A Hybrid Work World Firms Advised to Consider Legal Implications of Employees Working at Home Long Term - Oregon State Bar
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FEBRUARY/MARCH 2022
A Hybrid
Work World
Firms Advised to Consider
Legal Implications of
Employees Working
at Home Long Term
#9
OREGON STATE BAR BULLETIN FEURUARY/MARCH 2022 VOLUME 82 • NUMBER 5
As Oregon law firms enter their third year of
dealing with COVID-related changes to how
they conduct business, it’s becoming clear that
hybrid work environments are the new normal.
But, it’s not as easy as simply declaring your
iStock.com/Aleutie
firm is hybrid. There are tax considerations,
employment rules, technology concerns and
liability issues. Melody Finnemore reports
beginning on page 22.
FEATURES
22 A Hybird Work World
Legal Considerations for Firms Continuing
Long-Term At-Home Work
By Melody Finnemore
28 A Sense of Satisfaction
Judges Consistently Score Highest in Job Fulfillment
By Cliff Collins
COLUMNS
7 From the Chief Justice 32 Profiles in the Law
Full Speed Ahead: As the World Turns:
Courts Continue to Address Antonia De Meo Finds
Safety, Access to Justice New International
By Chief Justice Martha L. Challenges
Walters By Janay Haas
15 Bar Counsel 38 Law & Life
Client Security Fund Still Going Strong: Harry
Report: 2021 Flips Recent A. Slack Jr. Publishes First
Upward Trend Novel, Reflects on Career
By Courtney Dippel By Jennelle Meeks Barton
and Jesse Wm. Barton
17 The Legal Writer
Finessing Gendered
Pronouns: Using the
Singular ‘They’ Clearly
By Suzanne E. Rowe
The Oregon State Bar Bulletin (ISSN 0030-4816)
is the official publication of the Oregon State Bar. DEPARTMENTS
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LETTERS
say the judge had ruled against us and had
awarded over $20,000 in attorney’s fees. We
were dumbfounded and overwhelmed by
the size of the award. What happened next
was equally extraordinary. Carl said he had
discussed the arbitrary nature of the award
with his partners and he had been autho-
rized to ask if the firm could represent us on
appeal without fee, assuming the risk of any
further adverse award!
Carl was the very model of what we
wanted as an attorney and a friend. We miss
him for those and the many other reasons
specified in your fine memorial, for which,
iStock.com/marchmeena29
thank you very much. n
Arthur B. LaFrance,
professor and dean emeritus
Lewis & Clark Law School
Our Editorial Policy
All articles published in the
Remembering Carl Neil
Bulletin must be germane to the
I am writing in response to the memo- law, lawyers, the practice of law,
rial comments in the most recent Bulletin the courts and judicial system, legal
concerning Carl Neil. While dean of Lewis education or the Oregon State Bar.
& Clark Law School, I became acquainted All opinions, statements and conclu-
with Carl as he received the annual adjunct sions expressed in submitted articles
teacher award for his admiralty course, appearing in the Bulletin are those of
standing out in a stellar group of fine prac- the author(s) and not of the editor,
titioners who were also fine teachers. The other editorial staff, employees of the
annual student evaluations were always Oregon State Bar, or members of the
stellar. Board of Governors.
We became good friends and tennis Publication of any article is not
partners. He was ferociously competitive. to be deemed an endorsement of the
One of our usual opponents commented opinions, statements and conclusions
one day – after Carl berated me for subpar expressed by the author(s). Publica-
play – that he wasn’t sure whether it was tion of an advertisement is not an en-
better to be Carl’s partner or opponent. dorsement of that product or service.
The comments about Carl’s public Any content attributed to the
service and pro bono practice were accu- Oregon State Bar or the Board of
rate, as my wife and I can attest through Governors is labeled with an OSB
personal experience. He represented us in logo at the top of the page or within
an interstate custody dispute, which had a advertising to indicate its source or
small side issue in Oregon, leading to a brief attribution.
hearing. Shortly thereafter, Carl called to
HOW TO REACH US: Call (800) 452-8260, or in the Portland area call (503) 620-0222. Email addresses and voicemail extension numbers for Bulletin staff
are: Michael Austin, editor, maustin@osbar.org (ext. 340); Kateri Walsh, communications director, kwalsh@osbar.org (ext. 406); and Spencer Glantz,
classified ad rates and details, advertising@osbar.org (ext. 356), fax: (503) 684-1366. Display advertising and Lawyer Announcements: Contact LLM Publications
at (503) 445-2240, law@llmpubs.com.
FEBRUARY/MARCH 2022 • OREGON STATE BAR BULLETIN 5
FROM THE CHIEF JUSTICE
Courts Continue to Address Safety, Access to Justice
Full Speed Ahead By Chief Justice Martha L. Walters
eased, I issued a new Chief Justice Order istrators to think creatively about lessons
(CJO), CJO 21-025, that lifted social dis- learned both in our state and throughout
tancing requirements and left determina- the country, so that we can decide how best
tions about the mode of circuit court pro- to incorporate advances and continue to
ceedings to the presiding judges. Then, focus on the best way to serve the public.
when the delta variant emerged in early I call that project “Moving Further For-
fall, I re-imposed social distancing require- ward,” and you can expect an opportunity
ments in public areas of court facilities. to provide us with your thoughts, opinions
By late November 2021, more than 92% and suggestions.
of our judges and court staff had been vac- We need to schedule and hold more
cinated against COVID-19, and those who jury trials. In 2021, we conducted almost
had received exceptions to the vaccine 1,200 jury trials – 60% more than in 2020.
mandate were required to perform twice- Even during the time that social distanc-
weekly testing. In recognition of that ef- ing requirements have been in effect, our
fort and with COVID cases decreasing, I judges and staff have been able to conduct
Bulletin file photo
again lifted statewide social distancing re- a remarkable number of in-person jury tri-
quirements, but also authorized presiding als. Nevertheless, we have a large number
judges to require social distancing in public of cases, both criminal and civil, for which
areas of their court facilities through Jan. jury trials are long overdue. We are looking
Chief Justice Martha L. Walters
31, 2022. Just over a month later, after the at creative ways to attack the problem. We
H
omicron variant was detected in Oregon, I will continue to explore the use of remote
ere we are in a new year! I hope issued a new Chief Justice Order, CJO 21- jury selection and conducting entire jury
it is a happy one, but even if 2022 058, which extended presiding judge au- trials by remote means, but we are focusing
brings some tough times, I know thority to require social distancing through on resolving as many cases, and scheduling
that it also will bring opportunities to think June 30, 2022. and holding as many in-person jury trials,
anew about our profession and how we can Many presiding judges have exercised as we can. When social distancing require-
better serve the public. that authority and have reinstituted social ments are relaxed, our capacity to do so will
I am writing to give you an idea about distancing requirements. Those require- increase.
