Oral history interview with Randall Dunn

Collection

Identifier: SR1269

Staff Only

Scope and Contents

This oral history interview with Randall Dunn was conducted by Greta Smith Wisnewski at the Bankruptcy Court building in Portland, Oregon, in seven sessions from September 18, 2018, to February 8, 2019. At the time of the interview, Wisnewski's name was Greta K. Smith. In this interview, Dunn discusses his college experiences at Northwestern University and Stanford; playing clarinet in the Salem Symphony and the Portland Opera orchestra; and practicing bankruptcy law in Portland, including serving as a bankruptcy judge.

Dates

Creation: 2018 September 17-2019 February 8

Creator

Dunn, Randall L. (Randall Lawson), 1950- (Interviewee, Person)
Wisnewski, Greta Smith (Interviewer, Person)

Conditions Governing Access

Collection is open for research.

Conditions Governing Use

Joint copyright for this interview is held by the Oregon Historical Society and the U.S. District Court of Oregon Historical Society. Use is allowed according to the following license: In Copyright – Educational Use Permitted, http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC-EDU/1.0/

Biographical note

Randall Lawson Dunn was born in Gary, Indiana, in 1950. His family moved to Crown Point, Indiana, when Dunn was in middle school. In 1972, he earned a bachelor’s degree in political science from Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois, and in 1975, he earned a law degree from Stanford Law School. While in law school, he played clarinet in the Stanford orchestra, where he met his future wife, Laurie (her surname prior to marriage is unknown). They were married in 1976 and later had two children. Dunn practiced law in Salt Lake City, Utah, for a year after graduating; then, in 1977, he began practicing law in Portland, Oregon. He was editor-in-chief of the Oregon Debtor-Creditor Newsletter. He was a judge on the United States Bankruptcy Court, District of Oregon, from 1998 to 2017, and sat on the Bankruptcy Appellate Panel from 2006 to 2016. In addition to his legal career, he continued with music, playing clarinet in the Salem Symphony from 1977 to 1982, and in the Portland Opera orchestra from 1982 to 2008.

Extent

18.1 Gigabytes (5 audio files (WAV, 5 hr., 41 min., 23 sec.) and 3 video files (MOV, 4 hr., 25 min., 40 sec.) + transcript (265 pages))

Language of Materials

English

Additional Description

Abstract

Oral history interview with Randall Dunn conducted by Greta Smith Wisnewski from September 17, 2018, to February 8, 2019, as part of the U.S. District Court of Oregon Oral History Project. Dunn was a bankruptcy lawyer in Portland, Oregon, and served as a bankruptcy judge on the Oregon Bankruptcy Court from 1998 to 2017. He also played clarinet in the Salem Symphony from 1977 to 1982, and in the Portland Opera orchestra from 1982 to 2008.