State Court Filing Fees Will Change May 1, 2010

Legislative changes in 2010 that become effective May 1, 2010, will change some state court filing fee amounts. (Chapter 107, Oregon Laws 2010, HB 3696). The Oregon Judicial Department’s official announcement is here.

Circuit court fees vary by county depending on local fee assessments. If a court has not posted its fee schedule on its webpage, please contact the circuit court directly for information.

2010 Judicial Voters Guide Now Available

There are 57 esteemed bar members seeking judicial office in this May's primary, either for the first time, or for new six-year terms. One of those races, between Allan Arlow and Jack Landau, is for the Oregon Supreme Court position being vacated by Justice Michael Gillette. Several others are contested races for circuit court positions around the state. And still others are for incumbent judges running unopposed, but are no less critical to the health and vitality of our bar and our state.

Several years ago, the Oregon State Bar started its Judicial Voters Guide project to provide a mechanism for judicial candidates to share detailed background about their professional and civic histories. This year’s Voters Guide is available on the bar’s website.  Feel free to share it with anybody interested in the judicial system in Oregon.

The Voters Guide also includes information on the bar’s 2010 elections and preference polls, which included a young lawyer delegate seat on the ABA House of Delegates and several seats on the bar’s House of Delegates.  The bar’s results can be found here.

Legislative Proposals Now Available for Review

The Public Affairs Committee received input from bar members regarding legislative proposals submitted by OSB groups at the Legislative Comment Forum and welcomes you to review the proposals here. 

If you have any questions about any of the proposals or about the OSB legislative process, please feel free to email any of the Public Affairs Committee members or the Public Affairs department staff: Director, Susan Grabe; Legislative Attorney, David Nebel; or Staff Attorney, Matt Shields.

Save the Date – OMLA Summer Social and Auction

The Oregon Minority Lawyers Association (OMLA) asks you to save the date of Thursday, July 22 for the 11th Annual Summer Social and Fundraising Auction at the World Trade Center in Portland.  The OMLA auction raises money to provide scholarships to minority law school graduates who are dedicated to serving the people of Oregon.

OMLA is a non-profit organization committed to promoting fair and just treatment of all people under the law, regardless of race or color, through advocacy and education.  For more details on this event, click here to visit the OMLA website.

OSB and CEJ Representatives Return from
ABA Event in Washington, DC

A delegation of representatives from the Oregon State Bar and the Campaign for Equal Justice recently returned from Washington DC, after participating in the American Bar Association’s “Day in Washington”.

The group, led by OSB Board of Governors President Kathleen Evans and President-Elect Stephen Piucci, met with members of Oregon’s Congressional delegation to discuss several important issues. In addition to advocating on behalf of improved legal services funding, this year the group was engaged in educating Oregon’s elected federal leaders on the potential impact of proposed financial reform on Oregon lawyers. The Bar and ABA have previously expressed concern that some provisions of the current proposals could draw private practitioners under the regulation of the proposed “Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection”.

The bar will continue to monitor these issues and to engage with our Congressional delegation as this legislation moves forward.

Pictured left to right: Kathleen Evans, Stephen Piucci, Sandra Hansberger,
David Thornburgh , Teresa Schmid, and Susan Grabe.