Oregon State Bar

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Bar Association

title: "Oregon State Bar" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["american-state-bar-associations", "oregon-law", "state-agencies-of-oregon", "1935-establishments-in-oregon", "tigard,-oregon", "organizations-established-in-1935"] description: "Bar Association" topic_path: "law" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oregon_State_Bar" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary Bar Association ::

::data[format=table title="Infobox government agency"]

Field	Value
agency_name	Oregon State Bar
logo	Oregon State Bar logo.png
logo_width	250px
formed	1935
jurisdiction	Oregon
headquarters	Tigard, Oregon, USA
employees	95
budget	$14 million
parent_agency	Oregon Judicial Department
website	www.osbar.org
::

Lawyers are required to join the OSB in order to practice law in Oregon, unless an exception applies.

OSB is charged with administering lawyer admissions and discipline, pursuant to rules proposed by bar association and approved by the Oregon Supreme Court. It also administers the Legal Services Program which funds legal aid in Oregon and provides accountability by maintaining standards and guidelines for legal aid providers.

OSB is governed by a 19 person Board of Governors — 15 of the board's members are lawyers, and four are public members.{{cite web | url = https://oregon.public.law/statutes/ors_9.025 | title = ORS 9.025(1)(a) | last = | first = | date = | website = | publisher = OregonLaws.org | access-date = Oct 14, 2024 | quote =

Summary

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/33/Oregon_State_Bar_office.JPG" caption="Offices in Tigard"] ::

Oregon has an "integrated bar": all attorneys in Oregon are required to join the Oregon State Bar if they desire to practice law in Oregon.{{cite web | url = http://www.osbar.org/osbinfo.htm | title = Oregon State Bar General Information | last = | first = | date = | website = | publisher = OSB | access-date = Oct 31, 2022 | quote =

Membership fees and program fees from the 16,000 active members, together with revenue from bar programs, fund the entire budget of the agency. OSB has approximately 100 employees and is overseen by a Board of Governors. This 19 person board group along with the 200-member House of Delegates and the Oregon Supreme Court provide governance for the agency's activities.

OSB also administers a board on attorney discipline and the Board of Bar Examiners. Additionally, the bar makes recommendations for filing mid-term judicial vacancies in the courts of the Oregon Judicial Department.{{cite news | type = Editorial | author = | title = Here Come the Judges | url = | newspaper = The Oregonian | location = | publisher = | editor = | volume = | issue = | date = Mar 16, 2004 | at = p.B*

Most lawyers in private practice are also required to participate in the Oregon Professional Liability Fund, a self-funded insurance program.{{cite news | author1-last = Cooper | author1-first = Alan | title = Mandatory insurance mulled | url = | newspaper = Virginia Lawyers Weekly | location = | publisher = | editor = | volume = | issue = | date = Mar 27, 2006 | at =

OSB administers several programs to facilitate finding legal representation. The bar's Lawyer Referral Service has around 600 attorneys statewide that practice every area of law. The service receives around 75,000 calls per year and makes approximately 50,000 referrals. The Modest Means Program offers reduced fee representation in family law, criminal law, and landlord/tenant cases.

The Problem Solvers Program offers a free 30-minute consultation to teens aged 13–17. The Military Assistance Panel offers two hours of pro bono work to active duty military members. The Lawyer-to-Lawyer Program connects lawyers with more experienced attorneys who are willing to give guidance over the phone at no cost.{{Cite web |url = https://www.osbar.org/public/ris/ |title = Programs to Help you Find the Right Lawyer |publisher = Oregon State Bar |access-date = Oct 27, 2022

Name

The Oregon Bar Association (OBA) was a voluntary association from 1890 to 1935. During its existence, OBA was also commonly referred to as the "Oregon State Bar Association" even though that was not its formal name.

The "Oregon State Bar" (OSB) is a public corporation established in 1935 by the Oregon Legislature to replace OBA. In popular usage, the term "Oregon Bar Association" has been often used to describe OSB.{{cite news | type = Editorial | author = | title = It's uncommon for a judge to lose his job | url = https://oregonnews.uoregon.edu/lccn/sn83008376/2016-02-10/ed-1/seq-4/# | newspaper = Daily Astorian | location = Astoria, OR | publisher = | editor-last = Forrester | editor-first = Stephen A. | volume = 143 | issue = 155 | date = Feb 10, 2016 | at = p.4A, col.2

History

The Oregon Bar Association was organized on November 8, 1890.{{cite news | type = Dateline: PORTLAND, Nov 8 | title = The organization of the State Bar Association was completed today. | url = https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn83045604/1890-11-10/ed-1/seq-1/ | newspaper = Seattle Post-Intelligencer | location = Seattle, WA | publisher = Leigh S. J. Hunt | editor = | volume = 18 | issue = 182 | date = Nov 10, 1890 | at = p.1, col.6 | title = BITTERLY ATTACKS STATE BAR -- Attorney Ditchburn Declares in Court that Members of Oregon Bar Association Conducted Themselves Badly in Recent Banquet | type = | url = https://oregonnews.uoregon.edu/lccn/sn85042444/1904-04-29/ed-1/seq-2/ | newspaper = Oregon Daily Journal | location = Portland, OR | publisher = Journal Pub. Co. | editor1-last = Jackson | editor1-first = C.S. "Sam" | editor-link = Sam Jackson (publisher) | volume = 3 | issue = 47 | date = Apr 29, 1904 | at = p.2, col.3 | title = Bills Are Proposed At Bar Meeting to Aid Justice -- Dean Hale of Law School Present at Annual Bar Association | url = https://oregonnews.uoregon.edu/lccn/2004260239/1926-10-08/ed-1/seq-3/ | newspaper = Oregon Daily Emerald | location = Eugene, OR | publisher = ASUO | editor1-last = O'Meara | editor1-first = Jack | editor2-last = Curtis | editor2-first = Clarence Curtis | volume = 28 | issue = 8 | date = Oct 28, 1926 | at = p.3, col.1

The first president of the Oregon Bar Association was Cyrus A. Dolph, a prominent lawyer who had begun practice in Portland, Oregon in 1866.{{cite news | title = Prominent Men of the Pacific Coast | url = https://oregonnews.uoregon.edu/lccn/2012260365/1891-04-11/ed-1/seq-7/ | newspaper = The Illustrated West Shore | location = Portland, OR | publisher = West Shore Pub. Co. | editor-last = Samuel | editor-first = Leopold | volume = 17 | issue = 253 | date = Apr 11, 1891 | at = p.7 | url = https://www.osbar.org/publications/bulletin/05oct/heritage.html | title = Oregon Legal Heritage: Assessing a Legacy :A bar is born | last1 = Dobbs | first1 = Gordon B. | last2 = Alzer | first2 = Cathy Croghan | date = Oct 1, 2005 | website = | publisher = Oregon State Bar | access-date = Dec 26, 2024 | quote = | type = | title = OREGON BAR ASSOCIATION -- Its Record Since Organization Nine Years Ago | url = https://oregonnews.uoregon.edu/lccn/sn83045782/1900-01-21/ed-1/seq-24/ | newspaper = Sunday Oregonian | location = Portland Oregon | publisher = Henry Pittock | editor-last = Scott | editor-first = Harvey W. | editor-link = Harvey W. Scott | volume = 19 | issue = 3 | date = Jan 21, 1900 | at = p.24

By 1900, the work of the first three committees was found to have overlapped on occasion, and the legislative affairs committee had endorsed too many bills, thereby losing some of the association's credibility with the legislature, which had its own institutional problems in the 1890s The grievance committee investigated allegations of misconduct by the public, and if they were found to be well-founded, would bring proceedings against the lawyer in the Supreme Court of Oregon It was reported in 1900 that "many complaints are brought on misunderstanding, mostly occurring out of ill-formed arrangements between so-called lawyers who solicit bad collections and their clients."

