As development activity continues to grow, developers increasingly face environmental obligations related to impacts on wetlands, waterways, protected species, and habitat. Conservation and mitigation banks provide a market-based mechanism for satisfying those obligations by purchasing environmental credits.

These banking systems can help manage permitting risk, project timelines, and long-term compliance responsibilities. They also present unique…

Washington’s self-storage industry is facing a major tax change. Effective April 1, 2026, income from self-service storage rentals will be subject to Washington’s business and occupation (B&O) tax under recently enacted legislation—marking a significant shift from the industry’s long-standing tax treatment in the state.

The change imposes new compliance and reporting requirements on storage facility…

In Oregon, there are five general categories of construction lien claimants:

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One consequence of Oregon’s policy of strictly limiting who may claim a construction lien is that a claimant may not assign a lien before it is perfected. Until a lien is perfected by public recording, it is considered a personal privilege. Any assignment before perfection will result in loss of the construction lien claim, because…

Because construction liens can affect other interests in real property, both public notice and actual notice to certain parties with recorded interests are essential to a fair lien system. In Oregon, timely recording a claim of lien with the county recorder provides the required public notice and is a prerequisite to a valid lien. Oregon’s…

In Oregon, the construction lien was created by the legislature and codified in statute.  As such, construction lien rights were not recognized at common law or in equity. As statutes in derogation of the common law, Oregon’s rules of statutory construction dictate that lien statutes must be strictly construed. For example, Oregon courts will not extend lien…

Under Oregon law, construction lien claimants have a “direct” lien. Although the lien arises through the statutory agency of the contractor, for lien claimants other than the contractor, it is independent of the contractor and secures payment to the claimant regardless of whether the owner paid the contractor or whether the contractor waived or released…