Oregon

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

Lawyers Are Victims in Two Okla. Home Invasions; One Feels Sorry For Perpetrators

Police in Tulsa, Okla., are investigating two home invasions in two weeks’ time in which the victims were lawyers and good friends. In both cases the robbers entered through unlocked doors, police told the Tulsa World. One of the victims, criminal defense lawyer Rabon Martin, was beaten with a gun…

Jul 8, 2010 12:02 PM CDT

Law Firm Partner, Accused of Groping Opposing Counsel, Pleads Guilty to Harassment

A partner with a Portland, Ore., law firm accused of groping his opposing counsel in a construction defects case has pleaded guilty to harassment. Jack Levy, a partner with Smith Freed & Eberhard, was sentenced Friday to two years of probation, the Oregonian reports. He was also ordered to write…

Jul 6, 2010 2:27 PM CDT

Investigators Probe Whether Lawyer’s Slaying Was Tied to Casino Legal Battle

Police are investigating whether an Oregon lawyer shot and killed last month in the Dominican Republic was murdered because of a successful lawsuit. The lawyer, 68-year-old Art Tarlow of Portland, was representing a group of investors in a legal battle with a Dominican businessman stemming from a failed attempt to…

Jun 29, 2010 2:46 PM CDT

First Amendment Rites

Damaging words cost pastor his pulpit but land him big bucks

Jun 1, 2010 7:40 AM CDT

Lawyer Beats Red-Light Camera Ticket, Shows ‘Red’ Can Mean ‘Green’

A Portland, Ore., lawyer whose practice focuses on bicycle law has turned his attention to an auto case—his own—and managed to beat a red-light ticket. Mark Ginsberg was surprised when he got a red-light ticket because he was sure the light had been green when he went through the intersection,…

May 7, 2010 11:53 AM CDT

Ore. AG’s Deputy Leaves Office Abruptly Over Claimed Evidence-Gathering Role

While he was a student at Lewis and Clark Law School in Portland, Ore., Brent Foster didn’t hesitate to take an aggressive stance when the institution—which is well-known for its environmental programs—decided to pave over forest and wetlands to create a parking lot. He sued, reports the Oregonian, and, in…

Apr 21, 2010 10:37 PM CDT

Longtime Justice of Peace Resigns Over Claimed Crude Comments to Court Workers

For years, an Oregon justice of the peace allegedly commented to clerks and parties in cases at Central Lane Justice Court about their sex lives, among other objectionable topics. But it wasn’t until five female clerks complained together to Lane County officials in December that an investigation began into the…

Apr 20, 2010 11:32 PM CDT

Ore. Supreme Court Rules Company Can Fire Worker for Using Medical Pot

The Oregon Supreme Court has ruled that a company did not violate state discrimination laws when it fired a drill press operator who was using medical marijuana to ease his nausea and panic attacks. Business groups applauded the decision, according to the Associated Press and the Oregonian. Justice Rives Kistler…

Apr 16, 2010 1:28 PM CDT

Court Upholds $355K Verdict for Pastor Maligned By Church Leaders

In a novel church employment case, an Oregon appeals court has ruled that a church can’t use the First Amendment as a defense in a defamation case if church officials used the pulpit to accuse its former pastor of being a thief. The ruling reinstates a $355,000 jury verdict awarded…

Feb 9, 2010 1:26 PM CST

More than 150 Lawsuits Target Pain Pumps

An Oregon jury awarded nearly $5.5 million on Friday to a plaintiff who contended a pain pump caused a relatively rare cartilage problem. More than 150 lawsuits making similar claims are in the pipeline, the New York Times reports. The plaintiffs contend the pain pumps, inserted after surgery, cause chondrolysis,…

Jan 27, 2010 12:54 PM CST

Oops. Accidental Posting of Exam a ‘Teachable Moment,’ Law Prof Says

Updated: An accidental posting of a law school exam on a University of Oregon School of Law e-mail discussion list last week offered students an opportunity to apply legal ethics rules in real life, their professor says. The advance distribution of Professor John Bonine’s administrative law exam tested the moral…

Dec 15, 2009 12:51 AM CST

Concerned Divorce Lawyer Follows Client, Witnesses Shooting Aftermath

A concerned divorce lawyer following her client home after a consultation watched in horror as the woman tumbled from the car, shot by her husband who was hiding in the back seat. The client, Ashley Kendall, was reported in critical condition, the Oregonian reports. Oregon lawyer Sharon Mitchell was so…

Nov 20, 2009 1:04 PM CST

State AG Stunned By Win—an Award for a Nonfiction Book He Wrote About Work

John Kroger is used to being successful in life. But the Oregon attorney general said he was stunned last night to hear a presenter start reading a paragraph from a nonfiction book he’d authored, Convictions: A Prosecutor’s Battle Against Mafia Killers, Drug Kingpins, and Enron Thieves. That was when he…

Oct 27, 2009 7:59 PM CDT