Early disciplinary proceedings

As of October 19, 1895, the Oregon Bar Association was working towards the disbarment of eight attorneys, on grounds of false undertakings in attachment and admiralty proceedings, gross drunkenness and misbehavior in court, uttering false certificates for admission of Chinese immigrants, false statements to a notary public, falsifying documents purporting to show payment a debt to an estate, defamation and extortion, embezzlement, larceny, and misappropriation of funds held in trust held for clients.{{cite news | type = Dateline: PORTLAND, Or., Oct. 18 | title = OREGON'S BAD LAWYERS -- The Bar Association to Work for the Disbarment of Eight -- Prominent Attorneys Accused of Offenses More or Less Serious | url = https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn85066387/1895-10-19/ed-1/seq-3/ | newspaper = San Francisco Call | location = San Francisco, CA | publisher = Charles M. Shortridge | editor-last = McNaught | editor-first = John | editor-link = John McNaught (writer) | volume = 78 | issue = 141 | date = Oct 19, 1895 | at = p.3 col.6

One of the attorneys, U.S. Grant Marquam, who was charged with misappropriation of client funds, was the son of millionaire and prominent politician Philip A. Marquam.{{cite book | author-last = Gaston | author-first = Joseph P. | author-link = Joseph P. Gaston | volume = 3 | title = Portland, Oregon, Its History and Builders | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=EPcUAAAAYAAJ | chapter = | lccn = | isbn = | location = Portland, Oregon | publisher = S..J. Clark Pub. Co. | date = 1911 | at = p.540

Advertising restrictions

In 1892, a lawyer ran an advertisement in several daily newspapers which stated: "" Divorces a specialty ; reliable advice, prompt, attention and moderate fee; no fee until after divorce. Apply Attorney, room 3 at 280½ Washington street, comer Fourth, City."{{cite book | author = Oregon Bar Association | title = Proceedings of the Oregon Bar Association at Its Annual Meeting | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=d-1CAQAAMAAJ | volume = 2 | chapter = Appendix D: Report of the Committee on Grievances | lccn = | isbn = | location = Portland, OR | publisher = F.W. Baltes and Co. | date = 1892 | at = p.38 | author = Oregon Bar Association | title = Proceedings of the Oregon Bar Association at Its Annual Meeting | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=d-1CAQAAMAAJ | volume = 2 | chapter = Remarks of L.B. Cox | lccn = | isbn = | location = Portland, OR | publisher = F.W. Baltes and Co. | date = 1892 | at = pp.19-20

In 1908 the American Bar Association (ABA) approved 32 "Canons of Professional Ethics." In 1935, those Canons were adopted, in part, by the Oregon Supreme Court and the then-recently organized Oregon State Bar Association.{{cite court | litigants = In re Porter | vol = 320 | reporter = Or. | opinion = 692 | pinpoint = 701 | court = | date = 1995 | url = https://cite.case.law/or/320/692/ | access-date= | quote = | postscript =

Many years later, broad bar association restrictions on lawyer advertising were stricken down in Bates v. State Bar of Arizona as violations of the First Amendment guarantee of freedom of speech.{{cite court | litigants = Bates v. State Bar of Arizona | vol = 433 | reporter = U.S. | opinion = 360 | pinpoint = 383 | court = | date = 1977 | url = https://www.law.cornell.edu/supremecourt/text/433/350 | access-date= | quote = | postscript =

Murder of bar prosecuting counsel

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/bb/Headline_reporting_execution_of_former_lawyer_James_A_Finch.png" caption="Newspaper headline reporting execution of James A. Finch for the murder of bar association prosecuting attorney Ralph B.Fisher."] ::

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/18/Fisher_Finch_murder_photo.jpg" caption="Ralph B. Fisher, attorney (left), victim of murder by James A Finch, attorney (right)"] ::

On the afternoon of Saturday, November 28, 1908, attorney Ralph B. Fisher, who had been the prosecutor for the grievance committee of the Oregon State Bar Association was shot and killed in his Portland office in the Mohawk Building by former attorney James Anderson Finch.{{cite news | type = | title = RALPH FISHER MURDERED -- Former Resident of Polk County Falls Victim to Malice of J.A. Finch | url = https://oregonnews.uoregon.edu/lccn/sn96088088/1908-12-01/ed-1/seq-1/ | newspaper = Polk County Observer | location = Dallas, OR | publisher = Allgood & Collins | editor1-last = Allgood | editor1-first = Jack | editor2-last = Collins | editor2-first = Dean | volume = 20 | issue = 42 | date = Dec 1, 1908 | at = p.1, col.

Finch had been disbarred for having appeared in court in an intoxicated condition and forging the name and notarial seal of his law partner to an affidavit.{{cite news | type = Dateline: PORTLAND, Ore. Nov. 28 | title = PORTLAND ATTORNEY MURDERS MAN WHO PROSECUTED HIM | url = https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn84036008/1908-12-01/ed-1/seq-3/ | newspaper = Billings Gazette | location = Billings, MT | publisher = Gazette Printing Co. | editor-last = Matheson | editor-first = John D. | volume = 21 | issue = 92 | date = Dec 1, 1908 | at = p.3, col.6

Wire stories reported Fisher had refused to help Finch be reinstated into the bar.{{cite news | type = Dateline: SALEM, Ore., Nov. 11 | title = LAWYER FINCH HANGS TODAY | url = https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn83025316/1909-11-12/ed-1/seq-7/ | newspaper = The Daily Missoulian | location = Missoula, MT | publisher = Missoulian Pub. Co. | editor = | volume = 36 | issue = 191 | date = Nov 12, 1909 | at = p.7, col.3 | author = | title = PLEADED FOR FINCH -- Fisher Would Temper Justice With Mercy -- Sought Only Suspension -- Victim of Assassin's Gun Was Instrumental in Saving Finch from Total Disbarment from Bar of Oregon | url = https://oregonnews.uoregon.edu/lccn/sn83045782/1908-11-29/ed-1/seq-8/ | newspaper = Sunday Oregonian | location = Portland, OR | publisher = Henry L. Pittock | editor-last = Scott | editor-first = Harvey W. | editor-link = Harvey W. Scott | volume = 27 | issue = 48 | date = Nov 29, 1909 | at = p.8, col.5

The Oregon Daily Journal broadly portrayed Finch as mediocre lawyer and a drunk, with revenge as his motive.{{cite news | type = Front page top headline | author = | title = PROMISING LIFE OF RALPH B. FISHER ENDED WITH FATAL SHOT FIRED BY JAMES H. FINCH -- MURDERER GIVES VICTIM NO TIME FOR DEFENSE -- REVENGE WAS MOTIVE FOR CRIME -- Prominent Young Lawyer Seated at Desk When Assassin Approached Him with Reassuring Words, "Hello, Ralph" | url = https://oregonnews.uoregon.edu/lccn/sn85042444/1908-11-29/ed-1/seq-1/ | newspaper = Oregon Daily Journal | location = Portland, OR | publisher = C.S. "Sam" Jackson | editor-last = | volume = 5 | issue = 37 | date = Nov 29, 1909 | at = p.1 | author = | title = FINCH DECLINES TO ADMIT GUILT -- Mind of Assassin Is Either Blank or He Is Playing a Clever Game -- Rational in Other Ways -- Fisher's Murderer Does Not Deny Purchase of Revolver but Declares He Was Not Near Mohawk Building | url = https://oregonnews.uoregon.edu/lccn/sn83045782/1908-11-29/ed-1/seq-8/ | newspaper = Sunday Oregonian | location = Portland, OR | publisher = Henry L. Pittock | editor-last = Scott | editor-first = Harvey W. | volume = 27 | issue = 48 | date = Nov 29, 1909 | at = p.8, col.1

