Oral history interview with Randall Dunn, 2018 September 17-2019 February 8

In the first interview session, conducted on September 17, 2018, Dunn discusses his family background and early life in Crown Point, Indiana, including Indiana politics and his education, particularly the experience of taking high school classes from his mother. He also talks about playing clarinet and his interest in music. He then discusses his experience at Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois, including the house he lived in, his roommates, and continuing to play music.

In the second interview session, conducted on October 22, 2018, Dunn continues discussing his family background and his experience at Northwestern University, including working in an oil refinery during the summers. He then talks about his experience at Stanford Law School, including his impressions of the West Coast, some of his professors, and working on the law review. He also talks about his later work as editor-in-chief of the Oregon Debtor-Creditor Newsletter. He discusses playing clarinet in the Stanford orchestra, where he met his wife, Laurie.

In the third interview session, conducted on November 19, 2018, Dunn continues discussing his experience at Stanford Law School, including working as a law clerk in Indiana during the summers. He also continues discussing his relationship with, and later marriage to, Laurie. He then talks about practicing antitrust law at Berman and Giauque in Salt Lake City, Utah, and then bankruptcy law at Copeland, Landye, Bennet, and Wolf in Portland, Oregon. He describes the workplace culture in both places and some of the cases he worked on. He talks about playing clarinet in the Salem Symphony and the Portland Opera orchestra.

In the fourth interview session, conducted on December 28, 2018, Dunn continues to discuss practicing bankruptcy law at Copeland, Landye, Bennet, and Wolf in Portland, and describes some of the cases he worked on. He then talks about Oregon bankruptcy law, the procedures of the Oregon bankruptcy court, and the bankruptcy court staff, including judges and law clerks. He also discusses working as editor of the Oregon Debtor-Creditor Newsletter and other bankruptcy court-related publications. He further discusses playing clarinet in the Portland Opera orchestra.

In the fifth interview session, conducted on January 11, 2019, Dunn discusses the lawyer job market in Portland. He then continues talking about bankruptcy law, particularly the changes to the law made in 2005. He talks about his service as a bankruptcy judge beginning in 1998, including the application process, his fellow judges, and learning how to be a judge. He also talks about decorating his office at the bankruptcy courthouse in Portland, about his law clerks, and about scheduling cases.

In the sixth interview session, conducted on January 25, 2019, Dunn continues discussing his service as a bankruptcy judge beginning in 1998, including some of the cases he heard and his judicial philosophy. He also talks about his service on the Bankruptcy Appellate Panel beginning in 2006, including his fellow panelists and some of the cases he heard.

In the seventh and final interiew session, conducted on February 8, 2019, Dunn continues discussing his service on the Bankruptcy Appellate Panel beginning in 2006, including some of the cases he heard. He also talks about his involvement with the National Conference of Bankruptcy Judges and awards he received. He discusses the importance of bankruptcy laws, reflects on his accomplishments, and talks about his retirement activities. He closes the interview by discussing the science program for the Ninth Circuit Executive Committee.