About Michael Paluska

Salem Roots

Michael’s family moved to Salem more than fifty years ago, after his father, an orthopedic surgeon, completed his service during the Vietnam War. His father was stationed at a United States Air Force base in Tachikawa, Japan for five years, and that is where Michael was born. The family has lived in Salem ever since.

Michael grew up on the family farm, where the Paluskas raised more than 1,000 purebred Hampshire sheep. His three brothers and his sister all still live in Salem today. When a client sits down with Michael to talk about a family business, a piece of farm ground, or a company built over decades, he is not learning about that life secondhand.

The Path to Practice

Michael attended the University of Portland, where he graduated magna cum laude with a Bachelor of Business Administration, and earned his law degree from the University of Oregon School of Law. After the family farm was sold, he worked construction, pouring concrete for Bob Eberle to help pay for school. During his second and third years of law school, he served in the prosecution clinic at the Marion County District Attorney’s Office, where he had the privilege of working for District Attorney Dale Penn.

He was admitted to the Oregon State Bar in 1996 and began his career at one of Salem’s leading business and real estate law firms. A little over three years later, in 1999, he opened his own business and real estate law firm, and he has worked for himself ever since.

The Practice Today

Michael’s practice is transactional and focuses on commercial real estate and business. He does not litigate. His work centers on the closely held companies, family businesses, farms, and property owners that make up the economy of Salem, Keizer, and the Willamette Valley: forming Oregon LLCs and corporations, keeping Corporate Minutes and records in order, drafting and reviewing commercial contracts, guiding the purchase and sale of businesses, planning business succession, and handling commercial and agricultural real estate transactions.

The approach has stayed the same since 1999. Michael asks the questions that should be asked first, explains the law in language a business owner can use to make a decision, and builds the kind of long client relationships that come from three decades of practicing in one town.

Attorney and Broker

In 2021, Michael earned his Oregon Principal Real Estate Broker license (#201219516) and founded Paluska Real Estate. Paluska Property Management followed in 2022. Paluska Law, Paluska Real Estate, and Paluska Property Management all operate from the same office at 1820 Commercial Street S.E. in Salem.

The dual credential changes what clients get. When Michael gives legal advice to his commercial and agricultural real estate clients, he is drawing on more than thirty years of experience as a transactional attorney, now paired with the practical knowledge of an Oregon Principal Real Estate Broker. Over his career, Michael has helped clients sell millions of dollars of real estate, worked with some of the largest law firms in the United States negotiating commercial leases for national tenants, and counseled business owners throughout Salem, the Willamette Valley, and the state of Oregon.

Each engagement is clear about the capacity in which Michael is acting. Legal services are provided through Paluska Law. Brokerage and property management services are provided through Paluska Real Estate and Paluska Property Management.

Credentials

• Oregon State Bar, admitted 1996 (OSB #961028)
• Oregon Principal Real Estate Broker, licensed 2021 (#201219516)
• University of Oregon School of Law
• University of Portland, Bachelor of Business Administration, magna cum laude
• Oregon State Bar Business Law Section
• Oregon State Bar Real Estate and Land Use Section