Frohnmayer, Deatherage, Jamieson, Moore, Armosino & McGovern is the oldest law firm in Southern, Oregon. The law firm grew out of a law practice founded by Porter Neff in Medford, Oregon in 1910. Neff, a noted Medford attorney and builder, hired the young Otto Frohnmayer in 1933, after Frohnmayer’s graduation from the University of Oregon Law School.

Frohnmayer came to Oregon as an infant, with his family, from their native Germany. He graduated from the University of Oregon in 1929. He worked his way through law school during the depths of the great Depression as a bell boy and night clerk in hotels in Eugene and Medford.

Neff retired from practice in the mid-1940’s and Frohnmayer brought in attorney Phil Lowry in 1949. Frohnmayer hired William V. Deatherage in 1954 after he graduated first in his class from the University of Oregon Law School.

The law firm’s offices were located in the Cooley Building on S. Central Avenue in downtown Medford from 1924 to 1994. That year, the firm moved to its present location at 2592 E. Barnett Road. The Frohnmayer law firm generously donated a portion of the S. Central property towards the creation of the Craterian Ginger Rogers Theatre, the area’s premiere performance venue. In honor of Otto’s fundraising work and the firm’s donation, the downstairs lobby at the theatre is named for the Frohnmayer family.

Otto Frohnmayer served on the board of Rogue Valley Medical Center (formerly Rogue Valley Memorial Hospital) for 40 years. He was instrumental in the raising of the $2.8 million needed to build the modern medical center that opened in 1958, replacing the antiquated Medford Community Hospital. He was one of the founders of the Oregon Community Foundation in 1973, created to provide a stable and growing endowment to strengthen community improvement efforts.

Frohnmayer and his wife MarAbel were key in fostering classical music and the arts in the Rogue Valley. Otto served on the Board of Directors for the Oregon Shakespeare Festival. MarAbel was a founding member of the Rogue Valley Symphony; the first president of the Board of Directors for the Rogue Valley Chorale; and a leader of the Jackson County Community Concerts Association. Otto and MarAbel were founding patrons for the Rogue Valley Opera and active in supporting the Britt Music Festival and the Medford Arts Association.

Frohnmayer continued practicing law well into the 1990s. He died on January 31, 2000, leaving behind a legacy of professional excellence and public service.

In 2004, Bill Deatherage celebrated his 50th anniversary as an attorney. Deatherage continues to maintain an active practice and is a continuing source of wisdom to his partners, associates and colleagues.

Stephen Jamieson joined the firm in 1983, Bernard Moore and Thomas Armosino joined in 1997, Tracy McGovern joined in 1998 and Edward Talmadge joined in 2002.

In the spirit of Otto Frohnmayer, the law firm of Frohnmayer, Deatherage, Jamieson, Moore, Armosino & McGovern continues its mission of legal excellence and public service in Southern Oregon.