what you can expect from me, the Oregon ments protect the health of court users, but COVID also has had an effect on our
Supreme Court and the judicial branch in they also significantly limit the ability to public defense system. Currently, public
the coming months. There is a lot brewing, conduct jury trials and other in-person pro- defenders have high caseloads, and it has
and I’ll cover the following topics: ceedings. As the risk presented by the omi- been difficult to find lawyers to represent
1. Trial and Appellate Court Operations cron variant subsides and social distancing all those who are in need. COVID is not the
no longer is needed, courts will be in a bet- only reason for the challenges that public
2. Our Strategic Campaign
ter position to hold more in-person proceed- defenders face. The situation has been long
3. Supreme Court Consideration of Bar ings, and we are poised and eager to do so. in the making, and it will not be fixed over-
Proposals on Paraprofessionals and That does not mean, however, that night. We are working with OPDS and jus-
Lawyer Licensing when restrictions are eased, our trial courts tice system partners to find short- and long-
will necessarily return to pre-COVID ways term solutions, and we need your support in
Trial and Appellate Court of operating. COVID gave us an opportu- that effort. One step we can take, together,
Operations nity to make technological advances and is to resolve pending cases when resolution
Let’s begin with an update in our opera- try new approaches, and we will undoubt- is appropriate. Presiding judges are finding
tions in light of the COVID-19 pandemic … edly want to continue conducting some creative ways to conduct settlement negoti-
but first some background. In June 2021, proceedings by remote means. I am asking ations, and I encourage your participation.
when it appeared that the pandemic had the presiding judges and trial court admin- In addition, although I recognize that it is
FEBRUARY/MARCH 2022 • OREGON STATE BAR BULLETIN 7
only a small patch for a big problem, I have
issued a call for help from those of you who
are qualified to represent people accused of
crimes. As I said in that plea, I understand
that this is a big ask, but the need is great:
As a judicial system and as members
of the legal profession, we must
ensure that peoples’ fundamental
constitutional rights to counsel are
met, and we desperately need every
available lawyer to be part of the
solution.
If you have other suggestions to address
the immediate need, please let me know.
On the appellate front, I am proud to in-
form you that in the Oregon Supreme Court
we are meeting our goal to issue the majority
of our decisions within 180 days from oral ar-
gument. Also, the Oregon Court of Appeals
has made real progress in reducing its pend-
ing caseload. In addition, the Court of Ap-
peals has announced a potential temporary
appellate rule amendment to permit it to is-
sue nonprecedential opinions. The Court of
Appeals hopes that this change will allow it
to act expeditiously while also providing par-
ties with an explanation of the court’s rea-
soning in their cases.
The draft rule is available on the Court
of Appeals webpage at https://www.courts.
oregon.gov/courts/appellate/coa/Pages/
default.aspx. Interested people can send
comments to COA.Rule.Comment@ojd.
state.or.us until March 31.
Oregon Judicial Department
Strategic Campaign
In 2020, with the assistance of many
stakeholders, including the Oregon State
Bar, we adopted a two-year strategic cam-
paign to guide the work of the Oregon Ju-
dicial Department (OJD). In that campaign,
we made four commitments to the people of
Oregon and undertook 19 initiatives to fulfill
them. Thank you to the members of the bar
who participated in developing and carrying
out those initiatives. We extended the cam-
paign for an additional year. You can find
our full report and plans for the coming year
at https://www.courts.oregon.gov/about/
Pages/reports-measures.aspx.
Here are some highlights:
Commitment 1: Improve services and
outcomes for people who are under-
served, vulnerable or marginalized.
Our planned work on Commitment 1 is
54% complete.
8 OREGON STATE BAR BULLETIN • FEBRUARY/MARCH 2022
• Initiative 1.1 — Behavioral Health.
We secured statutory changes
and resources to improve Or-
egon’s behavioral health system.
We enhanced our data collection,
launched a newsletter (The Inter-
sect) and convened a behavioral
health summit with more than 200
participants! We are still in the pro-
cess of drafting performance mea-
sures for specialty courts and will
be updating content for an aid and
assist summit, as well as developing
proposals for statutory revisions
addressing civil commitment and
mental health diversion.
• Initiative 1.2 — Fines and Fees. We
reduced the burdens of fines and
fees by making it easier for people
to request modifications and waiv-
ing payment-plan fees. We also have
submitted a bill for consideration
in the 2022 legislative session to
further advance that objective.
• Initiative 1.3 — Conservatorships.
We secured grant funding to con-
duct an assessment of the protec-
tive proceeding framework. We are
moving forward on that assessment
and in launching a pilot project.
• Initiative 1.4 — Juvenile Delinquency.
We secured resources to improve
our practices and outcomes in
juvenile delinquency cases through
the multi-disciplinary stakeholder
Juvenile Delinquency Improve-
ment Project ( JDIP). We created a
JDIP Advisory Committee and will
be working to develop, distribute
and analyze data, performance and
outcome measures.
• Initiative 1.5 — Problem Solving
Courts. We assisted Lincoln, Coos
and Harney counties in developing
family treatment courts; obtained
a federal grant to provide support
for family treatment courts; and
are presenting a report to the 2022
Legislative Assembly for release
of state funds for that purpose. We
created dashboards to highlight the
work of our specialty courts and to
help us develop data and criteria for
evaluating their performance. We
will be working to develop a peer
review program and a framework
for specialty court certification.
FEBRUARY/MARCH 2022 • OREGON STATE BAR BULLETIN 9
• Initiative 1.6 — Pretrial Release. We
secured passage of legislation and
funding to restructure Oregon’s
pretrial release system to reduce re-
liance on security release (cash bail)
and rely instead on any risk posed
by release. We will be developing
county options for implementa-
tion consistent with chief justice
guidelines, providing training and
monitoring effectiveness.
Commitment 2: Eliminate barriers to
access to justice.
Our planned work on Commitment 2 is
74% complete.
• Initiative 2.1 — Self-represented liti-
gants. Remote facilitation services
have been expanded. We developed
legislation and received funding to
support a centralized remote fa-
cilitation program in child support
cases. We are working with the OSB
and legal aid partners to create and
obtain funding (including from the
Legislature) for an online portal to
allow easy, one-stop access to legal
information and resources. We are
developing online chatbot tools
to expand our ability to answer
questions efficiently. Expanding our
suite of statewide forms continues,
including forms in an interactive on-
line format with electronic submis-
sion to the court.
