About Us
With more than 90 years of combined experience in criminal defense, attorneys at Levi Merrithew Horst PC are equipped to help you navigate the legal system, including civil rights, juvenile and delinquency law, restraining orders, post-conviction relief, and DHS cases. We know that our clients rely on our diverse perspectives and experience, and our collaborative approach to all cases ensures that we provide that breadth of knowledge to all clients.
We have found that clients are better served when they have the collective experience and knowledge of multiple attorneys. A single attorney working alone is disadvantaged when matched against a team of attorneys working together. At Levi Merrithew Horst, we collaborate during every stage of every case. While you only pay for the services of one attorney, you benefit from the experience and knowledge of all five of us. Read on to learn more about our staff.
Partner
Jesse Merrithew
Jesse’s practice focuses on civil rights. He represents clients who are wrongfully arrested, injured or killed by the police, subject to discrimination, and denied adequate medical care. Jesse started his career as a public defender where he learned the importance of a client-centered practice. He takes pride in continuing to amplify civil rights in the media. He is a 2021 recipient of the Arthur H. Bryant Public Justice Award from the Oregon Trial Lawyers Association. When he is not at work, he is either with his family or deep in the backcountry, either on skis or a mountain bike.
Education
LEWIS AND CLARK
LAW SCHOOL
Juris Doctor, 2007
BOSTON UNIVERSITY
B.A., Political Science, 2003
Activities & Affiliations
• Oregon State Bar
• Oregon Trial Lawyers Association
• National Lawyers Guild
• National Police Accountability Project
Bar Admissions
• Oregon, Washington
Partner
Noah Horst
Noah grew up in Massachusetts. He earned a BS in Biology and Environmental Studies from Tufts University where he was a member of the Men's Swimming team and a Captain and Most Valuable Player of the Water Polo team. After college, Noah earned a Master of Public Health from Boston University School of Public Health while simultaneously working at a pulmonary immunology research lab. Noah moved to Oregon in 2004 to attend Lewis and Clark Law School where he was an editor at the Lewis and Clark Law Review and earned an Environmental and Natural Resources Law Certificate.
During Law School, Noah worked as a law clerk at the Department of Justice Trial Division in Salem and as a Law Clerk for the Federal Public Defender. After graduation, Noah worked as a Staff Attorney at Metropolitan Public Defender's Portland office. Noah handled hundreds of cases including felonies, misdemeanors, civil commitments, probation violations, and restraining orders. Noah’s practice focuses on criminal defense and civil rights. He defends clients under investigation by federal and state agents, including DHS.
Education
LEWIS AND CLARK
LAW SCHOOL
Juris Doctor, 2007
TUFTS UNIVERSITY
B.S., Biology and Environmental Studies, 2000
BOSTON UNIVERSITY
Master of Public Health, 2003
Activities & Affiliations
• Oregon State Bar
• Federal Bar Association
• Oregon Criminal Defense Lawyer's Association
• Criminal Justice Act Panel Attorney
Bar Admissions
• Oregon
PARTNER
Ethan Levi
Ethan was raised in Corvallis, Oregon and attended college at the University of Minnesota and law school at Fordham Law School in New York City. He has worked as a criminal defense attorney since he was a student in law school. In law school, Ethan actively participated in a criminal defense clinic representing clients in the criminal courts (both state and federal) of Manhattan and Brooklyn, New York. He also spent the summer of 1998 representing indigent clients in the criminal court of Nome, Alaska. This court was notable in that mounted behind the judge's bench was a walrus skull and tusks rather than the state seal normally found behind a judge.
After graduation from law school, Ethan worked as a public defender for the Metropolitan Public Defender's Hillsboro office in Washington County for nearly 12 years. During that job, Ethan represented clients in cases ranging from the most simple misdemeanors through the most difficult and complicated felonies including assault cases, sex offenses, robberies, and murder. Ethan gained a wide range of experience and local knowledge of the Washington County court system which gives him an edge in fighting Washington County Cases.
Ethan specializes in criminal defense cases. He also represents people in contested restraining order hearings, restraining order violation hearings, probation hearings, and child support hearings. Ethan also works with clients who are under investigation but have not been charged with any crime. He works hard to ensure that these clients are not charged with any crime.
