About Erica
Erica Strader trained first as a communicator. She earned a Bachelor of Arts in Communications and Political Science from Syracuse University in 2003, then returned to law, taking her J.D. from the University of Oregon School of Law in 2013. Those two degrees frame a career that moves between public policy and private practice.
Her early professional life was in government. In 2003 she served on legislative staff for the United States Senate. That role led to a position at the Aircraft Owners & Pilots Association, where she worked as Director of Legislative Affairs beginning in 2007. Those years gave her experience in legislative strategy, advocacy and the mechanics of federal policy-making.
After law school she gained practical courtroom and office experience as a legal intern in 2013 at the Deschutes County District Lawyer s Office. She moved into private practice the following year as an associate at Stahancyk, Kent & Hook PC. Colleagues from that period describe a lawyer who brought a background in policy to the firm setting, steadying client matters that intersected with government regulation.
Strader joined Baxter Harder, LLC in 2017. Her time there has consolidated earlier strands of work: lawyering informed by policy experience and a comfort with legislative environments. She is admitted to the Oregon State Bar Association and licensed to practice in Oregon.
The arc of her career is notable for its variety. She has operated inside legislative chambers and inside law offices. She has drafted or advised on policy questions and handled day-to-day legal representation. Those experiences inform how she approaches client problems—attentive to statutory detail and to the broader policy context that can shape outcomes.
People who work with her find that she moves between big-picture concerns and the practical steps of litigation or transactional work. Her background in communications and political science often shows up in advocacy and in how she frames legal positions for judges, regulators and opposing counsel.
At Baxter Harder, LLC Strader continues to practice in Oregon. Her work draws on both her legislative experience and her courtroom training, and her current practice concentrates on state law and regulatory matters.
