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Peter Ricoy has been involved with the Oregon Hispanic Bar Association in one form or another since its inception. The association was formed by Marisol McAllister, his sister and a fellow attorney, as well as Roman Hernandez, Ricoy’s colleague at Schwabe, Williamson & Wyatt.

Ricoy, who practices health care and business law, recently began his presidency of the association. He shared with Briefly Legal the organization’s purpose, goals for this year and how he is continuing a legal legacy. His responses have been edited for clarity and brevity.

Briefly Legal: What is the OHBA’s mission?

Ricoy: We’re a smaller organization that relies on attorneys to volunteer their time, and our underlying mission really is to encourage Latinos to serve in the law in Oregon and support mentorship opportunities for Latino law students.

BL: What does the association have planned for this year?

Ricoy: The Hispanic National Bar Association is having its big, annual convention in Seattle at the end of August, so we’re organizing support for law students and other Latinos in the legal community to attend. We hope to provide a bus trip to the conference. We thought that would be a great way for folks in Oregon’s Latino legal community to get to know each other while they are attending a great event that is an opportunity to meet other Latino lawyers from around the country.

We also have donated $1,000 toward a scholarship fund that is organized by the national Hispanic Bar Association. And we’re talking with the judiciary about hosting a joint event at an Oregon high school with a large Latino population. During the event, the judiciary would hold a session so that students can see what lawyers do in the real world and not just on a TV show. I’m very excited about it and optimistic that it’s going to work out, but it’s still in the very early planning stages.

BL: Are there other lawyers in your family besides you and your sister?

Ricoy: My mom, Shereen Ricoy, went to law school when she was in her 40s and started a small criminal defense practice in Salem. My dad is from Mexico and we lived there for several years, so my mom was one of the few fluent Spanish-speaking attorneys during the 1980s and ’90s who could work directly with indigent defense clients.