What's Happening at Hart Wagner
- Hart Wagner Add Two Associates to Litigation Team
- Appellate Attorney Ruth Casby Named Partner
- Oregon PA's Must Have A Collaboration Agreement in Place No Later Than 12/31/2023
- Trial Attorney Chip Horner Obtains Defense Verdict After Three-Week Trial
- Janet Schroer Recognized by Best Lawyers® as the 2024 “Lawyer of the Year”
Hart Wagner Donates Money To Support Front Line Firefighters
Over the past week our firm has raised over $3,000 that will go directly to support the firefighters in the Santiam Canyon. The money raised will help provide food and care packages for the front line firefighters. The wildfires have caused extreme devastation to our beautiful state, and we are proud to support our brave first responders.
Karen O’Kasey Named 2021 Best Lawyers® “Lawyer Of The Year” in Portland, Oregon
Congratulations to Karen O’Kasey for being recognized by Best Lawyers® as the 2021 “Lawyer of the Year” for Professional Malpractice Law – Defendants.
Only a single lawyer in each practice area and designated metropolitan area is honored as the “Lawyer of the Year,” making this accolade particularly significant. These lawyers are selected based on particularly impressive voting averages received during the peer review assessments.
Receiving this designation reflects the high level of respect a lawyer has earned among other leading lawyers in the same communities and the same practice areas for their abilities, their professionalism, and their integrity.
In addition to the “Lawyer of the Year” award, Karen O’Kasey was also listed in the 2021 Edition of The Best Lawyers in America in the following practice areas:
- Ethics and Professional Responsibility Law
- Legal Malpractice Law – Defendants
- Medical Malpractice Law – Defendants
Since it was first published in 1983, Best Lawyers has become universally regarded as the definitive guide to legal excellence.
Nine Hart Wagner Attorneys Recognized In The 2021 Edition Of Best Lawyers In America®
We would like to congratulate nine of our attorneys that have been recognized and named to the 2021 edition of The Best Lawyers In America®:
Troy Bundy (recognized since 2012)
Health Care Law
Litigation – Health Care
Medical Malpractice Law – Defendants
John Hart (recognized since 2011)
Medical Malpractice Law – Defendants
Personal Injury Litigation – Defendants
Matt Kalmanson (recognized since 2016)
Appellate Practice
Commercial litigation
Litigation – Health Care
Rodney Norton (recognized since 2012)
Ethics and Professional Responsibility Law
Legal Malpractice Law – Defendants
Medical Malpractice Law – Defendants
Professional Malpractice Law – Defendants
Karen O’Kasey (recognized since 2012)
Ethics and Professional Responsibility Law
Legal Malpractice Law – Defendants
Medical Malpractice Law – Defendants
Professional Malpractice Law – Defendants
Aaron Potter (recognized since 2019)
Medical Malpractice Law – Defendants
Janet Schroer (recognized since 2006)
Appellate Practice
Bet-the-Company Litigation
Personal Injury Litigation – Defendants
Professional Malpractice Law – Defendants
Mike Wiswall (recognized since 2012)
Ethics and Professional Responsibility Law
Legal Malpractice Law – Defendants
Medical Malpractice Law – Defendants
Professional Malpractice Law – Defendants
Gordon Welborn (recognized since 2012)
Ethics and Professional Responsibility Law
Legal Malpractice Law – Defendants
Medical Malpractice Law – Defendants
Professional Malpractice Law – Defendants
About Best Lawyers®
Best Lawyers has published their list for over three decades, earning the respect of the profession, the media, and the public as the most reliable, unbiased source of legal referrals. Its first international list was published in 2006 and since then has grown to provide lists in over 75 countries.
Lawyers on The Best Lawyers in America list are divided by geographic region and practice areas. They are reviewed by their peers on the basis of professional expertise, and undergo an authentication process to make sure they are in current practice and in good standing.
Attorney Jack Scholz Selected As Oregon’s Young Lawyer Delegate To The American Bar Association
We’re pleased to announce that associate Jack Scholz has been selected by the Oregon State Bar as its Young Lawyer Delegate to the American Bar Association for a two-year term. Oregon’s ABA delegates serve on the ABA House of Delegates, the policy-making body of the national organization. The ABA House of Delegates convenes twice each year to consider resolutions governing the practice of law throughout the entire country. Pursuant to Oregon State Bar rules, one delegate from Oregon must be a lawyer under 35 years of age, and Hart Wagner is pleased that Jack will be serving in this role until August of 2022. Founded in 1878, the ABA is committed to advancing the rule of law across the United States and beyond by providing practical resources for legal professionals, law school accreditation, model ethics codes, and more.
