Few Portland firms have as rich a history as Kell, Alterman & Runstein, L.L.P., which celebrated its 85th anniversary on May 17, 2014. The firm helped pioneer public power in Portland, helped conceive and create the TriMet public transit system, and represented many of Portland’s longest-tenured businesses. Though, Kell, Alterman & Runstein, L.L.P. has evolved through the years into a general-practice firm, it is still influenced by the outsized personalities of its founders. Kell, Alterman & Runstein, L.L.P. traces its roots to 1929, when Gus Solomon established a practice in downtown Portland, relying on business from friends, acquaintances, and word of mouth. Solomon, a graduate of Stanford Law School, cultivated a varied clientele but counted public power as a pet project. The community-minded Solomon actively supported the creation of a public utility district in Portland, along with the development of the Columbia River hydrosystem. In 1939, the Bonneville Power Administration (BPA) was created to deliver electric power to underserved rural and urban areas. Solomon became the liaison between the public-power movement and the BPA.