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When Peter Watts was a boy, he learned from his grandfather about giving back to your community, and it鈥檚 a tradition he鈥檚 been true to as an adult.

Watts was recruited to the firm of Jordan Ramis PC in 2004 and was made a shareholder in 2010 at the age of 33. Managing partner Steven Shropshire said Watts was hired to support and help develop the firm鈥檚 tax and business practice, and the firm was pleasantly surprised at his community involvement.

鈥淎lthough we anticipated that Peter would be an outstanding attorney, we could have not foreseen the leadership role that Peter would play in our community,鈥� Shropshire said.

One of those key roles according to Shropshire is Watts鈥� 鈥渆xtraordinary leadership and commitment鈥� to the Make-A-Wish Foundation of Oregon.

鈥淧eter has served as a member of the group鈥檚 Junior Board since 2005 and was instrumental in getting sponsors for the group鈥檚 highly successful Summer Wishes event, Shropshire wrote in Watts鈥� Up & Coming Lawyers nomination. 鈥淗e also regularly volunteers with telethons and radiothons, delivers gifts at Doernbecher Children鈥檚 Hospital, and assists with fulfilling wishes of local, terminally ill children.鈥�

Watts works with Clackamas County as legal adviser concentrating in debt negotiation and workouts, general business, and trust fund beneficiary representation, said Clackamas County Commissioner Ann Lininger, but his effect on the community is even greater.

鈥淧eter is an effective solutions-oriented advocate for vulnerable people in our community,鈥� Lininger said. 鈥淗is work through a Red Ribbon Task Force to support funding for domestic violence and child abuse prevention services led the board to devote $1.1 million of their combined financial allocation and housing vouchers to help survivors protect themselves and their children.鈥�

Watts also gives back in his field, and is president of the Clackamas County Business Alliance and on the board of directors of the Oregon Law Foundation. He is land use committee chair of the Clackamas County Business Alliance, said Clackamas County Commissioner Jim Bernard in his nominating letter.

鈥淗e has many professional accomplishments, is very passionate about helping others, and spends a great deal of his personal time working on community involvement projects and pro bono work.鈥�

Watts was recognized as a Rising Star by Oregon Super Lawyers magazine in 2010 and 2011, and in 2010 the Portland Business Journal named him among Portland鈥檚 top 40 business professionals under 40. He has also worked to address the tax classification of volunteer firefighters by authoring several articles on the subject, and was featured speaker at a statewide firefighters鈥� annual conference.

Watts says he has more time to devote to worthy causes because he isn鈥檛 married and doesn鈥檛 have kids, but he remembers his grandfather, who often traveled to Washington, D.C., and other states to give unpaid time serving on national boards.

Watts said his grandfather often took the family, including the grandkids, along on these junkets.

鈥淗e would be in meetings all day and he always said this was his way of giving back,鈥� Watts said. 鈥淗e didn鈥檛 get paid, but he helped make the state of Oregon one of having uniform laws. Having modeled that for me at an early age has impacted my outlook. If you have time to do volunteer work and the skill set and are willing to provide a productive role, then you should do that.鈥�

There are times when he feels overloaded, but Watts said he has trouble saying no.

鈥淚 probably should say no more often, but I get involved and try to work toward solutions,鈥� he said. 鈥淚n my law practice and my personal life, I try to leave things a little better than I found them.鈥�

How does the reality of being a lawyer differ from what you anticipated when you started law school?

When I started law school my plan was to be a prosecutor, so I would have anticipated a lot more time in court and a lot less time on the phone.

Which living person do you most admire?

It is very difficult for me to select one person, because so many people that I admire and that have played meaningful roles in my life.

If you hadn鈥檛 become an attorney, what career would you have pursued?

I suspect that I would have probably gone into public relations/strategic communications.

What is your idea of a perfect day?

Time to relax and a good meal with friends.

How would your mother describe you in one word?

Challenging (most middle children are)