Finch was subsequently convicted of murder and sentenced to death.{{cite news | type = | title = News of the Week ... At Salem, Oregon, James A. Finch, a lawyer, was hanged for the murder ... | url = https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/46032385/1909-11-19/ed-1/seq-10/ | newspaper = The Commoner | location = Lincoln, NE | publisher = William Jennings Bryan | editor-last = Bryan | editor-first = Charles W. | editor-link = Charles W. Bryan | volume = 9 | issue = 45 | date = Nov 19, 1909 | at = p.10, col.2 | litigants = State v. Finch | vol = 54 | reporter = Or. | opinion = 482 | pinpoint = | court = | date = 1909 | url = https://cite.case.law/or/54/482/ | access-date= | quote = | postscript = | type = Dateline: Salem, Ore. Nov. 12 (United Press Leased Wire) | title = PORTLAND ATTORNEY DIES ON GALLOWS -- Tragic Heart Rending Scene at Last Meeting of Condemned Man With Wife and Mother -- Makes Statement Concerning Murder of Fellow Lawyer -- Was Crazed With Drink | url = https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn88085187/1909-11-13/ed-1/seq-1/ | newspaper = Tacoma Times | location = Tacoma, WA | publisher = Tacoma Times Pub. Co. | editor-last = Wells | editor-first = E.H. | volume = 6 | issue = 286 | date = Nov 12, 1909 | at = p.1, col.7

Qualifications to practice

At the bar association's annual convention in 1903, lawyer A.F. Flegel proposed the adoption of measures proposed by the committee on legal education and admission to the bar to raise the standard of general and legal education in the legal profession in the state.{{cite news | author = | title = OFFICERS ARE NAMED -- State Bar Association Holds Its Annual Session | url = https://oregonnews.uoregon.edu/lccn/sn85042444/1903-11-18/ed-1/seq-1/ | newspaper = Oregon Daily Journal | location = Portland, OR | publisher = C.S. "Sam" Jackson | editor = | volume = 2 | issue = 217 | date = Nov 11, 1903 | at = p.1, col.1

In 1913, the Oregon Supreme Court created a five-member Board of Bar Examiners, appointed by the Oregon Bar Association for three year terms, to determine the qualifications of applicants to the bar, and make recommendations to the supreme court as to whether they should be admitted.{{cite book | author1-last = Dodds | author1-first = Gordon B | author2-last = Alzner | author2-first = Cathy Groghan | title = Serving Justice: A History of the Oregon State Bar 1890-2000 | url = | chapter = A Bar is Born 1935 -1945 | chapter-url = | lccn = 2004107281 | isbn = 1879049015 | location = | publisher = OSB | publication-date = 2004 | at = pp.50-51 | no-pp =

In November 1915 the board of examiners of the bar association proposed new educational requirements for admission to practice.{{cite news | type = | title = To Elevate Standard -- Bar Association Desirous of Having Real Lawyers -- Proof of High School Education and Three Years' Study, Named Among Requirements | url = https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn96088088/1915-11-19/ed-1/seq-1/ | newspaper = Polk County Observer | location = Dallas, OR | publisher = Lew A. Cater | editor = | volume = 27 | issue = 75 | date = Nov 19, 1915 | at = p.1, col.4

Under the 1915 proposal, candidates for admission to the bar would be required to have at least a high school education or its equivalent, and would have to show that they had studied law for three years. It was not until 1941 that graduation from an approved law school became a requirement for admission.

Involvement in Espionage Act prosecution

Henry Albers was a well-known German-American businessman and a principal in the Albers Brothers milling business, which was then a well-established Oregon firm.{{cite news | type = Dateline: PORTLAND, Ore. Oct 21 | title = WELL KNOWN MILLER HELD AS PRO-GERMAN -- Portland Capitalist Arrested for Statements Alleged Made on Train Which Admitted Pro-Germanism | url = https://oregonnews.uoregon.edu/lccn/sn99063812/1918-10-21/ed-1/seq-1/ | newspaper = The Evening Herald | location = Klamath, OR | publisher = Herald Pub. Co. | editor-last = Smith | editor-first = Wesley O. | volume = 13 | issue = 8,416 | date = Oct 21, 1918 | at = p.1, col.5

Albers was also accused of saying "the United States could never lick the Kaiser in a thousand years" and, further, that he had abused Secretary of the Treasury McAdoo. Albers, who had been born in Germany in 1866, and who had become a naturalized citizen in 1900, was under the influence of liquor at the time.{{cite news | type = | title = ALBERS HELD ON ESPIONAGE ALLEGATION -- President of Albers Bros. Milling Co. Arrested as Result of Alleged Remarks Made on Train on Way to Portland -- Offense, according to Deputy Marshall Who Overheard His Words, Was Committed While Under the Influence of Liquor | url = https://oregonnews.uoregon.edu/lccn/sn85042444/1918-10-21/ed-1/seq-2/ | newspaper = Oregon Daily Journal | location = Portland, OR | publisher = Journal Pub. Co. | editor-last = Jackson | editor-first = C.S. "Sam' | volume = 17 | issue = 136 | date = Oct 21, 1918 | at = p.1, col.5 and p.2, col.4 | type = | title = Mr.ALBERS FOUND GUILTY ON 2 COUNTS -- Defendant Turns Ashen as Verdict is Read -- New Trial May be Sought -- Forty Years in Prison, $20,000 Fine Maximum Penalty -- Brother Voices Regret | url = https://oregonnews.uoregon.edu/lccn/sn83025138/1919-02-06/ed-1/seq-1/ | newspaper = Morning Oregonian | location = Portland, OR | publisher = | editor-last = Piper | editor-first = Edgar B. | volume = 59 | issue = 18,161 | date = Feb 6, 1919 | at = p.1, col.5 | type = Dateline: PORTLAND, Mar. 17 (AP) | title = ALBERS SENTENCED | url = https://oregonnews.uoregon.edu/lccn/2003260223/1919-03-17/ed-1/seq-1/ | newspaper = The Evening News | location = Roseburg, OR | publisher = Bates & Bates | editor = | volume = 10 | issue = 65 | date = Mar 17, 1919 | at = p.1, col.6

In February, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals denied Albers' appeal.{{cite court | litigants = Albers v. United States | vol = 267 | reporter = F. | opinion = 27 | pinpoint = | court = 9th Cir. | date = 1920 | url = https://cite.case.law/f/263/27/ | access-date= | quote = | postscript = , certiorari granted 252 U.S. ___, 40 Sup.Ct. 584 (1920)}} In June, 1920, the Albers case was accepted by the United States Supreme Court on a petition for a writ of certiorari.{{cite news | type = | title = COURT TO REVIEW HENRY ALBERS CASE -- U.S. Tribunal Reaches Agreement on Hearing -- Portland Manufacturer, Sentenced to McNeil Island, At Liberty Pending Decision | url = https://oregonnews.uoregon.edu/lccn/sn83025138/1920-06-02/ed-1/seq-1/ | newspaper = The Morning Oregonian | location = Portland, OR | publisher = | editor-last = Piper | editor-first = Edgar B. | volume = 59 | issue = 18,571 | date = Jun 2, 1920 | at = p.1, col.6

In April 1921, when the case was called for oral argument, Solicitor General of the United States William L. Frierson conceded there had been an error in the Albers case, and moved to vacate the conviction.{{cite news | type = Dateline: Washington April 27 | title = CONVICTION OF ALBERS IS QUASHED -- U.S. Confesses Error in Espionage Case and Asks Reversal by Supreme Court; Sentence and Fine are Automatically Halted | url = https://oregonnews.uoregon.edu/lccn/sn85042444/1921-04-27/ed-1/seq-1/ | newspaper = Oregon Daily Journal | location = Portland, OR | publisher = Journal Pub. Co. | editor-last = Jackson | editor-first = C.S. "Sam" | volume = 20 | issue = 43 | date = Apr 27, 1921 | at = p.1, col.7

The Oregon Bar Association then attempted to intervene in the case as a non-party.{{cite news | type = Dateline: THE OREGONIAN NEWS BUREAU, Washington, D.C., May 3 | title = ALBERS' RETRIAL IS TO BE ORDERED -- McNary Reports Promise by Solicitor-General -- Bar Association Wins -- Senator Acts on Request to Fight Decision | url = https://oregonnews.uoregon.edu/lccn/sn83025138/1921-05-04/ed-1/seq-1/ | newspaper = Morning Oregonian | location = Portland, OR | publisher = | editor-last = Piper | editor-first = Edgar B. | volume = 60 | issue = 18,861 | date = May 4, 1921 | at = p.1, col.6 | author = | title = State Bar to Take Up Albers' Case | url = https://oregonnews.uoregon.edu/lccn/sn85042444/1921-04-29/ed-1/seq-1/ | newspaper = Oregon Daily Journal | location = Portland, OR | publisher = Journal Pub. Co. | editor-last = Jackson | editor-first = C.S. "Sam" | volume = 20 | issue = 45 | date = Apr 29, 1921 | at = p.1, col.5

The telegram further asked that the bar association be given the privilege of appearing in the case at a hearing on the merits. McNary, acting as lawyer for the bar association, presented a formal petition to the Supreme Court. The court, in a one-sentence opinion, denied the bar association's effort to intervene in the case.{{cite news | type = Dateline: WASHINGTON, D.C., June 6 | author = | title = OREGON BAR IS SHUT OUT OF ALBERS CASE -- Supreme Court Refuses to Permit Intervention | url = https://oregonnews.uoregon.edu/lccn/sn83025138/1921-06-07/ed-1/seq-1/ | newspaper = Morning Oregonian | location = Portland, OR | publisher = | editor-last = Piper | editor-first = Edgar B. | volume = | issue = | date = Jun 7, 1921 | at = p.1, col.

