Joseph A. Laronge, J.D.
Joseph is the founder of Logic‖Guaranteed. He serves as a Principal Consultant, Logical Reasoning Instructor and Coach, and Research Scientist in real-world logical reasoning and argument theory. He pioneered the design, development, and real-world testing in trial and appellate courts and expert witness trainings of a new unique model and method of natural language inferential reasoning. The scholarly argument theory name is “Defeasible Class-Inclusion Transitivity (DCIT).” But, we just call it the Logic-BridgeTM.
As a short summary, this innovative method of constructing logical arguments has been peer-reviewed in Oxford Journals that describe its theoretical soundness, robustness, rigor, and universal applicability to all real-world domains where the process of constructing and deconstructing logical arguments is vital (e.g., business, education, policymaking, medicine, science, finance, government, and law). All forms of natural language inferential reasoning (e.g., deduction, induction, abduction, argument schemes, and formal and informal logic) can be accommodated into the universal Logic-BridgeTM logical inference model.
Joseph successfully tested the power and effectiveness of the Logic-BridgeTM method in persuading judges in his role as a Senior Assistant Attorney General for the Oregon Department of Justice. As both a trial and appellate attorney, he successfully advanced his complex factual and legal arguments and those of his expert witnesses (e.g., market value appraisers, financial theorists and consultants, economists, and statisticians), and discredited through argument deconstruction those of the opposing party and their expert witnesses before the Oregon Tax Court and the Oregon Supreme Court. The opposing parties were typically airlines (e.g., Delta Airlines), railroads (e.g., Union Pacific Railroad), utilities, and major industrial properties (e.g., semi-conductor plants) accompanied by their cadre of top expert witnesses.
During this time, he was an Adjunct Law Professor, teaching “Legal Research & Writing” at Willamette University Law School and “Advanced Factual Argumentation” using argument mapping software at Lewis & Clark Law School.
These teaching experiences were an incredible laboratory to observe the struggles that students experience in learning to easily construct real-world complex logical arguments. He concluded that the problems were not in the students’ abilities or knowledge, but rather in (1) the deficiencies in conventional forms of logical inference to realistically capture complex real-world arguments in a user-friendly manner and (2) the related typical teaching methods used to teach conventional reasoning. Designing the Logic-BridgeTM method was the solution. (Read the story of its creation in the “About” menu tab).
Joseph was previously associated with Austhink (now called van Gelder & Monk). Austhink was a critical thinking, research, training and consulting group, associated with the University of Melbourne, specializing in complex reasoning and argumentation through the process of conventional argument mapping for government agencies, law firms, leading businesses, and specialists in the use of visual deliberation to improve critical thinking in organizations.
Joseph also has commercial and non-profit leadership experience that helps him understand business realities. He was President of a real estate firm that did commercial, residential, and investment sales and office building and shopping center property management. He also co-founded a non-profit, tax-exempt school for children with autism that was affiliated with the UNC School of Medicine/TEACCH Autism Program. And he worked with business executives training them in the Dale Carnegie approach to “Effective Speaking and Human Relations.”
Vanessa A. Areli, J.D.
As our Critical Thinking Expert, Strategic Advisor, and Creative Director, Vanessa has brought her world-class analytical skills, guidance, and creative talents to Logic‖Guaranteed. While playing a pivotal role in shaping our group’s vision and goals, Vanessa has conducted interdisciplinary argument theory research and adapted our training materials and methods to meet the needs of different domains, skill and experience levels, and client needs. She is co-writing our upcoming book based on our universal fail-safe reasoning template for constructing logically flawless real-world arguments.
Prior to becoming part of our team, Vanessa had a successful career as an Assistant Attorney General for the Oregon Department of Justice counseling and representing different state agencies in negotiations and litigation. She also used her stellar argumentation and written and oral advocacy skills at the Office of Public Defense Services to effectively represent indigent defendants before the Oregon Court of Appeals. While earning her J.D. at Berkeley Law, Vanessa worked for the City of Portland where she served as a Policy Advisor for a City Commissioner and met with relevant stakeholders to problem-solve pressing concerns and agendas and provide strategic analysis on proposed policies and city laws.
As a bilingual and bicultural student at Trinity College, Vanessa’s breadth of interests and pursuit of ideas led her to excel in her wide-ranging studies of American, Caribbean, and Middle Eastern History, Arabic, African Studies, Religion, Art & Archeology, Sociology, and International Human Rights. Her outstanding efforts led her to earn two of the nation’s most prestigious scholarship awards, the Beinecke Scholarship for graduate education of students of exceptional promise and the Gilder Lehrman History Scholarship for original research using that organization’s rare archives. In the highly selective Northeast region, she was chosen as a finalist for the top honor of Rhodes Scholar — a truly remarkable feat. Majoring in History and minoring in Arabic and Human Rights, Vanessa ranked at the top of her class and never earned less than an A- in any of her courses. She was awarded the Trusted Award for Student Excellence at graduation, which described her as “a student who characterizes the essence of the liberal arts,” embodies “the delicate balance of both intense discipline and an innate passion for learning,” and is the “epitome of intellectual curiosity, commitment to excellence, and vibrant social conscience.”
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