Education
FORDHAM LAW SCHOOL
Juris Doctor, 1999
UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA
B.A., Political Science, 1994
Activities & Affiliations
• Oregon State Bar
• Federal Bar Association
• Oregon Criminal Defense Lawyer's Association
• Criminal Justice Act Panel Attorney
Bar Admissions
• Oregon
PARTNER
Elizabeth Levi
Elizabeth was born in Washington D.C. and raised in San Diego, California. She graduated from Cornell University in Ithaca, New York with a Bachelor's Degree in Animal Science in 1992. After college she spent two years in Nepal as a Peace Corp volunteer, then moved to Portland to attend law school at Lewis and Clark.
During law school, Elizabeth worked as a certified law student for the Juvenile Rights Project and Metropolitan Public Defender. After graduating in 1999, Elizabeth began working full time as a staff attorney at Metropolitan Public Defender's Portland office. From 1999 through 2010, she handled hundreds of criminal and juvenile law cases, representing defendants in misdemeanors and felonies, as well as youths facing delinquency petitions and parents and children involved in the child welfare system. During her final two years at MPD, Elizabeth was the managing attorney in the Juvenile Law Section and represented the office on the Juvenile Justice Council, the Juvenile Dependency Council, and on various other committees and work groups associated with juvenile court.
Elizabeth is a volunteer attorney for the CLif Project, which provides legal services to clients who were adjudicated as juvenile sex offenders and are seeking relief from sex offender registration. Additionally, Elizabeth is on the executive boards of the Agricultural Research Foundation and the Sunnyside Environmental School PTSA.
Activities & Affiliations
• Oregon State Bar
• Oregon Women Lawyers
• Oregon Criminal Defense Lawyer's Association
Bar Admissions
• Oregon
Education
LEWIS AND CLARK
LAW SCHOOL
Juris Doctor, 1999
CORNELL UNIVERSITY
B.A., Animal Science, 1992
Senior associate
Norah Van Dusen
A native New Yorker, Norah moved to Portland in 1997 to attend Lewis & Clark College, graduating with a B.A.in Sociology in 2001. After college, she worked at a houseless youth shelter and as a legal assistant at a law firm specializing in juvenile defense. Norah returned to New York City to attend law school at Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law, graduating in 2006. While in law school, she interned at the Legal Aid Society and represented clients in New York City criminal court as a student in Cardozo’s Criminal Defense Clinic.
Norah began her legal career in 2006 as a public defender at the Legal Aid Society in New York City, representing clients in the Juvenile Rights and Criminal Defense Divisions. She handled hundreds of criminal and juvenile delinquency cases, including misdemeanors, probation violations, fugitive matters, major and minor felonies, and dependency cases. As an attorney at Legal Aid, Norah partnered with NYU Law School’s Juvenile Defender Clinic, supervising law students in juvenile delinquency cases.
Norah and her family returned to Portland in 2018. Prior to joining Levi Merrithew Horst in 2021, Norah worked as a Staff Attorney at Metropolitan Public Defender and as Juvenile Defense Counsel at the Office of Public Defense Services. While at MPD, Norah represented parents and children involved in the child welfare system, juveniles facing delinquency petitions, and adults charged with felonies.
Norah’s practice focuses on criminal and juvenile defense, as well as representing parents and children involved in the child welfare system.
Activities & Affiliations
• Oregon State Bar
• Oregon Criminal Defense Lawyer's Association
• Chair, Oregon State Bar Civil Rights Committee
• Member, OCDLA Juvenile Rights Committee
Bar Admissions
• Oregon, New York (Currently Inactive)
Education
BENJAMIN N. CARDOZO
SCHOOL OF LAW
Juris Doctor, 2006
LEWIS & CLARK COLLEGE
B.A., Sociology, 2001
ASSOCIATE
Viktoria Lo
Viktoria graduated from Harvard Law School, where she focused her studies and clinical experience on immigration law, criminal defense, civil rights, and LGBTQ impact litigation. Prior to law school, she spent two years as a Fulbright teacher in South Korea, where she founded an organization that empowered female students by connecting them with professional women in South Korea.
Upon graduating, Viktoria began her career as a trial attorney at the Metropolitan Public Defenders Office in Multnomah County. She has tried many cases to jury verdict - from misdemeanors to murder charges - and has litigated countless written motions to a judge, from suppressing evidence unlawfully obtained by the state to effectively arguing to exclude evidence at trial.
After joining Levi Merrithew Horst PC, Viktoria has focused her practice on both criminal defense and civil rights. Viktoria’s edge is in detailed record review and meticulous preparation outside of court, as such Viktoria has successfully convinced the district attorneys’ office to dismiss criminal cases which should never have been charged. More recently, Viktoria has transitioned her practice to holding the Oregon Department of Human Resources, Child Welfare Division accountable for arriving at clearly erroneous decisions that harm families.
