Bruce Ensley joins Port staff as attorney

A familiar face has joined the staff at the Port of Whitman. Colfax Attorney Bruce Ensley, who has served as the Port attorney since 1978, has been hired part time by the Port to continue his attorney duties there.

Up until the new year, Ensley worked with the Libey & Ensley law office here. With Gary Libey now serving as superior court judge, the office has ceased operations and sent most of its case load to the Carpenter, McGuire & DeWulf law firm, which is in the process of remodeling the former Glaser's building as a new office space.

Ensley's first day as an official Port staff member was Monday, Jan. 9.

“They've been a client of mine for a long, long time,” said Ensley. “And my job duties will not only include legal duties for the Port, but I'll work on other projects and not exclusively legal work.”

Ensley, a native of Colfax, returned here in 1976 after graduating from the school of law at Willamette University in Salem, Ore. He was hired by the late Lawrence Hickman, who had been a longtime family lawyer to many of Ensley's relatives.

“I came here to my hometown, and I've been here ever since,” said Ensley.

Ensley arrived back in Colfax at the same time as Libey, and Libey went to work for Wes Nuxoll, while Ensley went to work for Hickman.

Until 1990, he was a partner with Ron Webster and Ron Carpenter in the firm which evolved from Hickman's practice.

Carpenter is now chief administrator of the state supreme court.

Ensley eventually joined with Libey and Nuxoll and continued practicing law here.

“It kind of all fit together really well,” said Ensley.

Ensley will continue to be of counsel for the Carpenter, McGuire & DeWulf firm. He said he will focus mostly on probate and trust work, as well as some business law. He will not take on litigation cases.

“I'm going to continue some private practice with the McGuire firm, more on an appointment basis,” he said.

“They're a regional firm,” he said. “They have a natural connection to this community.”

Ensley will now work out of the Port office building.

“This seemed like a good opportunity to keep busy with something I'm interested in,” he said.