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The MBA is committed to access to justice and the strength of the judiciary. With that in mind, the MBA is supporting the Metropolitan Public Defender Immigrant Protection Project. This project will allow some of the most vulnerable residents in our area access to the legal help they need in order to participate in the protections that our legal system provides.

 

As an immigrant to this country, the rule of law and the strength of the judiciary were a shining beacon. After living in several countries where the rule of law is nonexistent, and where judges were for sale to the highest bidder, the idea that having a wrong righted was available to any person living in this country was breathtaking. Through the years I have learned that our judicial system is not perfect, but is a work in progress where the ideals are strong but in some areas, the implementation is weak. One of those areas is access to justice. Our judges are not for sale to the highest bidder, but sometimes, those who do not have the resources needed may not receive equal protection under our laws.

 

A whole population comes to mind when discussing access to justice: undocumented residents of our state. With increased ICE activity, especially at our courthouse, our judicial system is being compromised. Defendants in criminal cases, even when innocent, face extreme risk in showing up at courthouses. Victims of crimes, financial and physical, are afraid to access the judicial system due to fear of deportation if they have to appear in court.

 

If you would like further information, learn more about the Immigrant Protection Project here. For additional details, contact Metro Public Defender Executive Director Lane Borg at lborg@mpdlaw.com.

 

Sincerely,

 

Rima I. Ghandour

Director, Multnomah Bar Association Board

rima@ghandourlaw.com

The 15th Annual WinterSmash was held on Saturday, February 4, 2017 at AMF Pro 300 Lanes. This family-friendly bowling event raised over $16,000 for Multnomah CourtCare. See event photos here. 

 

Thank you to the WinterSmash sponsors.

 

King Pin Sponsor

Harrang Long Gary Rudnick P.C.

 

Life of the Party Sponsors

Mike & Keri Bloom

Buchanan Angeli Altschul & Sullivan LLP 

Gearing Rackner & McGrath LLP

Stephen Houze - Attorney

Markowitz Herbold PC

Multnomah Law Library

Smith Freed Eberhard, PC

 

Really Fun Sponsors

Bodyfelt Mount LLP

Lori E. Deveny

Hart Wagner LLP

Lissa Kaufman Law

Littler Mendelson

Miller Nash Graham & Dunn LLP

Paulson Coletti

PLF Excess Program

Yates Family Law PC 

 

Fun Sponsors

Aldrich Benefits, LP

Aon Hewitt

Barran Liebman LLP

Chernoff Vilhauer, LLP

Cosgrave Vergeer Kester LLP

Davis Wright Tremaine LLP

Farleigh Wada Witt

Folawn Alterman & Richardson LLP

Hodgkinson Street Mepham LLC

Conrad G. Hutterli, Attorney at Law

NALS of Portland (Oregon)

Vangelisti Law Firm LLC

Williams Kastner Greene & Markley

 

Raffle Donors 

AMF Pro 300 Lanes

Farleigh Wada Witt

Ghandour Law, LLC

Jason Hirshon and Paul Trinchero

Legal Northwest Staffing Specialists

LNS Reporting

Portland Marriott Downtown Waterfront

Portland Timbers

Red Star Tavern

Johanna Ware and Tony Kullen

Widmer Brothers Brewing

Wyse Kadish LLP

by Pamela B. Hubbs

Office and Foundation Administrator

 

With a Civic Education Grant from the MBF, MetroEast Community Media has created and produced "Legal Logic: Race and the Law." This roundtable discussion highlights the issues that surround race and the judiciary. Moderated by Bonnie Richardson, Folawn Alterman & Richardson, guests include Hon. Adrienne Nelson, Multnomah County Circuit Court, Simon Whang, Deputy City Attorney, Portland and Ramon Pagan, The Law Office of Ramon W. Pagan. Legal Logic is a public affairs style mini-series on cable TV and available online. Watch "Race and the Law" now or check the schedule below to view the program on cable TV.

 

These will all air in Portland and East County, the Channel 11 airing will reach Multnomah and Washington County (cable broadcast only).

 

• Friday 12/5/14 6PM Comcast 29
• Monday 12/8/14 6:30PM Comcast 29
• Saturday 12/13/14  2PM Comcast 11

Support the MBF when you shop at Amazon. The online retailer will donate .5% of the price of your everyday purchases to the Multnomah Bar Foundation when you shop using Amazon Smile. Click here to sign up.

Amazon will donate 0.5% of the price of your eligible Amazon purchases to the Multnomah Bar Foundation whenever you shop on AmazonSmile.   To participate, simply bookmark and use this link whenever you do any shopping with Amazon. Thank you for your support!

Learn more about AmazonSmile

According to a comprehensive analysis conducted by the American Bar Association, annual MBA dues were once again found to be lowest in the nation. Findings included in the 2013 State and Local Bar Membership, Administration and Finance Survey conclude that, of the voluntary local bars in the country with 4,000+ members, the MBA's annual fee of $120 ranked the most affordable. 

