Bad news for Oregon’s legal community: At a recent public Bar meeting, a representative of the agency casually indicated that there were a lot of malpractice claims rolling in from victims of inadequate public defense — due not only to the statewide shortage of such lawyers, but also to the…

Improperly fired Oregon OPDS Executive Director Stephen Singer to receive $380,000 — The public whistleblower lawsuit filed late last year by Stephen Singer — the wrongfully terminated Executive Director of Oregon’s beleaguered Office of Public Defense Services — has apparently been settled, as first reported yesterday in the Oregonian. Singer’s attorneys had asked for more than $2.4 million in damages for his…

Malpractice lawsuit filed by alleged Terry Bean sex abuse victim to be dismissed; civil case against Bean apparently settled in 2022 — It’s difficult to keep track of all the various criminal and civil court cases stemming from the alleged sexual encounter between Terry Bean, his former partner Kiah Lawson, and the minor known by the pseudonym “M.S.G.” in September 2013, but here’s a brief update.

Family of shooting victim seeks $150 million judgment for his wrongful death — Earlier this week, Multnomah Judge Leslie Bottomly permitted the family of shooting victim Freddy Nelson Jr. to file an amended complaint in their wrongful death suit, adding the national retailer Lowe’s Home Centers as an additional defendant, and increasing sixfold the amount sought in damages. Judge Bottomly rejected the original…

Updates from the Freddy Nelson Jr. wrongful death suit — Now that private security guard Logan Gimbel has been found guilty of his second-degree murder of Freddy Nelson Jr., and sentenced to life — or at minimum, 25 years — it’s time to check in with the civil case filed by Nelson’s family in late 2021. The wrongful death suit…

Clear signs of public corruption at the Oregon State Bar — Ever since disgraced former attorney Lori Deveny’s crime spree first came to light, the Oregon State Bar has consistently striven to reduce (or eliminate) the amount that she owes her 135 victims — by allowing her to keep “her cut” of the stolen funds, and steering victims away from lawsuits…

Another Oregon lawyer quietly resigns without consequence — Just months after the state paid $150,000 to settle a lawsuit filed against him — with no acknowledgement of guilt — former Hood River District Attorney John Sewell’s resignation from the practice of law was quietly accepted by the Oregon Supreme Court… also with no admission of guilt. Such a…

Why is Oregon’s mandatory attorney malpractice insurer paying off bad claims? — In Oregon, lawyers in private practice are required to maintain malpractice insurance, supposedly to protect consumers. That sounds great until you realize that the mandatory insurance agent is the Oregon State Bar — the badly-politicized agency that also regulates the attorneys it insures, i.e. a huge conflict of interest.

As significant statutory changes to Oregon’s inadequate public defense system make their way through the legislature and onto the governor’s desk, it’s important to track the progress of the lawsuit filed last fall by improperly-fired Office of Public Defense Services Executive Director Stephen Singer. Singer’s complaint about his mistreatment apparently…