• Initiative 2.2 — Technology. We de-
veloped user guides to help people
participate in remote proceedings,
implemented an electronic central
violations bureau (so people can
seek fine reductions online rather
than having to call courts) and
moved to a Voice Over Internet
Protocol (VOIP) phone system to
reduce costs and better connect our
courts and offices.
• Initiative 2.3 — Interpreters. We in-
tegrated remote interpretation ser-
vices into our remote proceedings,
provided education and supported
certification. We will continue to
develop a recruitment, hiring and
promotion outreach plan, as well as
pilot a Spanish Interpreter Appren-
tice program.
• Initiative 2.4 — Adequate Resources.
We obtained significant resources
to improve our court staffing to
10 OREGON STATE BAR BULLETIN • FEBRUARY/MARCH 2022keep courts open and responsive.
We surveyed our courts’ needs and
distributed resources accordingly.
We are in the process of determining
needs for ADA compliance, staffing,
and life and safety improvements.
Commitment 3: Listen and respond to
our communities through outreach and
engagement.
Our planned work on Commitment 3 is
73% complete.
• Initiative 3.1 — Community Out-
reach and Engagement. We engaged
lawyers and other partners and
stakeholders in our responses to the
COVID-19 pandemic. We updated
our access and fairness survey, and
secured funding to support com-
munity outreach and enhanced
equity, diversity and inclusion
(EDI) efforts.
• Initiative 3.2 — Transparency and
Public Education. We developed
data dashboards and other tools to
improve management, transpar-
ency and reporting. We distributed
legislative fact sheets and devel-
oped social media and web page
proposals, which are in the review
process. We plan to continue to
develop communication strategies
to improve transparency and public
awareness.
• Initiative 3.3 — Performance Mea-
sures. We created data sets and are
developing dashboards for legisla-
tively approved key performance
measures and other matters of inter-
est to our courts, including access
to justice, collection rate, effective
use of jurors, drug court recidivism,
retention rate, time to judgment en-
try, trial date certainty, behavioral
health, specialty courts, language
access services and pretrial release.
• Initiative 3.4 — Office of Public De-
fense Services (OPDS). We worked
to assist OPDS in measuring attor-
ney workload, and we will continue
to assist OPDS in its transition to an
in-house data analysis model.
• Initiative 3.5 — Sound Financial
Footing. We received legislative
support for additional staff, judges,
services and supplies, and capital
construction projects in the 2021
legislative session.
FEBRUARY/MARCH 2022 • OREGON STATE BAR BULLETIN 11Commitment 4: Equity, diversity and public and clients alike. They worked tire-
inclusion lessly toward achievement of our strategic
Our planned work on Commitment 4 is campaign commitments and initiatives.
75% complete. With your continued dedication, I am
• Initiative 4.1 — Improved Experience. convinced that we will be able to complete
We provided courts with a video to our strategic campaign by the close of 2022
show to prospective jurors on un- and engage in an open process to decide on
conscious bias, launched Signature our focus for 2023-24. I know that our cam-
Counter Experience training, which paign might not affect your daily practice,
ensures that litigants have a positive but I hope you view your role as lawyers to
experience at our court counters, include participation in improving our sys-
and secured funding to begin demo- tem of justice and make it accessible to all.
graphic data collection. We are in the
Supreme Court Consideration
process of developing a project plan
of Bar Proposals
for the collection of that data and
assisting courts in developing local In December 2021, the bar submitted
EDI teams. to the Oregon Supreme Court its proposal
to license paraprofessionals. The intent is
• Initiative 4.2 — Court Security to provide specific types of assistance to
Personnel. We conducted a survey the large number of people in family-law
to identify training needs and are in and landlord-tenant cases who generally do
the process of reviewing that data. not hire lawyers to represent them. The Su-
We are planning to extend the Sig- preme Court has reviewed the bar’s propos-
nature Counter Experience to court al and will give it further consideration after
security personnel and to work with receiving the benefit of additional public
the Oregon State Sheriff ’s Associa- comment and proposal development.
tion to develop training modules for
In December 2021, the Board of Bar Ex-
EDI and cultural competency.
aminers presented the Supreme Court with
• Initiative 4.3 — Workplace Collabo- a report on two proposed methods that the
ration. We launched the Workday court may want to consider, in addition to
learning management system and the Uniform Bar Examination, for use in
will be collaborating to develop and assessing the qualifications of applicants
deliver new content. to the Oregon State Bar. The board also
• Initiative 4.4 — Statewide Core Cur- has answered questions that the court had
riculum. We updated the New Em- about the proposed methods. In January
ployee Orientation and conducted 2022, the court discussed that report and
it virtually. We will be developing a asked that the bar continue to develop the
remote procedural justice curricu- proposals for further consideration by the
lum and toolkit, and conducting court at a later time.
leadership sessions. The court appreciates the thoughts,
opinions and suggestions that the bar and
It is hard to believe that we accom-
its members, the Board of Bar Examiners,
plished all we did in the face of the pan-
and the court have received on both topics.
demic. How did we do it? First, we have
The court understands the magnitude of the
Oregon lawyers a unified state court system and statewide
changes that are contemplated and contin-
supporting civil legal aid Oregon eCourt as a foundation for our
ues to appreciate hearing your thoughts and
system-wide operations. Second, we set a
programs statewide ideas.
course for system-wide improvement and
held to it, explicitly charting and measuring I hope that this report provides you
our progress. Third, we engaged in a com- with some idea of the exciting work that lies
prehensive legislative effort to explain the ahead. Together we can make a meaningful
public’s need for justice services and how difference in the lives of thousands of Or-
e r critical it is that we have adequate staffing to egonians who depend on us and make our
Campaign for
meet those needs. We navigated three leg- system of justice more just. Thank you for
Equal Justice
your dedication to that end. Onward! n
JUSTICE islative sessions, and the Legislature passed
six of seven OJD policy bills and fully fund-
ed OJD’s budget for the first time in recent Hon. Martha L. Walters is the chief justice
memory. Fourth, OJD judges and staff, and of the Oregon Supreme Court. Provide feed-
www.cej-oregon.org members of the bar, showed real gumption back at CJOFeedback@ojd.state.or.us.
and went above and beyond in serving the
12 OREGON STATE BAR BULLETIN • FEBRUARY/MARCH 2022BRIEFS
The adoption of a nonprecedential Oregon lacks meaningful diversity, and that
opinion form will bring the court’s practices litigants and lawyers should be able to choose
in line with the practices of most, if not all, mediators from a broad spectrum of diverse
other intermediate appellate courts. These identities and practice areas. OMDP seeks
other intermediate appellate courts employ to ensure the equal access to justice that is
nonprecedential opinions to efficiently re- essential for credible resolution of disputes
solve most of the cases presented to them. outside of trial by training and supporting
The court anticipates that the adoption of a mediators from diverse backgrounds. For
nonprecedential opinion option will allow information about how to support this proj-
it to continue to reduce the time between ect or to participate in future training oppor-
oral argument/case submission and case tunities, visit omdp.org or contact omdp@
resolution in a manner that is consistent richardsonwright.com.
with the court’s objective of resolving the
Lopez to be Honored As
disputes presented to it under the rule of
Legal Citizen of the Year April 13
law and with the court’s objective of best
Classroom Law Project invites Oregon
iStock.com/smolaw11
serving the needs both of the particular par-
attorneys to the 2022 Legal Citizen of the
ties to an appeal, and the public.