 

Not a member? Join today, or click here to learn more about the benefits of membership.

Michael A. Greenlick has been appointed by Governor John Kitzhaber to the Multnomah County Circuit Court bench.

Greenlick was one of 18 candidates named "highly qualified" by the MBA after the Judicial Screening Committee completed its review of applicants for the judicial vacancy created by the appointment of Judge Michael McShane for the Federal Bench.

Oregon State Court vacancies which occur during current judges' terms are filled by gubernatorial appointment. At the end of the appointee's term, he or she must stand for election to the judicial position.

The JSC is comprised of lawyer and public members. The committee conducts background checks and makes its recommendations based upon written criteria to ensure merit selection.

The MBA's letter to the Governor states: "The MBA takes its screening responsibility very seriously and has served many governors over the decades. Our Judicial Screening Committee is a diverse group of respected practitioners who conduct a confidential and thorough assessment of candidates by objective criteria."

In alphabetical order below is the MBA list of "Highly Qualified" candidates:

1. Andrea Anderly*
2. Sibylle Baer
3. Christopher Clayhold
4. Eric Dahlin*
5. Lynne (Peterson) Dickison*
6. Rodney Grafe*
7. Michael Greenlick
8. Charles Henderson*
9. Lisabeth Kaufman*
10. Andrew Lavin
11. Henry Lazenby Jr.
12. Christopher Ramras
13. James Rice
14. Timothy Smith
15. Diane Sykes*
16. Steven Todd
17. Todd Van Rysselberghe*
18. Geoffrey Wren

The eight candidates with an (*) are those candidates who have already been included on the Highly Qualified list.

MBA Criteria for Judicial Applicants
The committee shall use the following criteria, each of which shall receive equal weight, for evaluating candidates for permanent or pro tem judicial positions:
A. Integrity and character;
B. Judgment and intellectual capacity;
C. Experience including, but not limited to, trial experience;
D. Industry and diligence;
E. Judicial temperament, including whether the candidate would be courteous and considerate of counsel, parties, witnesses and jurors and whether the candidate is even tempered;
F. Professional ability and knowledge of the law;
G. Non-discriminatory attitude and behavior regarding, but not limited to, race, ethnic origin, gender, age, disability and sexual orientation;
H. Contributions the candidate would make to the quality, character and diverse composition of the judiciary. The term "diverse" refers to a protected class and socio-economic background. It should carry equal, but not elevated, weight when deciding which candidates should be deemed the highly qualified applicants;
I. General reputation in the community;
J. Civic and community activities;
K. Any other relevant facts that affect the applicant's ability to serve competently in a judicial capacity.

These criteria were developed from source materials, including those from the American Judicature Society.

The 107th Annual Meeting and Dinner and Judges Reception was held on May 28. Members of the legal community were recognized including Thomas W. Brown, the 2013 Professionalism Award recipient. See photos from the event here.

Cocktail Reception Sponsor

BERGMAN DRAPER LADENBURG PLLC

Wine Sponsors
LexisNexis
NAEGELI Deposition and Trial and D'Amore Law Group
 
Affinity Sponsors
Bank of the Cascades
LawPay
Legal Northwest Staffing Specialists
LexisNexis
NAEGELI Deposition and Trial
Northwest Employee Benefits, Inc.
UPS
 
Major Sponsors
Bullard Law
Harrang Long Gary Rudnick, P.C.
Professional Liability Fund - Excess Program

by Pamela B. Hubbs

Office and Foundation Administrator

 

Visit MBF Civic Education to view the videos.

 

The Multnomah Bar Foundation and MetroEast Community Media have produced a six-part video series on democracy issues and it is getting noticed!

 

Voting 101 was awarded first place in the Democracy in Action category at the 2013 Hometown Media Awards, a national competition that recognized the best community media programming of 2012. Voting 101 is both a short video with the message "Register, Engage, Vote" and an "I vote because" PSA. The target audience for this video is students, young voters and new citizens. One of 800 entries received in seven categories, the award-winning video was produced with the participation of The Bus Project and League of Women Voters of Portland. Hometown Media Awards is sponsored by the Alliance for Community Media, a public, education and government channel advocate that promotes civic engagement through community media.

 

The Court System and The Courthouse videos took top honors at the 2012 National Association of Telecommunications Officers and Advisors Government Programming Awards. The Court System was awarded first place in the Public Education category and The Courthouse was awarded second place in the Community Awareness category. These videos are just under 30 minutes in length and include MBA volunteers in interviews and as actors.

 

Newly released are Civic Engagement 101 and Civil Discourse 101.

On Saturday, February 23, the 11th Annual WinterSmash raised over $18,000 for Multnomah CourtCare with over 200 people gathering at 20th Century Lanes for a fun evening of bowling.

 

See photos from the event here.