Team O’Kasey Prevails On Another Motion For Summary Judgment
Karen O’Kasey and Josh Sherman prevailed on summary judgment for the City of North Bend on a complex class action challenge to the city’s Public Safety Fee. The plaintiffs sought an injunction prohibiting the city from collecting the fee on the basis that it was being collected in violation of the city’s charter. After defeating class certification, defendants successfully argued that the fee was valid under the city charter. Moving forward, the City of North Bend can continue to collect the Public Safety Fee to fund its police department.
Karen O’Kasey and Ruth Casby Prevail On Motion For Summary Judgment
Karen O’Kasey and Ruth Casby prevailed yesterday on a motion for summary judgment dismissing a federal lawsuit alleging an employer’s violation of due process. The plaintiff sought damages of $500,000 claiming he was denied constitutional due process protections when he was discharged from his job as Clatskanie School District’s maintenance supervisor. US District Court Judge Marco Hernandez agreed with the defendants’ legal analysis, ruling that plaintiff’s claim had no merit because his at-will employment did not give rise to a constitutionally protected property interest and, as such, his employer did not need to comply with due process protections. This ruling made it unnecessary for the court to consider defendants’ alternative position that plaintiff’s claim failed because he received due process before and after his discharge.
Attorney Janet Schroer Obtains Favorable Result In The Ninth Circuit Court Of Appeals
The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals recently issued a published decision in Barnes v. Routh Crabtree Olsen affirming the Oregon district court’s judgment dismissing plaintiff’s action against a Portland law firm and its attorneys alleging claims under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) and the Unfair Trade Practices Act (UTPA) arising from a judicial foreclosure proceeding. Hart Wagner appellate attorney, Janet Schroer represented the attorney defendants in the appeal. The Ninth Circuit initially affirmed the trial court dismissal in 2018, but thereafter, granted reconsideration in light of the United States Supreme Court’s 2019 decision in Obdusky v. McCarthy & Holtus LLP, 139 S. Ct. 1029 (2019). The Ninth Circuit reviewed the question held open in Obdusky, whether the FDCPA applies to a judicial foreclosure. It held that if a creditor in a judicial foreclosure is simply enforcing a security interest by retaking or forcing a sale of the property, and not seeking any deficiency judgment or to collect any other monetary debt, then the creditor’s actions do not fall within the FDCPA, or the related provision in the UTPA.
Oregon Court of Appeals Reverses Judgment Against Hart Wagner Client
The Oregon Court of Appeals recently reversed a $1.5 million dollar judgment that had been entered against a Hart Wagner client, a bank acting as the trustee for a trust that operated several commercial buildings in downtown Portland. Partner Matt Kalmanson handled the appeal. The trial court had ruled that the bank converted funds from the trust’s beneficiaries by charging them certain fees necessary to manage the building. Mr. Kalmanson convinced the Oregon Court of Appeals to reverse. The Court of Appeals specifically rejected the argument that the plaintiff had established, as a matter of law, that Hart Wagner’s client wrongfully received any funds or charged any improper fees.
Oregon Super Lawyers 2020 Recognizes Hart Wagner Lawyers
Seven individual Hart Wagner attorneys have been recognized by Super Lawyers Magazine in their 2020 Oregon Super Lawyers edition. The publication identifies the most outstanding attorneys in the state, as chosen by their peers and through the research of Super Lawyers, which is a Thomson Reuters business. Notably, Karen O’Kasey and Janet Schroer were recognized for being among the Top 50 attorneys in Oregon, and were included in the Top 25 women lawyers in Oregon.
The following Hart Wagner attorneys were recognized in these designated practice areas:
Troy Bundy – Personal Injury Medical Malpractice: Defense
John Hart – Personal Injury Medical Malpractice: Defense
Rodney Norton – Personal Injury Medical Malpractice: Defense
Karen O’Kasey – Employment Litigation: Defense
Janet Schroer – Appellate
Gordon Welborn – Professional Liability: Defense
Michael Wiswall – Personal Injury Medical Malpractice: Defense
Hart Wagner associates Jack Scholz and Stephanie Kucera, were selected to the 2020 Rising Stars list. Scholz was recognized in the Personal Injury Medical Malpractice: Defense category, and Kucera was honored in the Civil Litigation: Defense category. While up to five percent of the lawyers in the state are named to the Super Lawyers roster, no more than 2.5 percent are named to the Rising Stars list. Each year, the research team at Super Lawyers undertakes a multi-phase selection process that includes a statewide survey of lawyers, independent evaluation of candidates by the attorney-led research staff, a peer review of candidates by practice area, and a good-standing and disciplinary check. The Super Lawyers lists are published nationwide in Super Lawyers magazines and in leading city and regional magazines and newspapers across the country. For more information, visit www.superlawyers.com
Portland Law Firms Supply Oregon Department Of Justice With PPE Masks
Last week 30,000 personal protective masks were delivered to the Oregon Department of Justice. Hart Wagner was one of the six firms that coordinated an effort to purchase and deliver the masks. The firms involved historically are adversaries in court, but agreed to work together to make this very important contribution to provide Oregonians safe access to our courts.