Year Award and Celebration – honor-
A link to the proposed temporary rule ing Judge Angel Lopez – on April 13 from
will be available on the court’s website 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. at the Sentinel Hotel in
at https://www.courts.oregon.gov/courts/
appellate/coa/Pages/default.aspx. The court
Roger DeHoog Named anticipates implementing this new rule in
To Oregon Supreme Court April or May. For those interested in pro- By the Numbers
Roger DeHoog has been named to the viding input, the court is accepting public
Oregon Supreme Court by Gov. Kate Brown. comment until March 31, 2022, at COA.
He replaces Justice Lynn R. Nakamoto, who Rule.Comment@ojd.state.or.us. Interpersonal Skills Critical
retired at the end of 2021. DeHoog most For New Attorneys
recently served on the Oregon Court of Ap-
Frohnmayer Award for Public
Service Presented April 8 When practicing attorneys were asked
peals. He previously worked as a Deschutes what skills they wish they had been
County Circuit Court judge (2012-15), an The University of Oregon School of taught prior to practicing, the most
Oregon Department of Justice attorney Law will celebrate Judge John V. Acosta popular answers centered around
(2008-12), had a private practice in Bend at the 2022 Frohnmayer Award for Public communicating – whether that be
Service on April 8 in Portland from 5:30 to interacting with clients, managing
(2000-07) and also served as a Deschutes conflict or acting as a leader.
County public defender (1993-2000). 7:30 p.m. at a location to be announced.
DeHoog is a graduate of Dartmouth The event recognizes a graduate, faculty
member or friend of Oregon Law whose
55%
College and the University of Oregon Client interactions
School of Law. public service brings honor to the school.
Contact lawalum@uoregon.edu for more 42%
Conflict management
Court of Appeals Considering information and sponsorship opportuni-
Temporary ORAP Amendment ties. Visit law.uoregon.edu/about/events/ 33%
As part of its ongoing and focused ef- frohnmayer-award to register for the event. Leadership skills
forts to manage its workload, the Court of
Appeals is considering a temporary ORAP Oregon Mediation 31%
Professional communications
amendment that will allow it to issue non- Diversity Project Launches
precedential opinions. Under the proposed The Oregon Mediation Diversity Project This is based on the Bloomberg Law’s
rule, nonprecedential opinions will be em- (OMDP) welcomes its first training class of Law School Preparedness Study in
12 participants by offering a comprehen- which 1,143 practicing attorneys and
ployed in cases that do not require the an-
law school students, faculty and librar-
nouncement of new law or establishment of sive, skills-based mediation training pro- ians answered questions about the
precedent but, instead, call upon the court to gram on May 5, 6, 21, 22, and June 2 and 3. preparedness of law school graduates.
perform its function of reviewing for errors The training is comprised of lectures, mock Reported on BloombergLaw.com (Jan.
under existing law and correcting those er- mediations and feedback sessions. OMDP 31, 2022).
rors when they occur and are not harmless. recognizes that the mediation profession in
FEBRUARY/MARCH 2022 • OREGON STATE BAR BULLETIN 13Quotable
“Our GM, Billy McCreary offered me a contract: $100 a February/March 2022
week – low even by FPHL standards. I, a juris doctorate,
Editor Michael Austin
and esteemed member of the Oregon State Bar, negoti-
Graphic Designer Sunny Chao
ated with McCreary, a long-time pro hockey player, to in-
crease my salary. No dice. Take it or leave it. But he offered OSB President
Kamron Graham, Portland
a caveat. ‘Can you fight? It’s a $100 bonus per fight.’”
OSB President-Elect
– Harrison Kass, writing his story as a 34-year-old rookie in the low- Lee Ann Donaldson, Portland
est tier of professional hockey on FanSided (Jan. 25, 2022). Kass is a OSB Immediate Past President
2020 graduate of the University of Oregon School of Law but never David Wade, Eugene
could shake the urge to play pro hockey.
Board of Governors
Christopher Cauble, Grants Pass
Candace Clarke, Columbia City
Gabriel Chase, Portland
Portland. To purchase a ticket to this year’s issues in Oregon appellate law and Jenny Cooke, Portland
celebration, visit www.classroomlaw.org/ procedure Katherine Denning, Salem
product/2022-legal-citizen. • Court history, statistics and trivia Stephanie Engelsman, Portland
• Biographies, interviews and pro- Bik-Na Han, Hillsboro
Oregon Appellate Almanac
files of figures in Oregon law and Joseph Hesbrook, Bend
Looking for Submissions
history Ryan Hunt, Salem
The Oregon Appellate Almanac is back
• Humor, wit, poetry and puzzles Myah Kehoe, Portland
and looking for your submissions for the
Matthew McKean, Hillsboro
2022 edition. The almanac is published by Works should be between 500 and 2,000
Apolinar Montero-Sánchez, Eugene
the appellate practice section and focuses words and lightly footnoted as necessary.
on issues of Oregon appellate law and prac- Submissions are due June 1. Send submis- Rob Milesnick, Vancouver, Wash.
tice. The almanac publishes works in the sions and any questions to the editor, Nora Curtis Peterson, Portland
following areas: Coon, at oregon.appellate.almanac@gmail. Joe Piucci, Portland
• Analysis of intriguing or obscure com. n David Rosen, Bend
Tasha Winkler, Portland
Editorial Advisory Committee
Lisa Marie Christon, Eugene
Jenny Cooke, Portland
Steven M. Gassert, Portland
Aurora B. Levinson, Portland
Gus Martinez, Portland
Lucy Glenn Ohlsen, Portland
Kyra Kay Rohner, Baker City
Elizabeth A. Rosso, Lake Oswego
Judge Jill Tanner, Hillsboro
Scott Wolff, Portland
Chief Executive Officer
Helen Hierschbiel
Director of Communications
Kateri Walsh
Copyright © 2022 the Oregon State Bar.
