Michelle K. Sugahiro
Michelle graduated Phi Beta Kappa from the University of Oregon and earned a Juris Doctor from Willamette College of Law. She focuses her practice on estate planning and administration, elder law and family law.
Prior to earning her law degree, she worked at the Northwest Regional Educational Laboratory (now known as Education Northwest). There she focused on nonprofit management and administration, as well as national service programming. She also served as National Training Project Director for AmeriCorps*VISTA, the domestic Peace Corps program.
Directly working with and helping families is Michelle’s passion and the driving force behind her work in estate planning. She had a lifelong goal to attend law school, and the loss of two loved ones during school sealed her decision to focus on estate planning and administration. She excelled in trusts and estates, tax, and elder and family law. She was awarded the Tax Executive Institute Award upon graduation and earned high papers in Legal Research and Writing, Elder Law and Oregon Family Law. Her long-term objective includes helping individuals and families create and implement effective plans for their taxable estates.
Michelle is a member of the Clackamas County Bar Association, Multnomah Bar Association, Oregon Asian Pacific American Bar Association, Oregon Minority Lawyers Association and Oregon Women Lawyers Association.
She is an active volunteer in Portland’s Asian American community. Currently, Michelle serves on the board of directors of the Japanese Ancestral Society and Fujinami Kai and is a current member of the U.S. Japan Council. She is past vice president and board member of the Portland Japanese American Citizens League and alumna of the Japanese American Leadership Delegation.
In her free time, Michelle enjoys spending time with her family and friends, cooking, baking, and studying traditional and modern Japanese dance.