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Bill Barton is astounded at how much his professional life has changed since his son, Brent, joined his practice last December. The elder Barton, 63, had grown accustomed to a fairly relaxed pace after nearly 40 years as a Newport trial attorney. And he knew his son, a 2006 Harvard Law grad, was entirely capable of running their newly established Portland office.

鈥淚t has surprised me, the power and energy with which I want him to respect and admire me,鈥� Barton says with a laugh. 鈥淗ere I am working like a damn freshman again because I want to impress him.鈥�

The father of three adult children, Barton says he has always wanted his children to look up to him and respect him for working hard. Though he has an accomplished career, lectures nationally on trial advocacy and has served as an expert witness in legal malpractice cases, Barton finds that his work involves a new and unexpected dynamic.

鈥淣ow that Brent is 31 and working right next to me, he sees me with all of my freckles and warts,鈥� Barton says.

His father鈥檚 freckles and warts don鈥檛 seem to bother Brent Barton. He works primarily in Portland, but spends part of each week in the Newport office, and his father spends a good share of time in Portland as well. Brent Barton says he feels blessed to have an opportunity to see his father鈥檚 strengths and weaknesses in a way most people don鈥檛 have with their parents.

What does stand out for Brent are the dedication and talent that drew him to join his father鈥檚 practice after starting his legal career with Perkins Coie and serving as a state representative for Clackamas County.

鈥淚 don鈥檛 know any other lawyer who enjoys his work as much as my dad. He鈥檚 passionate about it, and he sees everyone as equal in the courtroom,鈥� Brent says.

鈥淓veryone knows he鈥檚 a great trial lawyer, but I didn鈥檛 fully appreciate it before, even when I had started practicing law,鈥� he adds, noting he admires his father鈥檚 strategic vision. 鈥淗e鈥檚 focused on the end game before we鈥檝e even begun to file a complaint.鈥�

Portland attorney Anne Thompson also had a chance to work with her father, Robert, for several years before he retired in the late 鈥�90s. She聽returned to Oregon to join his estate planning and business law practice in 1994 after working as in-house counsel for Miami University in Ohio for several years.

Thompson鈥檚 parents divorced when she was young, and she and her mother moved to Georgia. While she still saw her dad on occasion, she didn鈥檛 grow up with him. Working together gave her an opportunity to build a relationship with him, she says.

鈥淚 really enjoyed getting to know him professionally and see the hard work and dedication he brought to his work,鈥� she says.

Thompson, whose grandfather, Keith Caldwell, practiced estate planning and probate in Portland from 1922 to 1960, says her partnership with her father was mutually beneficial on several levels.

鈥淗e was able to turn his clients over to me with the confidence they would be in good hands, and I was able to have him as a mentor and a resource to discuss cases and other legal issues,鈥� she says. 鈥淲e still talk about legal issues and about the human relationships that are involved with our work.鈥