Albers died of a stroke on July 27, 1921 at his home in Milwaukie, Oregon, before any remanded proceedings could occur in U.S. district court.{{cite news | type = Dateline: PORTLAND, Ore., July 27 | title = J. Henry Albers Dies of Paralysis at Milwaukie | url = https://oregonnews.uoregon.edu/lccn/sn90066132/1921-07-27/ed-1/seq-1/ | newspaper = Capital Journal | location = Salem, OR | publisher = | editor-last = Putnam | editor-first = George | volume = 43 | issue = 178 | date = Jul 27, 1921 | at = p.1, col.2

The Oregon Law Review

The Oregon Law Review began publication in 1921, with the first editor being Prof. Thomas A. Larrimore.{{cite news | title = Law Publication Includes Work of Student Writers -- Review's Exchange List Brings Periodicals to Library at Law School | url = https://oregonnews.uoregon.edu/lccn/2004260239/1933-10-28/ed-1/seq-1/ | newspaper = Oregon Daily Emerald | location = Eugene, OR | publisher = Associated Students of the University of Oregon ("ASUO") | editor-last = Saslavsky | editor-first = Joseph | volume = 35 | issue = 8 | date = Oct 28, 1933 | at = p.1, col.2 | title = Law Review Reduced in Price | url = https://oregonnews.uoregon.edu/lccn/2004260239/1936-01-24/ed-1/seq-4/ | newspaper = Oregon Daily Emerald | location = Eugene, OR | publisher = ASUO | editor-last = Johnson | editor-first = Clair | volume = 37 | issue = 50 | date = Jan 23, 1936 | at = p.4, col.4

Bar examination

As of July, 1925, the state board of bar examiners was conducting the bar examination.{{cite news | title = Nine Law Students to Receive Their Degrees -- Willamette University to Honor Class in June -- Graduates Are to Apply for Entrance in the State Bar Association | url = https://oregonnews.uoregon.edu/lccn/sn85042470/1925-05-31/ed-1/seq-10/ | newspaper = Oregon Statesman | location = Salem, OR | publisher = Statesman Pub. Co. | editor-last = Tooze | editor-first = Fred J. | volume = 75 | issue = | date = May 31, 1925 | at = p.10, col.8

In 1931 the bar examination was given on July 15.{{cite news | title = Locals ... David H. Greenburg, of Portland, passed the Oregon State Bar examination ... | url = https://oregonnews.uoregon.edu/lccn/sn90066132/1931-09-10/ed-1/seq-12/ | newspaper = Capital Journal | location = Salem, OR | publisher = | editor-last = Putnam | editor-first = George | volume = 43 | issue = 216 | date = Sep 10, 1931 | at = p.12, col.2 | title = Under the Dome -- Occurrences and gossip at the center of Oregon's state government ... The Oregon state bar examination will be held ... | url = https://oregonnews.uoregon.edu/lccn/sn85042470/1932-07-10/ed-1/seq-5/ | newspaper = Oregon Statesman | location = Salem, OR | publisher = Statesman Pub. Co. | editor-last = Sprague | editor-first = Charles A. | editor-link = Charles A. Sprague | volume = 82 | issue = 90 | date = Jul 10, 1931 | at = p.5, col.1

On May 5, 1933, the bar association voted in favor of a five-year academic course for admission to the legal profession.{{cite news | title = BITS FOR BREAKFAST ... The Oregon State Bar association yesterday voted in favor ... | author-last = Hendricks | author-first = R.J. | url = https://oregonnews.uoregon.edu/lccn/sn85042470/1933-05-06/ed-1/seq-4/ | newspaper = Oregon Statesman | location = Salem, OR | publisher = Statesman Pub. Co. | editor-last = Sprague | editor-first = Charles A. | volume = 83 | issue = 35 | date = May 6, 1933 | at = p.4, col.3

Minimum fee schedules

Bar associations used to promulgate and enforce fee schedules as one of their more common activities.{{cite journal | author1-last = Bently | author1-first = Janet F. | author2-last = Buck | author2-first = Peter C. | author3-last = Feagles | author3-first = Prentiss E. | author4-last = Magill | author4-first = Thomas D. | author5-last = Tackaberry | author5-first = Neal E. | title = Bar Association Minimum Fee Schedules and the Antitrust Laws | journal = Duke Law Journal | volume = 1974 | pages = 1164–1226 | date = 1975 | url = https://scholarship.law.duke.edu/dlj/vol23/iss6/3

The Oregon State Bar Association promulgated a minimum fee schedule before World War II.{{cite news | type = Dateline: PORTLAND,Ore. Dec. 25 | title = OREGON STATE BAR ENDS FEE SYSTEM | url = https://www.nytimes.com/1974/12/26/archives/oregon-state-bar-ends-fee-system-schedule-for-legal-work-draws.html | newspaper = New York Times | location = New York, NY | editor = | volume = | issue = | date = Dec 26, 1974 | at = p.33, col.1

OSB adopted its first statewide minimum fee schedule on September 29, 1938 after lengthy debate at the annual bar convention.{{cite news | title = Bar Conclave Sets Minimum Scale of Fees -- Multnomah Schedule Will Apply to Whole State, Group Decides | url = https://oregonnews.uoregon.edu/lccn/sn85042470/1938-09-30/ed-1/seq-1/ | newspaper = The Oregon Statesman | location = Salem, OR | publisher = Statesman Pub. Co. | editor-last = Sprague | editor-first = Charles A. | volume = 88 | issue = 160 | date = Sep 30, 1938 | at = p.1, col.1 | type = | title = State Bar to Meet in Salem Three Days | url = https://oregonnews.uoregon.edu/lccn/sn90066132/1938-09-24/ed-1/seq-10/ | newspaper = Capital Journal | location = Salem, OR | publisher = Journal Pub. Co. | editor-last = Putnam | editor-first = George | volume = 50 | issue = 228 | date = Sep 24, 1938 | at = p.10, col.5

Local schedules

Proposals to establish or raise minimum lawyer fees were made in Oregon by local bar associations. In 1907, the Umatilla County Bar Association was formed, and at the first organizational meeting, it established a detailed schedule of minimum fees.{{cite news | type = | title = LAWYERS ORGANIZE -- Permanent Officers and Scale of Prices Adopted | url = https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn88086023/1907-01-07/ed-1/seq-8/ | newspaper = Daily East Oregonian | location = Pendleton, OR | publisher = East Oregonian Pub. Co. | editor-last = Lockley | editor-first = Fred | editor-link = Fred Lockley | volume = 16 | issue = 5,867 | date = Jan 7, 1907 | at = p.8, col.3

The Jackson County bar association was newly formed in the summer of 1919, with "the immediate business of the new organization would be to standardize and lift lawyers' fees so as to make them conform with the cost of living."{{cite news | type = Dateline: MEDFORD, Or. Aug. 15 (Special) | title = Lawyers Also Want Lift -- Organization Proposes Fees in Line With Cost of Living | url = https://oregonnews.uoregon.edu/lccn/sn83025138/1919-08-15/ed-1/seq-9/ | newspaper = Morning Oregonian | location = Portland, OR | publisher = | editor-last = Piper | editor-first = Edgar B. | volume = 57 | issue = 18,321 | date = Aug 16, 1919 | at = p.9, col.2

After adoption of the state-wide fee schedules in 1938, county bar associations were still free to adopt their own minimum fee schedules provided they were approved by the Board of Governors of the state bar.{{cite news | title = New Fees Given Okeh [sic] -- Certain of Attorney Fees Increased by County Bar Group | url = https://oregonnews.uoregon.edu/lccn/sn85042470/1938-12-04/ed-1/seq-11/ | newspaper = The Oregon Statesman | location = Salem, OR | publisher = Statesman Pub. Co. | editor1-last = Sprague | editor1-first = Charles A. | volume = 88 | issue = 216 | date = Dec 4, 1938 | at = p.11, col.1

Marion County's minimum fees for an uncontested divorce were raised to $75, up $25, which restored the fee to its pre-depression minimum. Minimum fees were set lower than the state schedule , for such matters as office calls, examining abstracts, appealing cases to the Oregon Supreme Court and bankruptcy petitions. For example the county set a minimum fee of $2 for office calls seeking oral advice, with the state minimum fee at $5.

