Barrow High graduates open law firm in Barrow, Kotzebue

TAMAR BEN-YOSEF

April 18, 2008 at 10:02AM AKST

Two Barrow High School graduates and one former North Slope Borough police officer opened Caliber Law Group with offices in Barrow, Kotzebue and the Mat-Su Valley.

Starting this summer, attorneys Robert Campbell and Dave Roghair and investigator Jeremy Hough will rotate their time between the three offices with the goal of providing fair and accessible legal counsel to locals.

This is the first time a private law practice opened its doors in the two regions. Until now, locals seeking private legal services were forced to travel to Fairbanks and Anchorage or pay expenses for their lawyers to make the trip north.

There are two Legal Services attorneys stationed in Kotzebue, but Barrow has not had permanent state legal services in more than 15 years. But the need is there, according to Campbell.

"Barrow has more work than Kotzebue and the Valley combined," Campbell said on Wednesday, April 9, in an interview in Anchorage.

Being the only ones around, Campbell and Roghair do not have the luxury of focusing on one area of law alone. On any given day, they could move from a case in family law to criminal assault cases or property law.

"It’s like being back in school," Campbell said of the need to stay sharp on all ends.

That is not necessarily a disadvantage though. The team seems to like the variety.

"The small cases are more interesting," said Hough, who also acts as office manager when not investigating cases in all three locations.

"There are more nuances in the small ones," he said.

The choice to open in both Barrow and Kotzebue was a natural one for the three who have a long history in Barrow.

Prior to becoming a police officer and narcotics investigator in Barrow, Hough served as a U.S. Marine for nearly 10 years. He also worked as a security consultant and is studying for a master’s degree in law.

Campbell, who graduated in the class of 1989, and Hough both served as North Slope Borough police officers at the same time and became close friends through their work. Roghair graduated in the class of 1993 and is the son of Jim Roghair, who was at one time a Presbyterian Minister in Barrow and also North Slope Borough police chief.

"The regions go hand in hand in the legal field," Campbell said.

That statement may be true in the legal realm, but that is where it ends pretty much.

"Barrow is pushing and bursting to be more, while Kotzebue seems comfortable as a small town, He said.

Their self-attested "nerdy and brainy" personalities as children also contributed to Roghair and Campbell’s choice of profession.

They became close friends while studying together for the bar exams.

The idea to open a law firm in Barrow had been stirring in their minds for several years but prior occupations kept them from moving forward with the dream.

"It just made sense to be the first," Campbell said.

The inspiration came from his younger brother, Walter, who operates nine chiropractic clinics in rural Alaska communities. He was the first to open such a practice in each of the communities.

Campbell said he was surprised there were no existing private practices in those cities and blamed it partly on the challenges of life in the remote Arctic.

"Law is not an encouraged profession in the schools here," he added.

"There is no mechanism for it here to be a career."

That might change if Caliber Law Group is successful. All three partners plan to be heavily involved in the community outside of the office as well. Whether it is helping to coach football, give talks or offer office experience to students, they will likely have their hands full.

Roghair is finishing up a term of employment as an attorney in Bethel and will return to Barrow this summer. In the meantime, Campbell spends two weeks in Barrow and two weeks in Kotzebue each month and travels to the valley as needed.

"We are doing a globalization of the workforce within the state," Campbell said jokingly.

Campbell and Hough said they have experienced nothing but support and approval from the community since opening their doors Jan. 3 in Kotzebue and Feb. 2 in Barrow.

Only once did two parties on the same case contacted the firm for counsel, forcing Campbell to turn one of them away to avoid a conflict of interest.

In general, Campbell does not feel bad about having to deal with friends from the community on a legal basis.

"As long as it is done in a professional manner it is not personal," he said.

Hough said he has enjoyed doing investigations for the firm.

"My experience as a police officer in Barrow and Nuiqsut gave me a good cultural understanding that you need to have," he said.

"People are a lot more willing to talk to me now then when I was a police officer," he said.

Eventually the three plan to travel yearly to the villages and conduct free legal clinics.

"We want to see everybody get legal services that they need," Campbell and Hough said in a statement.

Tamar Ben-Yosef can be reached at (907) 348-2419 or toll-free at (800) 770-9830, ext. 419.