All rights reserved. Requests to reprint
materials must be in writing.
14 OREGON STATE BAR BULLETIN • FEBRUARY/MARCH 2022BAR COUNSEL
2021 Flips Recent Upward Trend
Client Security Fund Report By Courtney Dippel
on the Client Security Fund Committee. rity Fund rules, effective Jan. 1, 2022, to
They investigate claims, issue reports and implement this change.
vote on whether reimbursements are ap- As part of its decision to raise the cap,
propriate under the Client Security Fund the board also successfully pursued “payee
rules. The OSB Board of Governors then notification” in the 2021 session of the Or-
reviews all awards over $5,000. egon Legislature. Effective Jan. 1, 2022, the
Member assessments, interest on in- insurance code now establishes a process
vested funds and money collected by sub- for insurance companies to notify claimants
rogation from defalcating lawyers make up when a payment is made to the claimant’s
the fund. The Client Security Fund is a ded- attorney to settle a case. The legislation re-
icated account, not part of the OSB general quires the claimant’s attorney to provide
fund, and is used only to reimburse claim- contact information for the claimant and
ants and pay the expenses of operation. The makes explicit that an insurer’s attorney is
Oregon State Bar previously entered into permitted to communicate directly with the
an agreement with the Oregon Department claimant for the sole purpose of providing
iStock.com/bortonia
of Revenue, based on statutory authority, to notice of the settlement, either by (1) hav-
collect outstanding judgments held by the ing the insurance company copy the client
Client Security Fund. This collaboration on the settlement letter to the attorney or
has the potential to aid CSF collection ef- (2) forwarding specific information to the
forts for years to come. client. The language clarifies that nothing in
S
ince 1967, the Client Security Fund
has existed to help reimburse cli-
ents who lose money or property as While the demands on the fund in the past year
a result of dishonest conduct by an Oregon
lawyer. Because the fund operates quietly have been significant, the commited work of bar
in the background, many Oregon lawyers
never fully understand its mission or work. volunteers has kept the fund on track.
Today, its existence is as important as ever,
and demonstrates the Oregon State Bar’s
dedication to the public good as well as the Enhancing Public Protection the bill affects the validity of any settlement,
high standards the bar and the public ex- Recognizing the important work of the nor does it create new causes of action or a
pect of Oregon lawyers.1 fund to protect clients, the Board of Gov- defense. This will alert the client early to the
ernors in 2019 directed the Client Secu- existence of a settlement, and provide both
A Historic Effort a deterrent to malfeasance and a means
rity Fund Committee to study the issue of
The Client Security Fund was created of prompt notice for the payee in the rare
whether the bar should raise the $50,000
by the Oregon Legislature more than 50 event of misconduct.
cap on claims for reimbursement. The cap
years ago at the request of Oregon lawyers.
was last raised in 1993 from $25,000 to 2021 Payments
It established a fund “to relieve or mitigate
pecuniary losses to the clients of active $50,000. In total, in 2021 the CSF Committee
members caused by dishonest conduct of After receiving member input and the received 13 new claims and investigated
those members in their practice of law.” committee’s report, the board voted in and approved 14 claims for payment with
The fund made its first award in 1969 and 2020 to increase the claims cap for Oregon awards totaling $189,661.44, which bucks
has continued its work ever since. clients from $50,000 to $100,000 for losses the rising trend of the last several years.2
Each year, a group of dedicated volun- that occur on or after Jan. 1, 2022. Also in The chart (on page 16) shows the attor-
teer lawyers and one public member serve 2020, the board amended the Client Secu- ney, amount paid, status with the bar and
FEBRUARY/MARCH 2022 • OREGON STATE BAR BULLETIN 150
2021 CSF chart
whether the CSF claim resulted in disci- interested in supporting the work of the
pline or criminal prosecution. Under CSF OSB Client Security Fund should consider
rules, decisions by the CSF Committee and volunteering through the member volun-
Board of Governors are limited in scope teer survey, which is available at osbar.org/
to the question of whether an award is ap- volunteer/volunteeropportunities.html. n
propriate in any given instance. Determin-
ing whether an attorney engaged in ethical Courtney Dippel is disciplinary counsel for
misconduct, malpractice or is subject to the Oregon State Bar.
criminal liability is outside of the scope of
the CSF Committee’s decision making.
At the end of 2021, 10 claims remained ENDNOTES
under investigation or were in abeyance. 1. This annual report to the membership
Seven claims were denied and four claims regarding awards made in the past year is
were closed or withdrawn because the at- required by Client Security Fund Rule 6.9.
2. See Bulletin from April 2021 (page 9), Febru-
torney repaid the claimant. For open claims
Please join us... pending as of Jan. 1, 2022, aggrieved clients
ary/March 2020 (page 11) and January 2019
(page 9). osbar.org/publications/bulletin/
sought to recover for additional losses of
Legal Citizen approximately $177,734. Because the CSF
archive.html.
of the Year rules capped claims at $50,000 through
Award & Celebration Dec. 31, 2021, the total exposure to the
fund from pending claims was limited to
Honoring Judge Angel Lopez approximately $95,500. As in years prior,
this column does not discuss the specifics
of pending CSF claims. Any pending claim
that is later granted will be included in fu- How To Reach Us
ture reports.
Please call (800) 452-8260, or in the
Looking Forward
Portland area call (503) 620-0222.
While the demands on the fund in the Email addresses and voicemail
past year have been significant, the commit- extension numbers for Bulletin
ted work of bar volunteers has kept the fund staff are: Michael Austin, editor,
on track. The members of the 2021 Client maustin@osbar.org (ext. 340);
Security Fund Committee were Stephanie Kateri Walsh, director of communica-
A fundraiser for Classroom Law Project
Thompson (chair), Melissa May (secre- tions, kwalsh@osbar.org
tary), Tara Kaylene Millan, Jeffrey B. Du-
April 13, 2022 rocher, David A. Hytowitz, Valerie Wright,
Wendy Beth Oliver, Michael Thomas Mc-
(ext. 406); and Spencer Glantz,
classified ad rates and details,
advertising@osbar.org (ext. 356),
Sentinel Hotel Grath, Theresa (Terry) L. Wright, Jen Zam-
fax: (503) 684-1366.