In January 1939, lawyers of Washington County similarly protested that the state fee schedule was too high and "discrediting to the profession."{{cite news | title = Forest Grove Attorney Heads Bar Group | url = https://oregonnews.uoregon.edu/lccn/sn96088480/1939-01-20/ed-1/seq-1/# | newspaper = Beaverton Enterprise | location = Beaverton, OR | publisher = Pioneer Pub. Co. | editor-last = Jeffries | editor-first = Henry H. | volume = 12 | issue = 20 | date = Jan 20, 1939 | at = p.1, col.5

Forced abandonment

The bar association's minimum fee schedule was still in effect in the early 1960s.{{cite court | litigants = Spencer v. Gladden | vol = 230 | reporter = Or. | opinion = 162 | pinpoint = | court = | date = 1962 | url = https://cite.case.law/or/230/162/ | access-date= | quote = | postscript =

In 1974, the United States Department of Justice brought a legal action against the Oregon State Bar Association, alleging that by use of minimum fee schedules, the association was violating federal antitrust statutes.{{cite court | litigants = United States v. Oregon State Bar | vol = 385 | reporter = F.Supp | opinion = 507 | pinpoint = | court = D.Or | date = 1974 | url = https://cite.case.law/f-supp/385/507/ | access-date= | quote = | postscript =

The Oregon State Bar sought summary judgment in its favor, arguing that it was not liable under the "state action" and "learned profession" exemptions to the Sherman Antitrust Act. On November 19, 1974, the U.S. district court in Portland, Oregon ruled against the bar association, opening the association up to Sherman Act liability.

Within six weeks the bar association abandoned its minimum fee schedule. Not long after that the United States Supreme Court, in Goldfarb v. Virginia State Bar, reached the same result as did the district court in the Oregon case.{{cite court | litigants = Goldfarb v. Virginia State Bar | vol = 421 | reporter = U.S. | opinion = 773 | pinpoint = | court = | date = 1975 | url = https://cite.case.law/us/421/773/ | access-date= | quote = | postscript =

Former Communist Party members

Applicants for admission to the bar were and remain required to establish that they are persons of good moral character. In the 1950s and early 1960s, membership in the Communist Party was considered highly suspect, and in at least one state (Florida) was considered, at least in dicta, to be per se grounds for denial of admission.{{cite journal | author-last = Beyer | author-first = Ross M. | title = Communism versus State Bar Admission | journal = Wyo. L. J. | volume = 12 | pages = 29 | date = 1957 | url = https://scholarship.law.uwyo.edu/wlj/vol12/iss1/4 | litigants = Konigsberg v. State Bar | vol = 353 | reporter = U.S. | opinion = 252 | pinpoint = | court = | date = 1957 | url = https://cite.case.law/us/353/252/ | access-date= | quote = | postscript = | litigants = Schware v. Board of Bar Examiners | vol = 353 | reporter = U.S. | opinion = 232 | pinpoint = | court = | date = 1957 | url = https://cite.case.law/us/353/232/ | access-date= | quote = | postscript =

In Oregon, Frank V. Patterson, passed the bar in 1953, but was denied admission because of his previous affiliation with the Communist Party,{{cite court | litigants = Application of Patterson | vol = 210 | reporter = Or. | opinion = 495 | pinpoint = | court = | date = 1956 | url = https://cite.case.law/or/210/495/ | access-date= | quote = | postscript = | type = Dateline: PORTLAND (AP) | author = | title = Supreme Court Rules For Lawyer | url = https://oregonnews.uoregon.edu/lccn/2004260239/1957-05-20/ed-1/seq-3/ | newspaper = Oregon Daily Emerald | location = Eugene, OR | publisher = ASUO | editor1-last = Mitchelmore | editor1-first = Charles | volume = 58 | issue = 133 | date = May 20, 1957 | at = p.3, col.4 | litigants = In re Patterson | vol = 353 | reporter = U.S. | opinion = 952 | pinpoint = | court = | date = 1957 | url = | access-date= | quote = | postscript = | litigants = Application of Patterson | vol = 213 | reporter = Or. | opinion = 398 | pinpoint = 410 | court = | date = 1957 | url = https://cite.case.law/or/213/398/ | access-date= | quote = [D]uring the years 1946-1949, when Patterson was a member of the Communist Party, it was a subversive organization which was on Russia's side in the 'cold war' (as Patterson practically admitted in his testimony), and not, as he would have us believe, merely a political party with a mission to make America, by the use of democratic processes, a more perfect democracy. | postscript = | author1-last = Dodds | author1-first = Gordon B | author2-last = Alzner | author2-first = Cathy Groghan | title = Serving Justice: A History of the Oregon State Bar 1890-2000 | url = | chapter = The Post War Years 1946 -1964 | chapter-url = | lccn = 2004107281 | isbn = 1879049015 | location = | publisher = OSB | publication-date = 2004 | at = pp.90-91 | no-pp =

When Bernard Jolles applied for admission to the bar in 1963, the bar opposed his admission based on the fact that when seeking admission to his law school, Northwestern School of Law, that he had not disclosed that he had previously been a member of the Communist Party.{{cite news | type = Dateline: SALEM (UPI) | author = | title = Court Okays Former Red | url = https://oregonnews.uoregon.edu/lccn/sn99063813/1963-06-19/ed-1/seq-1/#words=Bernard+Jolles | newspaper = Herald and News | location = Klamath Falls, OR | publisher = Klamath Pub. Co. | editor = | volume = | issue = 7,172 | date = June 19, 1963 | at = p.1, col.5 | url = https://digitalcollections.ohs.org/sr-1204-oral-history-interview-with-bernard-jolles | title = Oral history interview with Bernard Jolles [Sound Recording 07] | format = audiocassette | last = Jolles | first = Bernard | interviewer-last = Bulkley | interviewer-first = Robert D. Jr. | date = Nov 14, 1990 | at = 00:16:00 to 00:28:15 | website = Oregon Historical Society | publisher = United States District Court Oral History Project | access-date = Nov 3, 2022 | quote =

The Oregon Supreme Court, finding that Jolles had abandoned his allegiance to the Communist Party, admitted him to the bar association on a 4-2 vote, with then-recently appointed Justice Arno Denecke recusing himself.{{cite court | litigants = In Re Bernard Jolles | vol = 235 | reporter = Or. | opinion = 262 | pinpoint = | court = Or | date = 1963 | url = https://cite.case.law/or/235/262/ | access-date= | quote = | postscript = | url = https://www.osbar.org/_docs/leadership/bog/PastBOGpresidents.pdf | title = Oregon State Bar Presidents 1935-Present | last = | first = | date = | website = | publisher = Oregon State Bar | access-date = Oct 31, 2022 | quote =