In the area of civil rights enforcement against government agents, Viktoria has successfully settled numerous cases involving excessive force, getting her clients compensation for their injuries. Viktoria is part of a multiple-attorney team in litigating the class action lawsuit, Don’t Shoot PDX v. City of Portland, enforcing the rights of Black Lives Matter protesters to be able to exercise their First Amendment rights of protected speech without being subject to excessive force by law enforcement. Viktoria keeps connected and informed about developments in civil rights law by active membership in the National Police Accountability Project and the Oregon Trial Lawyers Association. Viktoria's other civil rights cases include complex medical malpractice/8th Amendment cases against jails and prisons, sex abuse cases against public officials, and excessive force cases against police on behalf of individuals.
Viktoria immigrated to the United States in 2001 after growing up in Armenia, Germany, and Russia; she is Armenian-American and conversational in Russian. Viktoria has extensive experience with trial litigation and does not shy away from a court battle. She prides herself in her active and empathic listening skills and ability to connect with clients to make them feel heard, supported, and comfortable in leaving the legal fight to her.
Education
TRANSYLVANIA UNIVERSITY
B.A., Philosophy, 2012
HARVARD LAW SCHOOL
Juris Doctor, 2017
Activities & Affiliations
• Oregon State Bar
• Oregon Trial Lawyers Association
• Oregon Criminal Defense Lawyer's Association
• National Police Accountability Project
• Teaching Know Your Rights Workshops - Classroom Law Project
• National Lawyers Guild, Portland Chapter - Secretary of the Board of Trustees
• Public Defender of Marion County - President and Chair of the Board of Trustees
• BIPOC Legal Mentorship and Community Program - Board of Trustees Member
Bar Admissions
• Oregon
Investigator
Nina Greene
Nina grew up in Northeast Portland and received her bachelor’s degree in psychology and history from the Robert D. Clark Honors College at the University of Oregon. As an undergraduate student, Nina worked in a social psychology lab and studied abroad at the University of Oxford. In 2017, Nina was a Human Rights Fellow for the Oxford Consortium for Human Rights, focusing on global ethics and refugee policy. Nina interned at the Federal Public Defender before joining the Metropolitan Public Defender’s Capital Team as a fact investigator, where she defended clients accused of the most serious cases. She has worked in the criminal justice and legal field since college as a teaching assistant for classes held inside prisons, paralegal, and criminal defense and civil rights investigator in the state and federal court systems. Nina joined the Levi Merrithew Horst PC team in 2021. In her free time, Nina enjoys developing her own 35-millimeter film and printing photographs.
Education
UNIVERSITY OF OREGON, ROBERT D. CLARK HONORS COLLEGE
B.A., Psychology and History, 2018
Investigator
Brian Mumford
Brian brings years of experience as a licensed PI, as well as prior research and analysis skills from years spent working in public library and community archive fields.
He was raised in the Western U.S., having lived in states ranging from Oklahoma to Montana before arriving in Oregon. Outside of investigative work at LMH, he enjoys hearing and playing music, as well as designing album covers.
OFFICE MANAGER
Sarah Noble
Sarah Noble is the office manager for Levi Merrithew Horst PC, bringing over 20 years of experience in the legal field. She thrives on wearing a lot of hats, providing administrative and legal support to all of our attorneys as well as managing the firm’s facilities, finances, and technology.
Sarah is a native North Westerner, born and raised in Alaska followed by 12 years in Seattle, relocating to Portland in 2012. Outside of the office she enjoys supporting the local restaurant industry, hiking, and traveling.
LEGAL ASSISTANT
Tiara Comstock
Native to the Pacific Northwest, Tiara ventured east where she received her bachelor’s degree in Political Science from Southern Virginia University. While in undergrad she participated in her school’s Model UN team and took a variety of courses in the Pre-Law track. Inspired by many school visits to Washington D.C., Tiara spent a summer there teaching Law and CSI to high schooler’s through Envision’s NYLF summer programs. She developed her Spanish language skills through not only her knowledge as a heritage speaker but formal education as well. Tiara has worked in and around the Oregon Justice system her whole life and is passionate about helping people in whichever way she can. Her other interests include reading, baking, and supporting local farmers markets.
Education
SOUTHERN VIRGINIA UNIVERSITY
B.A., Political Science, 2021