Plea Deal Reached in State Criminal Case Against Lori Deveny

Former Portland, Oregon attorney Lori Deveny — who is facing 92 criminal charges of theft, identity theft, forgery, and criminal mistreatment — apparently reached a deal with prosecutors today to avoid a trial scheduled later this month in Multnomah County Circuit Court. Deveny is believed to have stolen at least $3.2 million from her former clients, many of who were head-injured.

Scott Healy, the Clackamas First Assistant District Attorney who is prosecuting Deveny, said, “Defendant Deveny is going to plead guilty on August 4, 2021, and we are going to set it over for a lengthy open sentencing that will take approximately two weeks, where the Judge will determine the ultimate sentence in the case.”

After today’s status conference, which was not open to the media, Deveny’s case docket reflected the canceled trial and had two new dates on the schedule: the plea hearing for August 4 and a sentencing hearing, spread across nine days in January 2022.

Despite stealing millions through forgery from her former clients , many of whom were head-injured, Deveny was never even required to pay bail for her release.

One of Deveny’s victims stated, “I was really looking forward to testifying against her. Two weeks ago [I] received and confirmed my subpoena.” That victim added that she had not yet been contacted by prosecutors or victims services or notified about the plea deal.

Deveny still faces 24 criminal charges in federal court — a seven-day trial is calendared for August 16 of this year.

Once a well-respected personal injury attorney and former president of the influential Oregon Women Lawyers speciality bar association, Deveny’s fall from grace has been breathtaking, and cushioned only by allies at the Oregon State Bar who failed to adequately protect the public, even after she resigned her license.

Further bad news for Deveny: a motion was filed today in Lane County, to unseal material related to her conduct in the Terry Bean sex abuse case. Deveny was appointed, well outside of usual practice, to be the “guardian ad litem” for the alleged victim in the matter. The motion to unseal was filed as Deveny was in chambers discussing her criminal plea.

Deveny’s criminal defense attorney did not respond to requests for comments.