Incorporation of the bar as a public agency

Early proposals

On January 3, 1933, it was reported that at a closed door meeting of the executive directors of the bar association, there had been a discussion of presenting to the legislature a proposal to incorporate the bar association and giving it disciplinary authority over its members.{{cite news | type = Dateline: Portland, Jan. 3 (AP) | title = PLAN TO INCORPORATE BAR ASSOCIATION | url = https://oregonnews.uoregon.edu/lccn/sn90066132/1933-01-03/ed-1/seq-5/ | newspaper = Capital Journal | location = Salem, OR | publisher = Journal Pub. Co. | editor-last = Putnam | editor-first = George | volume = 45 | issue = 2 | date = Jan 3, 1933 | at = p.5, col.4

The bill was introduced in the Oregon House of Representatives on February 9, 1933 by the committee on the judiciary.{{cite news | type = | title = LAWYERS MUST BE MEMBERS OF THE BAR | url = https://oregonnews.uoregon.edu/lccn/sn90066132/1933-02-10/ed-1/seq-7/ | newspaper = Capital Journal | location = Salem, OR | publisher = Journal Pub. Co. | editor-last = Putnam | editor-first = George | volume = 45 | issue = 85 | date = Feb 10, 1933 | at = p.7, col.5

The bill provided for a board of governors of three members for each of Oregon's three congressional districts. The bill would give the Board of Governors, the authority, by a two-thirds vote following a hearing, to make a recommendation to the Oregon Supreme Court for the disbarment of any member of the bar.

Establishment as a public corporation

A bill similar to the proposed 1933 legislation was introduced in the 1935 legislature on January 29 by the joint Senate and House judiciary committee.{{cite news | type = | title = SENATE GIVES APPROVAL TO 11 BILLS... Bill Introduced to Regulate Practice of Law and Maintain Bar Body | url = https://oregonnews.uoregon.edu/lccn/sn90066132/1935-01-29/ed-1/seq-1/ | newspaper = Capital Journal | location = Salem, OR | publisher = Journal Pub. Co. | editor-last = Putnam | editor-first = George | volume = 47 | issue = 25 | date = Jan 29, 1935 | at = p.1, col.5

On January 31, 1935, after nearly an hour of debate, the bill was passed by the Oregon senate by a vote of 21 to 9.{{cite news | type = | title = LAWYER'S BILL PASSES SENATE | url = https://oregonnews.uoregon.edu/lccn/sn90066132/1935-01-31/ed-1/seq-1/ | newspaper = Capital Journal | location = Salem, OR | publisher = Journal Pub. Co. | editor-last = Putnam | editor-first = George | volume = 47 | issue = 27 | date = Jan 31, 1935 | at = p.1, col.8

Senator William H. Strayer, of Baker contended that no lawyer should be compelled to join such an association. It was reported that as he voted, Strayer declared that "the skids are greased and I'm in a revival meeting. I vote no."

By February 20, 1935, the bill had been passed by the Oregon House of Representatives and signed by governor Charles H. Martin.{{cite news | type = | title = LOCALS ... Three men have been nominated for governor ... | url = https://oregonnews.uoregon.edu/lccn/sn90066132/1935-02-20/ed-1/seq-7/ | newspaper = Capital Journal | location = Salem, OR | publisher = Journal Pub. Co. | editor-last = Putnam | editor-first = George | volume = 47 | issue = | date = Feb 20, 1935 | at = p.7, col.2 | type = | title = STATE BAR TO PICK GOVERNORS | url = https://oregonnews.uoregon.edu/lccn/sn90066132/1935-06-12/ed-1/seq-4/ | newspaper = Capital Journal | location = Salem, OR | publisher = Journal Pub. Co. | editor-last = Putnam | editor-first = George | volume = 47 | issue = 140 | date = Jun 12, 1935 | at = p.4, col.4

Every active lawyer was required to be a member of the newly incorporated Oregon State Bar Association.{{cite news | title = Phi Delta Phi Hears Maguire -- Suggestions Given to Advance Careers | url = https://oregonnews.uoregon.edu/lccn/2004260239/1935-11-26/ed-1/seq-4/ | newspaper = Oregon Daily Emerald | location = Eugene, OR | publisher = ASUO | editor-last = Lucas | editor-first = Robert W. | volume = 37 | issue = 39 | date = Nov 26, 1935 | at = p.4, col.1 | title = STATE BAR ASSOCIATION SET FOR SEPT. 27-28 | url = https://oregonnews.uoregon.edu/lccn/sn97071090/1935-05-29/ed-1/seq-8/ | newspaper = Medford Mail Tribune | location = Medford, OR | publisher = Medford Printing Co. | editor-last = Ruhl | editor-first = Robert W. | volume = 30 | issue = 58 | date = May 29, 1935 | at = p.8, cols.5-6

Purpose of incorporation

In August 1935, Oscar Hayter, one of the most prominent attorneys in the state, and soon to be one of the first board of governors of the new association, gave a speech to the Salem Rotary Club in which he outlined some of the goals of the incorporated bar.{{cite news | author = | title = OREGON LAWYERS TO BETTER PROFESSION -- Integrated Bar Will Bring Improvement, Is Hayter's Word to Rotarians | url = https://oregonnews.uoregon.edu/lccn/sn85042470/1935-08-29/ed-1/seq-6/ | newspaper = Oregon Statesman | location = Salem, OR | publisher = Statesman Pub. Co. | editor-last = Sprague | editor-first = Charles W. | volume = 85 | issue = 133 | date = Aug 29, 1935 | at = p.6, col.8

Governing body and initial officers

The governing body of the incorporated bar association was a nine-member Board of Governors. Three governors came from each of the (then) three Congressional districts. Each district also had a three-member trial committee.

The first president of the Oregon State Bar was Portland attorney Robert F. Maguire.{{cite news | title = LOCAL LAWYERS APPOINTED TO COMMITTEES | url = https://oregonnews.uoregon.edu/lccn/sn90066132/1935-11-30/ed-1/seq-3/ | newspaper = Capital Journal | location = Salem, OR | publisher = Journal Pub. Co. | editor-last = Putnam | editor-first = George | volume = 47 | issue = 286 | date = Nov 30, 1935 | at = p.3, col.1

Involvement of law instructors

University of Oregon law school dean, and later U.S. senator Wayne L. Morse was appointed in November 1935 to the committee on legal education and admission.{{cite news | title = Law Profs Have Many Positions | url = https://oregonnews.uoregon.edu/lccn/2004260239/1935-11-16/ed-1/seq-4/ | newspaper = Oregon Daily Emerald | location = Eugene, OR | publisher = ASUO | editor-last = Lucas | editor-first = Robert W. | volume = 37 | issue = 33 | date = Nov 16, 1935 | at = p.4, col.6 | type = law firm history | author = | title = McEwan Gisvold LLC: Celebrating 125 Years of Excellence | url = http://storage.cloversites.com/mcewengisvoldllp/documents/125th%20Booklet%20Publication%20-%20final%20(smaller%20file).pdf | newspaper = | location = Portland OR | publisher = self-published | editor-last = Tu | editor-first = Trung D. | volume = | issue = | date = 2011 | at =

Opposition to Supreme Court expansion

On February 5, 1937, President Franklin D. Roosevelt, frustrated by New Deal legislation being struck down by the Supreme Court on what were perceived by critics of the court to be dubious constitutional grounds,{{cite book | author1-last = Schlesinger | author1-first = Arthur M., Jr. | author-link = Arthur M. Schlesinger Jr. | title = The Age of Roosevelt: The Politics of Upheaval | url = https://archive.org/download/TheAgeOfRooseveltThePoliticsOfUpheaval/TheAgeOfRooseveltThePoliticsOfUpheaval.pdf | chapter = Ch.26. Storm Over the Constitution | chapter-url = | lccn = | isbn = 0618340874 | location = Cambridge, MA | publisher = Houghton Mifflin | publication-date = 1960 | at = pp.484-496 | no-pp =

After the announcement, an OSB committee sent out a poll to 2,200 members of the bar as to whether they supported or opposed the court-packing plan.{{cite news | type = Dateline: Portland, Ore., March 6 (UP) | author = | title = STATE BAR VOTES ON COURT CHANGE | url = https://oregonnews.uoregon.edu/lccn/sn90066132/1937-03-06/ed-1/seq-9/ | newspaper = The Capital Journal | location = Salem, OR | publisher = Journal Pub. Co. | editor-last = Putnam | editor-first = George | volume = 49 | issue = 56 | date = Mar 6, 1937 | at = p.9, col.7

