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

Davis Wright Settles Malpractice Suit for $30M Despite ‘Strong’ Position

A major Pacific Northwest-based law firm has agreed to settle for $30 million securities fraud and legal malpractice claims brought by investors in a failed company that oversaw dozens of senior housing complexes. Their Oregon state-court case contends Davis Wright & Tremaine and two other law firms prepared documents for…

Oct 22, 2009 9:46 PM CDT

Definition of ‘Service Animal’ a Hot Issue in Pet-Friendly Portland, Ore.

It may seem like a no-brainer that dogs don’t belong in a supermarket. But in pet-friendly Portland, Ore., the question is controversial enough to require state officials to weigh in with a new campaign intended to educate the public about what is and is not a service animal, reports the…

Sep 3, 2009 7:32 PM CDT

After Ore. Judge Nixes Law Against Sidewalk-Sitting, Cops Try New Tactics

After an Oregon state-court judge ruled in June that a Portland ordinance banning individuals from sitting or lying on the sidewalk was unconstitutional, authorities are reportedly trying new tactics to attempt to keep vagrants and the homeless from disturbing the city’s more upscale shoppers and pedestrians. In a sting operation…

Aug 7, 2009 12:32 AM CDT

Ore. Woman Convicted of Feeding Bears Must Leave Home for 3 Years

A 61-year-old Oregon woman who was convicted of feeding wild bears at her home, even after neighbors reportedly warned her not to do so, has been sentenced to stay away from her own home for three years. As a special condition of her three-year probation for chasing and harassing wildlife,…

Jun 26, 2009 8:37 PM CDT

26 Former Foster Pepper Lawyers Form New Oregon Firm

Breaking away from Seattle-based Foster Pepper after more than two decades of affiliated practice, 26 lawyers in Portland, Ore., have hung out their own shingle this month and begun honing their own brand. Now the city’s 19th-largest law firm, Roberts Kaplan has created a new website that features photos of…

Jun 23, 2009 5:07 PM CDT

Receiver Sues Davis Wright for $400M, Claims Firm Aided Client’s Ponzi Plan

The receiver for a retirement home operator claims in a $400 million lawsuit that Davis Wright & Tremaine helped the company operate a Ponzi scheme. The suit filed last week in an Oregon federal court claims the law firm played a critical role in creating and “propping up” Sunwest Management,…

Jun 17, 2009 5:34 PM CDT

IP Attorney Produces Geeky Rap Album

When intellectual property attorney Anthony McNamer made his break from BigLaw, he didn’t simply hang out his own shingle. In addition to forming McNamer and Company, the Portland, Ore., practitioner also produced a rap album that offers a humorous take on the genre’s traditional tough-guy image, reports Above the Law.…

May 27, 2009 8:03 PM CDT

‘Extremely Bored’ Juror Walks Out, May Find Jail Time Mind-Numbing, Too

An “extremely bored” Oregon juror “just couldn’t take it” anymore and went AWOL at lunchtime after half a day in Washington County Circuit Court, he told the police officers who tracked him down on May 7. But that excuse didn’t go over well with Judge Gayle Nachtigal, who issued an…

May 20, 2009 7:56 PM CDT

Hipster Cities Like Portland Attract Lawyers Willing to Work as Paralegals

Portland, Ore., is among the cities attracting young well-educated “hipsters” willing to overlook a tough job market to live in a popular place. And some of the new arrivals are lawyers. Portland, Seattle and Austin, Texas, don’t have enough jobs for all their young and educated migrants, but the places…

May 18, 2009 12:53 PM CDT

Feral Pig Puts Real-Life Capt. Ahab Figure in Potential Criminal Pickle

For three years, Jody Cyr has been seeking without success to kill a feral pig on his 400-acre property in Coos County, Oregon. Now, adding insult to injury, the real-life Captain Ahab figure is afraid state lawmakers will make make his futile hunt even more frustrating. Proposed legislation would make…

Apr 14, 2009 12:28 AM CDT

Lawyer Knits to Pass Time During Meeting

Mar 2, 2009 2:00 AM CST