Our Staff

At Zimmer Family Law, we are fortunate to have a very talented and dedicated staff. You will likely have frequent contact with our staff, particularly with the paralegal or legal assistant who works with your attorney. All of our staff are committed to providing outstanding service. The following is an introduction to our staff members:

Karen Hilliard
Legal Assistant

Karen began her legal career in 1980, and has worked exclusively in family law since 1996. Karen is meticulous and detailed in her work. Karen easily relates to clients' situations and strives to be understanding and patient to those who may be going through the worst time of their lives.

Karen has a dog, who consumes most of her spare time. She enjoys family time and anything outdoors, including gardening and home remodeling projects.

Deanna Pannell
Legal Assistant

Deanna graduated from Portland State University with a Bachelor’s of Science in Women’s Studies and a minor in Psychology. She has actively volunteered at a local domestic violence shelter.

Deanna’s personal interests include cooking, concerts, outdoor activities, spending time with her family and friends, and her cat, Cupcakes.

Julia Kepler
Legal Assistant

Julia is a native Oregonian. She grew up in Eugene and majored in English at the University of Oregon in the Clark Honors College. She also studied in Colorado, New York, London, and France. While in Eugene she danced jazz, lyrical, and ballet with a local dance company. She graduated cum laude in 2008 and then moved to Portland.

Julia has been with Zimmer Family Law since September of 2008. In her free time she enjoys traveling, reading, running, attending Blazers games, and spending time with her family and friends.

Tiamaht Erickson
Receptionist and Legal Assistant Trainee

Tiamaht majored in Romance Languages and Literatures with an emphasis in French at Pomona College. After graduating in 2008, she moved to the Bay Area to pursue her interests in law and language as a legal assistant with Smoger & Associates and a teacher at Berkeley’s Ecole Bilingue. In 2009, Tia returned home to the NW to explore a new area of law as well as a new Romance Language- Spanish.

Outside of work, Tiamaht enjoys tutoring and teaching French, singing, exploring Portland’s food cart scene, practicing yoga, playing volleyball, and studying language.

Jolie Clausen
File Clerk, Receptionist, and Legal Assistant Trainee

Jolie Clausen has a background in music performance and music education. She studied music at Whitman College and Eastern Washington University. She has a music degree from Mount Hood Community College and is currently a Junior at Portland State University. Jolie has performed as a percussionist with the Walla Walla Symphony, Walla Walla College musical productions, and the Portland Blues Festival. In addition to working at Zimmer Family Law, she also performs in local Portland blues, rock, and Latin groups, and teaches private music lessons with students ranging in age from eight to 50.

Salina Wood
Bookkeeper

Salina Wood majored in Accounting at the University of Oregon and became a licensed CPA in the state of California in 2006. She began her career in public accounting at PricewaterhouseCoopers in the Bay area. After spending four years in San Francisco working on a wide variety of audit and tax clients, she moved back to her home town of Portland in 2004. She then worked in the accounting industry until becoming a mother of two. Salina reentered the workforce in November 2008 and now enjoys balancing work at Zimmer Family Law with being a mom and wife. Salina enjoys working out, cooking, and spending time with family and friends.