Code of ethics

As initially organized, the bar association did not have a formal code of legal ethics. In 1907, at its seventeenth annual meeting, at the Pioneer Courthouse, the association declined to adopt a code.{{cite news | title = LAWYERS IN SESSION -- Reports Read and Adopted at Opening Session of Seventeenth Annual Meeting of State Association -- Election Tomorrow | url = https://oregonnews.uoregon.edu/lccn/sn85042444/1907-11-19/ed-1/seq-10/ | newspaper = Oregon Daily Journal | location = Portland, OR | publisher = Journal Pub. Co. | editor-last = Jackson | editor-first = C.S. "Sam" | volume = 6 | issue = 221 | date = Nov 19, 1907 | at = p.10, col.5

Resignation from the bar

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/25/Lewis_C_Garrigus_ca_1911.png" caption="Lewis C. Garrigus, Portland lawyer who resigned in 1895 under threat of disbarment for [[embezzlement]], and was readmitted to the bar ten years later."] ::

Early procedure

Lawyers in the early years of the bar association could avoid disbarment by resignation, and this was done by two of the eight then facing charges, specifically Harold Pilkington and Lewis C. Garrigus.{{cite court | litigants = Ex Parte Pilkington | vol = 28 | reporter = Or. | opinion = 587 | pinpoint = | court = | date = 1895 | url = https://cite.case.law/or/28/587/2264355/ | access-date= | quote = | postscript = | litigants = Ex Parte Garrigus | vol = 28 | reporter = Or. | opinion = 587 | pinpoint = | court = | date = 1895 | url = https://cite.case.law/or/28/587/2264364/ | access-date= | quote = | postscript =

Garrigus was able to have himself reinstated to the bar in 1905.{{cite book | author = Oregon Bar Association | title = Proceedings of the Oregon Bar Association at the Fourteenth, Fifteenth, and Sixteenth Annual Meetings | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=dXhMAAAAYAAJ | chapter = Appendix C: Report of the Grievance Committee | lccn = | isbn = | location = Portland, Oregon | publisher = Commercial Printing Co. | date = 1907 | at = p.37 | title = Harold Pilkington, of this city, was admitted to the bar ... | url = https://oregonnews.uoregon.edu/lccn/sn83025138/1914-09-24/ed-1/seq-8/ | newspaper = Morning Oregonian | location = Portland, OR | publisher = Henry L. Pittock | editor-last = Scott | editor-first = Harvey W. | volume = 54 | issue = 16,796 | date = Sep 24, 1914 | at = p.8, col.8 | litigants = Ex parte Thompson | vol = 32 | reporter = Or. | opinion = 499 | pinpoint = 502 | court = | date = 1898 | url = https://cite.case.law/or/32/499/ | access-date= | quote = The accused, having been convicted of a felony while he sustained the relation of an attorney, ought not to be permitted, by his voluntary act, to have his name stricken from the roll of attorneys while charges are pending against him. | postscript =

Form B resignation

A Form B resignation is the functional equivalent of being disbarred from a Bar association, and means that the submitting member of the bar resigned while facing disciplinary charges from the bar tribunal. Members of the Oregon State bar who enter a Form B Resignation are not eligible to be readmitted to the bar again.{{cite news | title= Bar lowers the boom on Samwick | author-last = Duin | author-first = Steve | work = The Oregonian | date = May 8, 2008 | access-date = 2008-09-24 | url = http://www.oregonlive.com/news/oregonian/steve_duin/index.ssf?/base/news/1210215303290180.xml&coll=7 }}{{cite news | title= County says Johnson attorney overcharged: Pangburn had resigned from Oregon State Bar | author-last = Stahl | author-first = Greg | work = Idaho Mountain Express | date = Jun 15, 2005 | access-date = 2008-09-24 | url = http://www.mtexpress.com/index2.php?ID=2005103544 }}

Permanent disbarment

Until December 31, 1995, disbarred lawyers could apply for reinstatement five years after the effective date of their disbarment. As of January 1, 1996, disbarment is permanent. Oregon is one of the few states where disbarment is automatically permanent, the others being Indiana, Ohio, and New Jersey.{{Citation | author1 = Supreme Court of New Jersey | author2 = Office of Attorney Ethics | title = 2020 State of the Disciplinary System Report | journal = | volume = | issue = | date = May 2021 | at = p.8 | url = https://www.njcourts.gov/attorneys/assets/oae/2020oaeannualrpt.pdf?c=5y7

Bar programs

Client Security Fund

Purpose and procedure

Like most other states, the Oregon State Bar Association has established a "Client Security Fund" which will reimburse clients, up to a certain amount, who are victims of their own lawyer's dishonesty. To be eligible for a CSF award, there must evidence of dishonesty in an established lawyer-client relationship or the lawyer must have acting in a fiduciary capacity related to the lawyer's practice of law. "Dishonesty" includes failing to refund fees where no work was done on the matter or where the work done was de minimis or of no value to the client.{{Citation | author-last = Stevens | author-first = Sylvia E. | title = Bar Counsel = Another Challenging Year - Annual Report of the OSB Client Security Fund | journal = Oregon State Bar Bulletin | volume = | issue = | date = Feb 2013 | pages = | url = https://www.osbar.org/publications/bulletin/14febmar/barcounsel.html

Decision to create fund

In late September 1958, the bar association voted at its annual convention to adopt an indemnity plan to protect clients against losses of funds entrusted to a member of the profession.{{cite news | type = | author = | editor-last = Anderson | editor-first = Ray C. | title = Carl Helm Jr. Bar Association Vice President | url = https://oregonnews.uoregon.edu/lccn/2006260039/1958-09-30/ed-1/seq-1/ | newspaper = La Grande Evening Observer | location = La Grande, OR | publisher = | volume = | issue = | date = Sep 30, 1958 | at = p.1, col.7 | type = editorial | author = | editor-last = | editor-first = | title = Oregon lawyers sending in ballots on client indemnification fund | url = https://oregonnews.uoregon.edu/lccn/sn96088244/1963-11-07/ed-1/seq-4/ | newspaper = The Bend Bulletin | location = Bend, OR | publisher = | volume = | issue = | date = Nov 11, 1963 | at = p.4, col.1

First effort fails in 1959

In March 1959, a bill was introduced in the Oregon Legislature which would have set up a fund to reimburse the public when attorneys embezzled funds of their clients.{{cite news | type = Dateline: SALEM (AP) | author = | editor-last = Stanton | editor-first = Charles V. | title = House Committee Kills Law Assessment Fund | url = https://oregonnews.uoregon.edu/lccn/2003260229/1959-03-25/ed-1/seq-9/ | newspaper = News-Review | location = Roseburg, OR | publisher = | volume = 59 | issue = 71 | date = March 25, 1959 | at = p.9, col.3 | type = editorial | author = | editor-last = Chandler | editor-first = Robert W. | title = It was fitting, in a Centennial year, to have the worst Legislature in history | url = https://oregonnews.uoregon.edu/lccn/sn90051770/1959-05-09/ed-1/seq-4/ | newspaper = Bend Bulletin | location = Bend, OR | publisher = | volume = 56 | issue = 131 | date = May 9, 1959 | at = p.4, col.1

Renewed initiatives

The controversial indemnity fund issue was taken up again at the bar convention in late September 1959.{{cite news | title = Oregon Lawyers Keep Busy in Dizzy Whirl of Convention Events | url = https://oregonnews.uoregon.edu/lccn/sn90051770/1959-09-25/ed-1/seq-1/ | newspaper = Bend Bulletin | location = Bend, OR | publisher = | editor-last = | editor-first = | volume = 56 | issue = 247 | date = Sep 25, 1859 | at =

On Friday, November 15, 1963, the Oregon State Bar Association conducted a secret ballot mail poll of Oregon lawyers regarding the association's proposal to establish a "client security fund."{{cite news | title = Lawyers Oppose 'Security Fund' in Secret Polling | url = https://oregonnews.uoregon.edu/lccn/sn99063863/1963-11-21/ed-1/seq-4/ | newspaper = Nyssa Gate City Journal | location = Nyssa, OR | publisher = | editor-last = Brammer | editor-first = Ted M. | volume = 57 | issue = 47 | date = Nov 21, 1963 | at = p.4, col.1

Successful establishment

In 1966, at the bar association's annual convention, following considerable debate, the bar adopted by a vote of 142 to 124, a plan to propose that the legislature authorize the bar to create a client security fund.{{cite court | litigants = Bennett v. Oregon State Bar | vol = 256 | reporter = Or. | opinion = 27 | pinpoint = 44 | court = Or | date = 1970 | url = https://cite.case.law/or/256/37/ | access-date= | quote = | postscript =

The Client Security Fund Act authorized the bar to adopt a plan by which clients who suffered financial losses because of dishonest conduct of bar members could be reimbursed. The funds would be raised primarily by a standard compulsory payment by all members of the bar. The act of the 1967 session (Oregon Laws 1967 Ch. 546) became effective on September 16, 1967.

