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(Editor’s note: This piece originally ran in the June 2, 2011, issue of the Briefly Legal PDX e-newsletter)

Riddle me this: which member of the Portland legal community is a member of Rose Festival royalty?

From booking bands for a festival concert series to accompanying Rose Festival royalty through the annual pomp and pageantry, Portland attorneys have long played an integral role in the city鈥檚 signature event.

For Portland intellectual property attorney Michael Cohen, a 鈥渢alent buyer鈥� for a concert promotion company before going to law school, joining the Rose Festival board in 2000 provided a great opportunity to stay involved with music. Cohen, a shareholder at Schwabe, Williamson & Wyatt, books the entertainment for the festival鈥檚 City Fair and RoZone concert series.

鈥淚t鈥檚 been really fun for me to be involved. I鈥檝e had a lot of opportunities to help out with entertainment as well as provide legal advice,鈥� he says.

Since joining the festival鈥檚 board, Cohen has served as general counsel and as a member of its Executive Committee. His previous work for the festival includes serving on the Finance Committee, organizing waterfront activities and staging the annual car race.

Cohen says he鈥檚 especially excited about planning one of next year鈥檚 biggest events: The Rock 鈥榥鈥� Roll Half Marathon, which will feature live music at each mile of the 13.1-mile run.

Other attorneys have found their calling among the Royal Rosarians, who will celebrate their 100th anniversary next year. Among them, Merritt Yoelin, senior partner at Portland-based Samuels Yoelin Kantor, was knighted in April 2010.

Peter Glazer, with Glazer & Associates in Lake Oswego, served as Prime Minister in 2008 and is still active in guiding the group鈥檚 council. Rick Saturn, an attorney with Portland-based Goldberg Jones, was knighted in 2007. As Royal Chaplain, he is charged with delivering the blessings before Rosarian events, says Councillor Carla Stenberg.

Stenberg points out that the Rose Festival is just a small part of the Royal Rosarians鈥� activities. The group鈥檚 primary mission is to serve as the city鈥檚 official ambassadors and greeters for ceremonies and visiting dignitaries throughout the year.

Its foundation supports programs for disadvantaged youth, among them the ROSES (Rosarians Offering Support and Encouragement to Students) program that provides funding for low-income kids to go on field trips during the school year.

As a public organization overseeing volunteers who work with children and teens, the Royal Rosarians counted on attorney members to craft a 鈥測outh protection鈥� policy. Lawyers also have been instrumental during the strategic planning process, Stenberg notes.

鈥淭he attorneys are invaluable in providing that kind of advice. They are much needed in volunteer organizations because they often think of things that others of us aren鈥檛 even aware of,鈥� she says.

As for the question posed at the beginning of this story, Multnomah County District Attorney Michael Schrunk is a member of Rose Festival royalty. In the early 1950s, Shrunk was a Rose Festival Prince during a Junior Parade and rode on a float alongside Princess Susan Clint Pisha. Pisha, whose sister is Marilyn Clint, associate executive director of the Portland Rose Festival, fondly recalls that Schrunk鈥檚 father, Terry Schrunk, then the fire chief and later Portland鈥檚 mayor, helped build the float.