Robert D. Durham

Robert Donald "Skip" Durham Jr. (born May 10, 1947) is a retired justice of the Oregon Supreme Court. Previously, Durham was a judge for the Oregon Court of Appeals and a lawyer in private practice.

Education Durham's post-secondary education began at Whittier College located in Whittier, California. At Whittier he played first base on the baseball team and was a lineman on the football team. He graduated in 1969 with a Bachelor of Arts degree. He served as chairperson of the Oregon State Bar's labor law section in 1984, and as chairperson of the Oregon Commission on Administrative Hearings from 1989 to 1990. He is a partner in Bennett & Durham in Portland, previously the firm was known as Kulongoski, Durham, Drummonds & Colombo.

Judicial career Robert Durham's career in the judiciary began when he was appointed to the Oregon Court of Appeals by the governor on November 19, 1991. Subsequently, he was elected to a full term in 1992, but resigned from the court before the end of his term upon his appointment to the state supreme court.

His appointment on January 4, 1994, made him the 91st justice since Oregon became a territory in 1848. Durham was then elected to a full six-year term in 1994 and re-elected in 2000 and 2006. He did not seek re-election in 2012. While on the court Durham served as a member of the Oregon Rules of Appellate Procedure Committee from 1994 to 2001, president of the Oregon Appellate Judges Association from 1996 to 1997, and twice as chairperson of the Oregon Supreme Court Committee on Judicial Rule 4 (1995–1996 & 2002–2005).

Other Durham is a member of the Board of Directors for Oregon Law Institute of Lewis & Clark Law School, the Multnomah County and Marion County Bar Associations, and a master at the Willamette Valley American Inns of Court, Master. He serves as an instructor of Judicial Ethics, Judicial Campaign Practices and Transition Issues. Durham also volunteers for the Classroom Law Project and as a mentor at Willamette University College of Law.