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- Subscribe - Contact Us - Rate Card - Place an Ad Archives Revels Classifieds Real Estate Menu Guide Wedding Weather Subscribe Contact Us October 8, 2005 BUSINESS Lawyer gets on board with coffee shops By Robert Plain Ashland Daily Tidings Alan Harper was one of the most respected and feared land-use attorneys in the Rogue Valley. An associate with the Medford firm of Hornecker, Cowling, Hassen & Heysell, he had a knack for not only winning big cases but also representing some of the most controversial applicants to come before the Ashland Planning Commission. In the very recent past, he litigated before the commission on behalf of the Northlight applicants, the Rogue Valley Roasting Co. and Don Grove, the developer of a new neighborhood on North Mountain Avenue. And many familiar with land-use issues in Ashland have said that Harper is one of the smartest and sharpest attorneys practicing in Southern Oregon. But Harper has decided to leave his long list of clients behind to become the exclusive land-use attorney for Dutch Bros. Coffee as the java shop attempts to spread its franchise brand all over first the Pacific Northwest and then all of the western United States. “I’m working exclusively for Dutch Bros. now,” Harper said. “I love the way they do business here. It’s the old fashioned way.” He said he was hired to help the drive-thru coffee shops expand first into Northern California and Washington, and then all over the West. “We’re doing tons of development,” he said. “It’s the same kind of thing I’ve been doing, looking at lots of plans and different pieces of property.” Harper said he left behind somewhere between 50 and 100 active files for his former mentor, John Hassen, a partner in the firm, to take over. Hassen is the new attorney for the Northlight applicants. In fact, the second-to-last Northlight planning meeting was Harper’s last legal argument before joining the Dutch Bros. team. Hassen said the firm will miss Harper. “He was doing a great job. He was probably the best land-use attorney in Jackson County,” he said. Harper, who lives in Ashland with his family, said he will have to drive to Grants Pass for his new career, as well as traveling to many of Dutch Bros.’ new locations up and down the coast. This, however, he said is a welcome change from the multiple night meetings, he had to attend as a private attorney. He said he was averaging two a week and some weeks had as many as four. “It’s really one of the benefits of the new gig,” he said. “I traded evening hearings for more travel.” Staff writer Robert Plain can be reached at 482-3456 x 3040 or [email protected]. DailyTidings.com Home Page Archives | Revels | Classifieds | Real Estate Guide | Weather | Subscribe | Contact Us Copyright 2005 Ashland Daily Tidings and Ottaway Newspapers All Rights Reserved Deep Muscle Stimulator Ceramic Piggy Banks FREE Entertainment Guide Women's & Men's Slippers Accelerate Weightloss Products Backpacks Generic Viagra Vegas Travel Guide Search Engine Optimization Sportsbook Absinthe Supply Student Loans Hotel & Airline Reservations African Safari Hammocks Helzberg Diamonds Online Casinos Community Bonus Casino King of Spirits ink cartridges Mortgage Calculator Security Systems Mailing Lists Click Here Advertisement .:Advertisements:. Site Search: RESOURCES - Mail Tribune News - ODOT Road Cams