Portland, Oregon metti, Michael T. Purcell, Daniel Steinberg
and Steve Bergmann (public member). Display advertising and Lawyer
For more information about the Cli- Announcements: Contact LLM
ent Security Fund, including what claims Publications at (503) 445-2240,
Tickets and sponsorship opportunities now available. are eligible for reimbursement and a claim law@llmpubs.com.
www.classroomlaw.org | 503.224.4424
form, visit osbar.org/csf. Anyone who is
16 OREGON STATE BAR BULLETIN • FEBRUARY/MARCH 2022THE LEGAL WRITER
Using the Singular ‘They’ Clearly
Finessing Gendered Pronouns By Suzanne E. Rowe
sively male or female pronouns for every hu- the law clerk’s work-in-progress and
man on the planet. Nonbinary, gender-fluid discuss with the supervisor whether
and other individuals use they as a singular, the law clerk is meeting set goals.
personal pronoun. Our writing needs to rec- In that example, avoiding any pronoun
ognize and respect the pronouns that are for law clerk creates clunky writing. Fortu-
correct for each individual.3 nately, other techniques explained later in
Because most of what I wrote about this article can easily address the problem
pronouns back in 2007 is just as accurate to- of distracting repetition.
day as it was 15 years ago, I’m going to be-
gin this article by quoting my old advice and Clear Out Other Plurals
using some of the old article’s examples. I One technique I suggested in 2007 re-
hope doing so will help more writers make quires a minor twist in 2022. My earlier ad-
this small grammatical transition, which vice was to replace a singular noun with the
carries a big payload for inclusivity. plural. Here’s why: using the singular noun
might press a writer to choose he or she, but
Repeat the Noun using the plural noun would make they cor-
Bulletin File Photo
One easy way to avoid pronoun chal- rect. Here were my examples, moving from
lenges is to avoid pronouns. In 2007, I wrote, one judge to judges in general.
“The simplest solution may be to repeat the
A judge should exercise
noun that (the pronoun) would be replacing.
Suzanne E. Rowe his discretion carefully.
This solution is especially effective if there’s a
gap of several words between the noun and Judges should exercise
L
ast fall, I noticed that virtually all the pronoun.” Back then, “the pronoun” their discretion carefully.
my students used the singular they meant he or she; now it also means they. Here’s the twist for 2022. When using
pronoun accurately, consistently The examples I provided back then still they for a singular person, avoid using plural
and without a thought. Because some le- illustrate the point well: nouns elsewhere in the sentence. With only
gal writers are still giving the singular they singular nouns, the pronoun they will obvi-
When a shareholder misses a regu-
lots of thought, I decided to revisit my June ously refer to the person.
larly scheduled meeting to address
2007 Bulletin article “Finessing Gender Pro- The following sentence might leave
a proposed bylaw change, he must
nouns: When ‘He’ or ‘She’ Just Won’t Do”1 some readers wondering if their refers to the
review the minutes of the meeting
to see if the techniques I suggested back difficult cases rather than the judge, creat-
within two days.
then for navigating he and she will work for ing a confusing sentence.
they. Spoiler alert: Most of them do.2 When a shareholder misses a regu-
When deciding difficult cases, Judge
My goal in the 2007 article was to help larly scheduled meeting to address
Wright exercises their
writers avoid defaulting to male pronouns a proposed bylaw change, the share-
discretion carefully.
holder must review the minutes of
for every human on the planet. One of the
the meeting within two days. Replacing the plural cases with the
techniques I predicted would gain in popu-
singular case provides the desired clar-
larity was the use of they for a singular person This solution works well except when
ity: Judge Wright is the person exercising
whose gender was unknown. In 2022, I’m the noun needs to repeat frequently, and
discretion.
making two closely related points. The first those repetitions come close together. In
is to confirm that they is working just fine for that situation, repeating the noun becomes When deciding a difficult case,
a singular person whose gender is unknown. a distraction, as in the following example. Judge Wright exercises their
In fact, they works better than he or she, both The law clerk must meet weekly with discretion carefully.
for length and inclusivity. The second point the law clerk’s supervisors. In these Even the most curmudgeonly among us
is to help writers avoid defaulting to exclu- meetings, the law clerk will present is unlikely to blink.
FEBRUARY/MARCH 2022 • OREGON STATE BAR BULLETIN 17Health Insurance Plans for Oregon Attorneys Drop the Pronoun
This advice from 2007 is still sound:
Any law firm located in Oregon or Clark County, WA with at least When a gender-specific pronoun provides
one W2 employee in addition to the attorney is eligible to enroll. no helpful or necessary information, just
Enrollment is offered year-round. delete the pronoun.
A lawyer needs his time away from
www.aldrichadvisors.com/mba the office.
503.716.9328 A lawyer needs time away from
the office.
Steve Doty - sdoty@aldrichadvisors.com
I also suggested that, in some sentences,
Janos Bodnar - jbodnar@aldrichadvisors.com the simple word the might replace a pesky
pronoun.
An inexperienced paralegal will in-
terrupt his attorney multiple times
with minor questions.
An inexperienced paralegal will in-
terrupt the attorney multiple times
with minor questions.
Rewrite the Sentence
As in 2007, “a quick reworking of a sen-
tence could eliminate the pronoun, and
with it the need to specify a gender.” I used
the following examples to show why and
how to avoid the gendered pronoun.
An employee will be excluded from
workers’ compensation if he was an
active participant in the fight that
resulted in injuries.
I explained, “The pronoun he in the sen-
tence seems to suggest either that only male
employees fight or that female employees
involved in fights might still recover.” Re-
vising the sentence clarifies the employee
being excluded — regardless of gender
identity.
An employee who was an active
participant in the fight will be ex-
cluded from workers’ compensation
for resulting injuries.
Here’s a new example from an email I
received recently. Using they toward the
end of the sentence might confuse some
readers as to who tested positive.
Professors must submit this form
when notified by a student that they
have tested positive.
I’ll bet most of you read that sentence
and wondered what the problem might be;
you assumed that they referred to the stu-
dent. Some readers might have been con-
fused, though, because professors is plural
and requires they, while a student could be
they, she or he. But the gender of the student
doesn’t matter — any student who tested
18 OREGON STATE BAR BULLETIN • FEBRUARY/MARCH 2022positive would result in multiple professors
filing forms. A slight rewrite at the end of
the sentence replaces that they have with
who has, and instantly the sentence is clear.
Professors must submit this form
when notified by a student who has
tested positive.
Admittedly, this “quick reworking” is
the more challenging of the options I’m
suggesting, but with practice can become
almost second nature.
Be Consistent
Here’s some new advice: Be consistent
with the pronouns used for each person.
Consider a case in which a plaintiff arrived
at the scene of an accident to see the plain-
tiff’s child lying injured under an automo-
bile; the plaintiff suffered trauma that re-
quired medical treatment.
The mishmash of pronouns in the fol-
lowing summary is confusing:
The plaintiff arrived at the scene
of an accident. She saw their child
lying injured under an automobile
and suffered trauma. They were seri-
ously injured, although he recov-
ered. Their trauma required medical
treatment. After the trial court
granted the defendant summary
judgment, he appealed.
