Raylynna Peterson

Raylynna had a strong desire to become a lawyer from a young age. With perseverance, determination, courage and faith, she made her dream a reality.

A graduate of University of Oregon (Class of 90) , Raylynna moved to California to pursue her law degree from Whittier College School of Law. She successfully made it through law school and passed the California Bar on the first try in early 1997. At that time, the California Bar passage rate for first time takers was less than 50%. Motivated by her underlying drive to help people, Raylynna began working at the Orange County Public Defender's Office and the Santa Ana Public Law Center in California.

In the fall of 1998, Raylynna opened her first law office in Laguna Beach, California and began handling a variety of civil matters including estate planning, adoption, personal injury, real estate and business law.

Raylynna returned to Oregon the fall of 2000 just before the birth of her first daughter. She worked briefly for a well-known Portland insurance defense firm after being admitted to the Oregon Bar in 2002.

Working in corporate law or for insurance companies was not the help Raylynna had in mind so she left the downtown big law firm culture behind to re-establish her own law practice once again. Raylynna opened Peterson Law Group in 2005 and developed a successful community-oriented law firm committed to providing accessible, affordable legal services to individuals, families and small business in North Portland.

Over time, Raylynna focused primarily on family law, estate planning and probate, as well as the unique litigation challenges arising in contested matters relating to those areas. Raylynna developed a particular passion for estate planning for all stages of life. Mostly horrified by the realities of probate litigation, and the time-consuming delays and expense of establishing guardianships and conservatorships, Raylynna began Peterson Estate Law to focus on helping people get their affairs in order and avoid such legal quagmires. Raylynna’s passion for estate planning is grounded in her conviction that everyone should have a good plan in place.

After 20 years of successfully representing clients as a solo or small firm practioner, Raylynna decided to rejoin a bigger law firm environment. She quickly found her new legal home at the family law firm of Goldberg Jones, most well known by their slogan “Divorce for Men”. Raylynna’s general civil litigation background and family law experience are a good fit at Goldberg Jones, where Raylynna continues to represent clients in family law, estate planning, probate and the many complex litigation issues that arise in those areas.