Oregon

Supreme Court Hits 9th Circuit in Pair of Opinions Upholding Defense Lawyer Decisions

In a case from Oregon and another from California, the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that criminal defense lawyers provided adequate assistance of counsel and that their onetime clients were not eligible for habeas relief. Justice Anthony M. Kennedy wrote both opinions overturning decisions by the San Francisco-based 9th U.S.…

Jan 19, 2011 6:11 PM CST

Oregon Requires Yearlong Mentorship for Law Grads

Law school graduates taking the February bar exam in Oregon have learned in a letter from the state’s chief justice that they will be required to participate in a new mentoring program. The mandatory yearlong program is designed to help law grads who can’t find jobs after graduation, Oregon State…

Jan 18, 2011 2:11 PM CST

Law Firm Partners on Hot Seat After Ex-Associate, Former Office Mgr Complain; Was Nanny on Payroll?

Two partners in the Oregon law firm of Gunn Cain & Kinney are on the hot seat after an ex-associate and former office manager at their firm complained to legal ethics authorities. Among other issues, Jessica Cain and Kevin Kinney have been accused by Oregon State Bar of charging excessive…

Jan 12, 2011 9:05 PM CST

Lawyers for Boy Scouts, Corporations & Media Argue About Whether ‘Perversion Files’ are Public

Lawyers for interested parties ranging from abuse survivors and multinational corporations to the Boy Scouts of America and media entities are battling about whether so-called “perversion files” can be opened up and, if so, to what extent. Kept by the Boy Scouts for decades to try to track and prevent…

Jan 12, 2011 12:16 AM CST

Ore. High Court: Viewing Child Porn Online Doesn’t Violate State Possession Law

The Oregon Supreme Court has ruled that state law does not bar computer users from viewing child pornography online. State law says anyone who “knowingly possesses or controls” child pornography is guilty of a crime. According to the Oregon high court, there is no violation if someone views child porn…

Jan 7, 2011 3:10 PM CST

Ex-Clerk Gets 2 Years for Coerced Court Sex; Ex-Guard Gets 30 Years for Cuffed Inmate Rape

A former court clerk magistrate in Massachusetts was sentenced yesterday to two years in federal prison for coercing two women facing prostitution charges into courthouse sex. James Burke, 43, also lost his $84,000-a-year job at Chelsea District Court after his arrest last year, the Boston Globe reported. One of the…

Dec 17, 2010 8:34 PM CST

Prosecutor Convicted of Harassing Woman in Child-Support Case, Gets 30 Days

It all began with a “rather revealing dress” a woman wore to court, a Lincoln County deputy district attorney told the Oregon State Bar in a letter. In a phone call with the woman, from whom Rand Overton was trying to collect child support, “I said something about her wearing…

Dec 14, 2010 10:55 PM CST

Captain Awesome Wins Name Change, Right to Sign with 2 Arrows and Smiley Face

An Oregon man has legally changed his name to Captain Awesome, after winning approval from a Lane County Circuit Court judge. Plus, he can now legally sign his name with two arrows and a smiley face, reports the Eugene Register-Guard. There’s no word on what the producers of the NBC…

Dec 6, 2010 10:02 PM CST

Seattle’s Lane Powell Acquires 17 Lawyers From Oregon Law Firm

Seattle-based Lane Powell is boosting its banking practice with the acquisition of 17 lawyers from Roberts Kaplan in Portland, Ore. The change takes place Jan. 1, according to the Portland Business Journal and the Puget Sound Business Journal. The acquisition makes Lane Powell Portland’s sixth-largest law firm. In the Seattle…

Dec 3, 2010 1:53 PM CST

‘Tough Mother’ Columbia Sportswear Chair, 85 or 86, Foils Robbery & Defends Brand

Met by an armed robber with a gift basket when she arrived at her suburban Portland, Ore., home on Wednesday, the 85- or 86-year-old chairman of Columbia Sportswear lived up to her biography billing as One Tough Mother. Known for national ads years ago putting her son and the company’s…

Nov 12, 2010 11:21 PM CST

DA Faces 5 Misdemeanors re Alleged Misuse of Office to Get ‘Sexual Gratification’ & Claimed Cover-Up

An Oregon district attorney who has been on paid leave for months since an employee in his office reported him for a claimed sex crime to Pendleton police is now facing five misdemeanor charges concerning his alleged misuse of his office. Umatilla County District Attorney Dean Gushwa, who has maintained…

Nov 10, 2010 7:20 PM CST

15-Lawyer Ore. Firm Opens 2nd Office—in Pa.; Ex-K&L Gates Atty to Build ‘Virtual’ Enviro Office

A Portland, Ore., law firm has made an unusual move, opening a second office in Pittsburgh last week. Headed by a former associate of K&L Gates, Phillip Bender, the new office of Bateman Seidel Miner Blomgren Chellis & Gram also is taking a cutting-edge approach to law practice, reports the…

Nov 8, 2010 5:15 PM CST

Lawyer Sentenced to Anger Course After Elevator Incident with Social Security Judge

A federal magistrate judge found an Oregon disability claims lawyer guilty of disorderly conduct and sentenced him to a year of probation and an anger management course after a three-year series of incidents between Daniel Bernath and a social security judge escalated into an elevator altercation at an administrative hearing…

Oct 14, 2010 4:38 PM CDT

Looming 30-Day Jail Term Is Sad Chapter in Career of Renowned Trial Lawyer

A well-known Oregon trial attorney, Mike Shinn scored many victories over his 36-year legal career. Perhaps best known is the civil wrongful death case he pursued against a now-convicted murderer of another Portland lawyer, Cheryl Keeton. It led to the successful prosecution of her estranged husband and killer, Brad Cunningham.…

Jul 15, 2010 12:14 AM CDT

17-Year Perkins Coie Lawyer to Head New Oregon Office of Fast-Growing Ogletree

After 17 years in practice at Perkins Coie, partner David Symes is leaving the big-name Pacific Northwest law firm to open a new Portland, Ore., office for fast-growing Ogletree Deakins Nash Smoak & Stewart. The Portland office is the 500-attorney national labor and employment boutique’s 40th, as well as its…

Jul 9, 2010 6:26 PM CDT