Attorney Profiles
Chris W. Dunfield, P.C.
Chris W. Dunfield joined the firm in 1986. As is stated in more detail in Areas of Practice page, Mr. Dunfield handles criminal defense, trials and appeals, domestic relations, personal injury, probate and commercial litigation, as well as drafting contracts, wills, deeds and other documents for his clients.
Mr. Dunfield was born in 1950. He received a BA from the University of Kansas in 1973 (Phi Beta Kappa), and a Juris Doctor from the University of Michigan in 1976. Prior to entering private practice, he was a prosecutor for a total of four years, two years each in Berrien County, Michigan, and Benton County, Oregon.
Mr. Dunfield is a past president of the Benton County Bar Association, and has served on the Oregon State Bar Criminal Jury Instruction Committee. He is a Life Member of the Oregon Criminal Defense Lawyers Association.
Peter Fahy
Peter Fahy joined the firm in 2000. For two years before that, Mr. Fahy was a civil attorney. Prior to entering civil practice, he was a prosecutor in Lincoln County, Oregon, where he served 12 years as a deputy district attorney, of which 8 years was as chief deputy district attorney.
Mr. Fahy limits his practice to criminal defense only. He has successfully litigated murder and aggravated murder cases, both as a prosecutor and as a defense lawyer. Since 2001, he has defended clients charged with murder or aggravated murder as a court-appointed contract attorney for the State of Oregon.
Mr. Fahy was born in 1949. He received his Bachelor of Science degree from Oregon State University in 1981 and a Juris Doctor from the University of Oregon in 1984.
Mr. Fahy is a member of the Oregon State Bar, the Oregon Criminal Defense Lawyers Association and the OCDLA Capital Defenders.
Gerald K. Petersen
Gerald K. Petersen was one of the originating partners of the firm, which was established in 1983. He has limited his practice of law to civil and criminal trials for the past twenty years. He presently handles murder and aggravated murder cases in the western counties of Oregon.
Mr. Petersen was born in 1923. He received his Juris Doctor degree from the University of Montana in 1951. Prior to coming in Oregon, Mr. Petersen was a member of the California bar, practicing civil litigation in Sacramento.
Mr. Petersen is member of the Oregon State Bar, the Oregon Criminal Defense Lawyers Association and the Capital Defenders.