WHEN JERRY CARLETON TALKS …
CLIENTS SHOULD LISTEN, BECAUSE HE’S BEEN IN THEIR SHOES
BY BETSY GRACA
Business attorney Jerry Carleton knows
what his clients are going through—he’s
a business owner himself. “I’ve got the
healed stomach ulcers to prove that we
had hard times launching our company
and that sometimes I almost missed
payroll,” says Carleton.
Fresh out of college, he co-founded
Keen Mobility, which creates equipment
for people with disabilities. Years later,
he founded Immix Law Group, where he
practices business law. Carleton’s college
roommate Vail Horton, who was born
without legs, largely influenced his friend’s
unique career path. After spending most
of his life using artificial legs and crutches,
Horton was told by doctors that he must
switch to a wheelchair because the years
had greatly damaged his shoulders. Horton
responded, “No way,” and asked why
crutches couldn’t be created with shock
absorbers that would allow Horton to
continue life as he knew it.
“That question was the beginning of
our company,” Carleton says. “We started
prototyping and found that it worked and
said, ‘Well, this is for more than just Vail;
let’s roll it out to other people.’ And we did.
Now we’re 60 product lines and growing.
... We’re pinching ourselves on how the
company’s grown.”
Naturally, jumping into the role of
business owner right after college wasn’t
easy. Carleton and Horton started their
company out of the dining room in their
North Portland home when they were still
roommates. “We didn’t have a lot going for
us other than passion and vision,” Carleton
says. “And when we really went out to
start fundraising, we found that passion
and vision aren’t as credible as additional
education or other experience.”
So Carleton decided to enroll in law
school at night. What he learned quickly
became invaluable. “It was the coolest
way to learn the law,” he recalls. “I mean,
I was learning it by night and applying it
by day.” While studying at Lewis & Clark
Law School, he realized that maybe he
wanted to be more than his company’s
legal adviser—he actually wanted to
become a lawyer.