Who are all these people? Is this sum-
mary about one parent and one child, or
an extended family? The parent and child
each can be presented in clear, consistent
gender-neutral language, as shown below.
The plaintiff arrived at the scene
of an accident to see their child
lying injured under an automobile.
The child was seriously injured but
recovered. The plaintiff’s trauma re-
quired medical treatment. After the
trial court granted the defendant
summary judgment, the plaintiff
appealed.
If the pronouns of the parent and child
are known, use those pronouns and be con-
sistent. If, for example, the child is a boy
who uses masculine pronouns, use he con-
sistently and avoid she or they when refer-
ring to him.
When writing about a party in a prior
case, the simplest guide is to use the pro-
nouns from the opinion, which will often be
the only pronouns you know. If you know
a party was misgendered in a case, then by
FEBRUARY/MARCH 2022 • OREGON STATE BAR BULLETIN 19all means correct the error. But without any
information indicating an error, you can de-
CHANGING PEOPLE’S fault to the pronouns used, then use them
consistently.
LIVES, ONE MEAL Think of They Like You
For anyone still unsettled by the evolu-
AT A TIME. tion of pronouns, thinking of they like you
might help. Speakers of English have jug-
gled the singular you and the plural you for
centuries. From context and intuition, we
mealsonwheelspeople.org can accurately determine whether you re-
fers to one person, two people or a bunch of
people. We speakers of English are begin-
1-6 horizontal 3.indd 1 6/30/2016 11:51:42 AM
ning to understand they the same way. The
following sentences could be singular or
plural: “They write well.” “You write well.”
Whenever a careful writer isn’t sure that
readers will quickly know whether they or
you is singular or plural, the careful writer
revises, using techniques like those provid-
ed in this article. n
Suzanne E. Rowe is the James L. and Ilene
R. Hershner Professor at the University of
Oregon School of Law, where she teaches
courses in legal writing, legal research, and
advocacy. She is grateful for the comments of
Elizabeth Frost, Bailey Boatsman, Malcolm
MacWilliamson, Emily Wright, Sarah Os-
born and Katrina Robinson on earlier drafts.
ENDNOTES
1. “Finessing Gender Pronouns: When ‘He’ or
‘She’ Just Won’t Do,” https://www.osbar.
org/publications/bulletin/07jun/legalwriter.
html (June 2007 Bulletin).
2. I’m dropping two ideas from the 2007
article: alternating gendered pronouns and
using gendered pronouns for clarity. Despite
the brilliance of these ideas, virtually no one
followed them. Don’t even bother looking
back at the article.
3. See “They/Them/Theirs: As Lan-
guage Evolves, Pronouns Leap For-
ward,” https://www.osbar.org/bulletin/
issues/2020/2020January/index.html (Janu-
ary 2020 Bulletin).
20 OREGON STATE BAR BULLETIN • FEBRUARY/MARCH 2022Assistant Disciplinary Counsel – Litigation
The Oregon State Bar is looking for someone to provide counsel to
the bar in the evaluation, investigation, and litigation through trial
of ethics complaints made against Oregon lawyers.
Please visit osbar.org/osbcenter/openings.html
for job details.
Equal Opportunity Employer.
Oregon lawyers
standing up
for justice.
e r
Campaign for
Equal Justice
JUSTICE
www.cej-oregon.org
FEBRUARY/MARCH 2022 • OREGON STATE BAR BULLETIN 21A Work
H ybrid
WORLD Legal Considerations for Firms
Continuing Long-Term At-Home Work
— By Melody Finnemore —
22 OREGON STATE BAR BULLETIN • FEBRUARY/MARCH 2022iStock.com/Aleutie
FEBRUARY/MARCH 2022 • OREGON STATE BAR BULLETIN 23A Hybrid Work World
O
regon law firms, courts and other legal organizations The question of whether employees with disabilities will be pro-
have become increasingly adept at adapting to chang- tected under the Americans with Disabilities Act if they do request
ing work environments and conditions to protect em- telework is top of mind for many legal scholars. Arlene Kanter,
ployees (as well as clients) during the COVID-19 pan- founder and director of the Disability Law and Policy Program at
demic. They continue to do so as the highly contagious omicron Syracuse University College of Law, examined cases from nearly
variant ushers in the new year, and surging infection rates force a every federal appellate court in the past decade that centered on
wait-and-see approach to office-return dates. whether working from home was considered a “reasonable accom-
Randy Geller, a shareholder in Harrang Long Gary Rudnick’s modation” under the ADA. She found most courts ruled in favor of
Eugene office, says the majority of the firm’s attorneys and staff have employers in those cases.
been working remotely since March 2020, when the state issued shut- “Now that new technologies have allowed so many of us to work
down orders. He describes the transition from everybody working in from home during the current COVID-19 pandemic, it is time to
the office one day to working at home the next as “pretty seamless.” call for a new right to remote work under the ADA,” Kanter says in
“We haven’t introduced any new staff or the Journal article. “With more remote work opportunities, jobs for
attorneys for the last two years and we’re a individuals with disabilities will open up, especially for those people
stable group who know each other,” Geller with disabilities who had been unable to get to work because of in-
says. “Our Portland office has introduced accessible transportation or who are simply not able to work in an
some new attorneys and staff, and that has office from 9-5.”
had some challenges because we just don’t Other lawyers with disabilities, howev-
know each other as well.” er, prefer to continue to work in the office.
As shutdown conditions eased, a project Among them is Portland business law attor-
assistant for the firm began working in the ney Leonard DuBoff, who is blind. Although
Randy Geller Eugene office most days, providing recep- the pandemic has forced some hearings and
tion services, managing mail and overseeing depositions to be done remotely, allowing
day-to-day operations. Occasionally, an attorney or two go to the attorneys to work from home, DuBoff more
office for work more easily accomplished there than at home. often spends his time working in the DuBoff
In addition to maintaining workplace culture during the shut- Law Group offices he and his wife, Mary
down (see the next Bulletin issue for a feature on this) and transi- Leonard DuBoff Ann, opened in 1995.
tioning to hybrid work schedules, law firm leaders have a multitude “I like going to work in person because I
of other considerations as employers. As the two-year anniversary of like being with people even though I can’t see them,” he says. “Work-
the coronavirus’ arrival in the Pacific Northwest nears, the Bulletin ing by phone and working remotely are fine, if they work out.”
explores some of the legal implications of hybrid work schedules. With a team of six attorneys and about a half dozen support staff,
These range from labor and employment laws to tax regulations, the DuBoffs encourage all employees to be vaccinated and wear
workers’ compensation and unemployment coverage, and client masks in the office. More recently, schedules are staggered to pre-
confidentiality, among others. vent the spread of omicron and employees have the option to work
“I think the pandemic and remote work has really brought to the at home the majority of the work week.
fore all of the issues associated with having employees work remote-
ly that we never really paid much attention to before,” Geller notes. Home Office Location Matters
Early in the pandemic, Amy Angel, a partner and employment
Accommodating Employees with Disabilities law attorney at Barran Liebman in Portland, had advised clients on
As much as law firms have done to meet requirements of the legal implications related to employees working strictly at home.
