as Staff Counsel to the Washington State Senate drafting legislation and later served as a prosecutor for the City of Federal Way. Prior to joining the firm, Kelly tried countless criminal jury trials and gained invaluable trial, witness questioning, and negotiation experience. Since 2017, Kelly now puts that experience to work to effectively and efficiently advocate for the interests of employers in Washington State. Kelly practices exclusively as a workers’ compensation defense attorney advocating on behalf of Washington State employers. Kelly’s philosophy and style focus on providing the highest level of communication, preparation, and customer service to her clients. Her clients include manufacturing entities, medical service providers, government entities, and more. She is a member of the Washington State Bar and the Oregon State Bar.
Kelly grew up in Washington State and is a proud native of the northwest. She lives in Portland with her husband and dog. Outside of the practice of law, she enjoys attending country concerts, travel, reality TV, and quality time with family and friends.
Brett, as a partner with The Law Office of Gress & Clark, focuses his practice exclusively on representing employers in the State of Washington in workers’ compensation matters. Prior to joining this practice, Brett worked as a Deputy District Attorney for the Multnomah County District Attorney’s Office in Portland, Oregon. As a Deputy District Attorney, Brett aggressively prosecuted numerous criminal cases to verdict. Brett has put that invaluable trial experience to good use in his current litigation practice primarily advocating on behalf of his clients’ interests before the Board of Industrial Insurance Appeals, Superior Court, Washington Court of Appeals and before the Supreme Court of the State of Washington. Brett’s dynamic and forceful approach to contentious appeals has and continues to yield excellent results for his clients. He too is extremely accessible and willing to work collaboratively to minimize potential exposure and best achieve a client’s goals. He too has frequently been asked to speak on various industry topics on behalf of the Washington Self Insurers Association and has provided numerous training sessions with variety of claims examiners. Please do not hesitate to contact Brett directly to see how he can be of service to you in addressing workers’ compensation claims in Washington State.
James L. Gress
main: (971) 285-3525
d: (971) 285-3101
m: (971) 222-7638
e. jim@gressandclarklaw.com
Ember L. DeVaul grew up in the PNW and graduated from Washington State University in 2014. She then moved to Phoenix, Arizona where she worked as a third-party HR consultant for 6 years. As an HR consultant, Ember counseled employers through complex HR and employment law matters, partnered with businesses to develop effective and compliant workplace policies, and hosted trainings on current HR issues.
Working in HR sparked Ember’s interest in law, so she moved back to Oregon in 2020 to attend Lewis & Clark Law School. While in law school, she worked at a law firm representing employees in employment law disputes. She also worked at a legal clinic helping Oregon businesses with various legal matters, such as choosing the appropriate business structure, drafting employment agreements, and performing regulatory compliance audits. Ember graduated from law school with honors in May 2023, and joined the firm soon after. Her broad experience in HR and employment law allows Ember to effectively counsel clients through difficult situations and defend employers in all Oregon workers’ compensation matters.
Outside of work, Ember enjoys spending time with her husband and friends, going to concerts, playing video games, reading thriller novels, watching reality TV, pretending to be a painter, and trying new foods and restaurants.
James L. Gress graduated from Willamette University in Salem Oregon with a Bachelor's Degree in English in 1988. He then graduated from Willamette University College of Law in 1991. While in law school, he worked as a law clerk for a workers' compensation insurer for two years.
In 1991, Jim passed the Oregon State Bar and joined a firm whose practice was dedicated to representing employers in the field of workers' compensation. He represented employers and insurance companies in Oregon through 1995. He then switched his focus to the state of Washington and passed the Washington State Bar exam in 1996. Since that time he has represented self-insured employers, retro programs and state fund employers before the Department of Labor and Industries, the Board of Industrial Insurance Appeals, multiple Superior Courts, all three Divisions of the Court of Appeals and the Supreme Court. He is also admitted to appear in the Tribal Courts of the Lummi, Tulalip, Yakama, Snohomish, Sauk-Suiattle, Puyallup, Jamestown S'Klallam and Suquamish Tribal Nations. On many occasions Jim has been a guest speaker for the Washington Self Insurers Association meetings and has helped teach classes for claims examiners. In 2007 he founded the Law Office of Gress and Clark LLC with Gordon Clark.
Jim is a native Oregonian and is married to his wife Julie. Outside of the practice of Law, he enjoys travel, roller coasters, watching college sports on television and reminiscing about the days long ago when he too was a college athlete.
Ehren J. Rhea graduated from Lewis and Clark College in 2000 with a Bachelor’s Degree in International Affairs. He then graduated from Willamette University College of Law in 2004. While in law school, he worked at the policy section of Workers Compensation Division.
In 2004, Ehren passed the Oregon State Bar and joined a firm whose practice was dedicated to representing employers in the field of workers’ compensation. He represented employers and insurance companies in Oregon through 2012. He then switched to representing injured workers in workers' compensation claims from 2013 through 2020. Ehren returned to representing Oregon employers and insurers in 2021, and joined Gress, Clark, Young & Schoepper in 2022.
Ehren is a native Oregonian who grew up in the town of Boring. Outside of work he enjoys live music, tabletop roleplaying games, collecting vinyl records, and watching the Portland Trailblazers.
John C. Young’s practice focuses on counseling and defending public and private employers regarding all aspects of Oregon workers’ compensation matters, from accept or deny decisions to appeals. John believes the best results come from working closely and collaborating with his clients. John strives to enhance claim outcomes by combining the client’s knowledge and expertise with his experience and understanding of the law.
Prior to law school, John was an intelligence analyst in the U.S. Navy. Following his military service, John graduated from Northwestern University with a Bachelor’s degree in economics. Returning to Oregon to attend law school, John graduated in 2008 from Willamette University College of Law. After law school, heworked for an established firm in Salem and focused on workers’ compensation and litigation defense. In 2014, John joined The Law Office of Gress and Clark as Of Counsel and became a partner in 2015. The firm expanded and was renamed Gress, Clark, Young & Schoepper in 2017. John is admitted to practice in Oregon and Washington. In addition to holding regular training seminars for his clients, John has been a guest speaker for WCCA, PRIMA and SDAO.
John and his wife enjoy spending as much time as possible with their son, family and friends. John and his family enjoy numerous activities around the community and the PNW including golf, collecting wine, Brazilian Jiu Jitsu (BJJ), fishing and traveling.