Americans with Disabilities Act, many employees with disabilities Her guidance has shifted more to practical decision-making about
prefer working remotely, citing increased access to their clients and whether and how to allow hybrid schedules now that remote work
colleagues, time savings, improved efficiency thanks to technology, is no longer required.
and more job opportunities, according to the American Bar Associa- “The biggest thing is making sure employers know where their
tion Journal. employees are working from when they are remote, and helping
Britney Wilson, an associate professor and director of the Civil draft policies around remote work agreements,” she says.
Rights and Disability Justice Clinic at New York Law School who The most common example is Oregon-based firms that employ
lives with cerebral palsy, says recent studies show many employees people living in Washington. In the beginning of the pandemic, the
with disabilities enjoy working at home and either don’t want to re- issue wasn’t as pressing because most people believed the telework
turn to the office or would prefer a hybrid schedule. measures were temporary.
“We’re hearing a lot about the ‘return to normal,’ and I think the However, as working remotely and hybrid schedules become
entire disabled community has critiqued that notion because normal more permanent for some, it’s important for law firm leaders and
has never been accessible,” she says in the ABA Journal. “I don’t want other employers to know that different states have different labor
to see the lessons we’ve learned from this pandemic just be ignored. I and employment laws. These include minimum wage, meal and rest
hope that we can incorporate them into our return to normal.” breaks, leave laws, and insurance and other benefits.
24 OREGON STATE BAR BULLETIN • FEBRUARY/MARCH 2022A Hybrid Work World
“A lot of times people will ask if they are allowed to ask where differences in income tax withholdings and unemployment com-
their employees are and, absolutely, employers can ask,” Angel says. pensation as important implications not to be overlooked.
“We’ve certainly been advising companies that they can limit which “The laws are a little bit different in Oregon and Washington,
states they allow employees to work remotely from, and whether so employers need to be aware that you can’t treat the employee
they are set up to meet that state’s laws.” the same as if they were working in Portland if they are working in
The same holds true for Oregon law Washington,” he says. “And, if you’ve got employees who are work-
firms, which might have employees who ing all over the world, you’ve got a big set of compliance issues to
live in Washington, Idaho or California. contend with.”
Employees working remotely may also have
relocated to other states to take care of their Cloud-based Practice Eases Transition
parents and help meet other family needs. Litowich Law, based in Salem, has had attorneys practicing in
“There are all kinds of reasons why em- various offices across the country since Sarah M. Litowich started
ployers need to know where their employ- the firm in early 2017. She says she established her family law and
ees are, and how the laws are different from estate planning practice as a cloud-based firm specifically so she and
Amy Angel where they were originally hired,” she says. her employees could work wherever was most optimal for them.
Angel points out that an employee’s The plan has carried the firm through the pandemic without a hitch
home office location also impacts payroll and other tax obligations. in operations.
She says several of her clients are considering whether they need to Litowich says one of her first goals was
establish a business registry in others states because of their employ- to find the most secure document sharing
ees’ residence there. system available. “That was a consideration,
Legal considerations for law firms extend to privacy issues and how am I going to keep documents secure
client confidentiality. As an example, an open laptop on a kitchen with people working everywhere?”
counter may expose client information to family members or guests, The firm uses Sync which, unlike other
while phone conversations and virtual meetings with clients poten- services, doesn’t have a key to access its
tially can be overheard. documents. Subscription-based office pro-
Workers’ compensation issues may arise if an employee is in- grams allow Litowich to pay a monthly fee
jured at home and a determination must be made about whether
Sarah Litowich to access several programs. Computers are
the injury is compensable, Angel explains. Some law firms and other encrypted and a password management sys-
employers require employees to provide photos of their workspace tem generates new passwords for security. “We stay in communica-
to ensure they are set up safely. tion constantly using Slack,” she adds.
With these and so many other emerging factors accompanying When the pandemic began to shut offices down, Litowich re-
the growing prevalence – and, for many law firms, permanence – of alized the biggest challenge was going to be the physical mail that
hybrid work schedules, some firms are seeking supplemental hand- comes to the firm’s Salem office. Initially, one staff member sorted,
books to accompany their primary policies handbook. This is espe- scanned and distributed mail via email. Now, two staff members al-
cially true of firms opening up their pool of job candidates to a larger ternate so the Salem office is staffed five days a week.
geographical area now that they can hire nationally, Angel says. A similar system is used to scan and distribute materials dropped
Geller notes that while tax implications are not as big an issue off by clients. The firm implemented specific file naming and orga-
for Harrang Long Gary Rudnick’s Eugene office, it is more signifi- nization protocols, and attorneys are notified immediately when in-
cant for the Portland office because of its proximity to Vancouver formation relevant to their cases arrives.
and other Washington cities that now serve as at least part-time, “The way we manage the hybrid work situation is that we make
if not full-time, workplace locations for employees. He points to ourselves available to our clients in whatever way works for them.
Most people prefer the digital format. They like being able to email,
text or talk on the phone so they don’t have to find a sitter and leave
their house,” Litowich says, adding that Zoom meetings and screen
sharing have been essential.
Court Proceedings Remain ‘Fluid’
“We certainly will meet with them in person if they want to do
Todd Sprague, spokesperson for the Oregon Judicial that, but I’m also mindful of the safety of my employees,” she notes.
Department, told the Bulletin at the time of this writing, “I have a real passion for building this firm and supporting my staff.
that the status of remote court hearings “remains fluid That’s really what drives me every day is to make this the best pos-
and is directed by Chief Justice Orders.” sible workplace it can be.”
Attorneys should refer to CJO 21-025, Section 3, page
6 (Mode of Proceedings) regarding remote hearings. PLF Provides Tips to Avoid Malpractice Liability
Rules regarding masks and social distancing were most Rachel Edwards, a practice management attorney with the
recently updated with CJO 21-030 and CJO 21-058. OSB’s Professional Liability Fund, says that last year the PLF
received a lot of questions from law firm leaders about staff
FEBRUARY/MARCH 2022 • OREGON STATE BAR BULLETIN 25You can also read