Soon afterwards at the 1967 annual meeting, the bar approved a resolution establishing the fund. The bar's board of governors at their November 10–11, 1967, meeting adopted a motion providing for an annual membership assessment of $5 to support the fund. At its April 19–20, 1968 meeting the board passed a detailed resolution which set up a complete procedure for administering the program, which came to be called the "Client Security Fund" ("CSF").

In 1970, CSF was upheld by the Oregon Supreme Court against a challenge that it was unconstitutional on the grounds of equal protection and due process of law.

Claims history

For the first twenty-six years of the Client Security Fund's existence, the maximum claim payable was $25,000 (equivalent to $225,538 in September 2022).{{Citation | last = Stevens | first = Sylvia E. | title = Bar Counsel: The Annual Report of the OSB Client Security Fund | journal = Oregon State Bar Bulletin | volume = | issue = | date = Apr 2003 | pages = | url = https://www.osbar.org/publications/bulletin/03apr/barcounsel.html | url = https://www.bls.gov/data/inflation_calculator.htm | title = CPI Inflation Calculator | author = Bureau of Labor Statistics | date = | website = | publisher = | access-date = 25 Oct 2022 | quote = }} The maximum payment per claim was raised to $50,000 in 1993.{{cite news | author-last = Stevens | author-first = Sylvia E. | title = Bar Counsel: Client Security Funds 2012 Annual Report | url = https://www.osbar.org/publications/bulletin/13febmar/barcounsel.html | newspaper = Oregon State Bar Bulletin | location = Tigard, OR | publisher = | editor = | volume = | issue = | date = Feb 2012 | at = In 2012 and in 2019, the Client Security Fund was exhausted by the malfeasance of two attorneys who embezzled large amounts of client moneys from their own trust accounts.{{cite press release | author = U.S. Attorney's Office, District of Oregon | date = Jun 27, 2022 | title = Former Portland Attorney Pleads Guilty to Embezzling Client Funds | url = https://www.justice.gov/usao-or/pr/former-portland-attorney-pleads-guilty-embezzling-client-funds | location = Portland, OR | publisher = | agency = U.S. Dept of Justice | access-date = | author = U.S. Attorney's Office, District of Oregon | date = Mar 13, 2014 | title = Former Portland and Bend-Area Attorney Sentenced to 63 Months for Embezzling More Than $1.1 Million of Client Funds | url = https://archives.fbi.gov/archives/portland/press-releases/2014/former-portland-and-bend-area-attorney-sentenced-to-63-months-for-embezzling-more-than-1.1-million-of-client-funds | location = Portland, OR | publisher = | agency = U.S. Dept of Justice | access-date = | title = Former lawyer who stole over $3.4 million pleads guilty -- State bar says it's worst fraud by a lawyer in state history | type = AP story | url = https://oregonnews.uoregon.edu/lccn/sn96088244/2022-06-29/ed-1/seq-2/ | newspaper = Bend Bulletin | location = Bend, OR | publisher = Heidi Wright | editor1-last = O'Brien | editor1-first = Gerry | volume = | issue = | date = Jun 29, 2022 | at = p.2, col. 6

In response to the 2019 embezzlements, the bar association raised the maximum CSF payment per claim from $50,000 to $100,000, and also backed new legislation, enacted as SB 180, which, as an anti-embezzlement measure, would require insurers to notify clients directly when the insurer paid a settlement to a client's lawyer.{{cite news | author1-last = Hollister | author1-first = Amber | title = Client Security Fund Report: OSB Sees Continuing Upward Trend in Claims | url = https://www.osbar.org/bulletin/issues/2021/2021April/index.html?page=9 | newspaper = Oregon State Bar Bulletin | location = Tigard, OR | publisher = OSB | editor1-last = Austin | editor1-first = Michael | volume = | issue = | date = Apr 2021 | at = pp.9-10

Professional Liability Fund

In 1977, the Oregon Legislature enacted legislation which gave the OSB Board of Governors authority to establish a professional liability fund for the purpose of insuring lawyers against malpractice lawsuits. The fund would be financed by an annual assessment on lawyers in private practice in Oregon.

Exercising its delegated authority, the Board passed a resolution, effective July 1, 1978, requiring all Oregon based attorneys to carry malpractice coverage with aggregate limits of not less than $100,000.{{cite court | litigants = Hess v. Oregon State Bar | vol = 883 | reporter = F.2d | opinion = 1453 | pinpoint = | court = | date = 1989 | url = | access-date= | quote = | postscript =

In 1989, PLF survived a legal challenge on anti-trust grounds.

As of 2019, Oregon and Idaho are the only two states where lawyers are required to carry professional liability insurance.{{cite news | author-last = Humiston | author-first = Susan | title = Professional Responsibility - Practicing law without liability insurance | url = https://my.mnbar.org/HigherLogic/System/DownloadDocumentFile.ashx?DocumentFileKey=1b4a4ee4-af15-2afb-ad09-5fd74eff9389&forceDialog=0 | journal = Bench and Bar of Minnesota | location = | publisher = Minnesota State Bar Association | editor-last = Perry | editor-first = Steve | volume = 76 | issue = 9 | date = Oct 2019 | at = p.8 | url = https://www.osbplf.org/ | title = OSB Professional Liability Fund | last = | first = | date = | website = | publisher = Oregon State Bar Association | access-date = Oct 27, 2022 | quote =

Interest on Lawyer Trust Accounts

The Oregon State Bar's IOLTA Program (Interest on Lawyer Trust Accounts) began on a voluntary basis in 1983. In 1988, the bar members voted to make the IOLTA program mandatory, and the Oregon Supreme Court approved the necessary rule changes, effective May 1, 1989.{{cite web | url = https://www.osbar.org/IOLTA | title = Interest on Lawyer Trust Accounts (IOLTA) Reporting | author = Oregon State Bar Association | date = | website = | publisher = | access-date = 21 Oct 2022 | quote = }} Interest on short term client deposits in lawyer trust accounts is paid by the financial institution to the Oregon Law Foundation, which uses the revenue "to fund organizations in Oregon that provide legal services to people of lesser means, promote diversity in the legal profession, and educate the public about the law."{{cite web | url = https://olf.osbar.org/ | title = Where you bank matters! | last = | first = | date = | website = | publisher = Oregon Law Foundation | access-date = 21 Oct 2022 | quote = }}

Licensed paralegals

On July 19, 2022 the Oregon Supreme Court approved a proposal to license paralegals to provide some legal services that currently only lawyers may provide. Under the new rules, licensed paralegals will be allowed to provide limited legal services only in family law cases (divorces, custody, parenting time, etc.), and landlord/tenant cases.{{cite web | url = https://www.osbar.org/lp | title = Paralegal Licensing Proposal | last = | first = | date = | website = | publisher = Oregon State Bar | access-date = 23 Oct 2022 | quote = }}

Modest Means and legal aid

In October 1912, Associated Charities organized a legal aid committee to provide confidential volunteer legal advice to people in financial distress.{{Citation | last = | first = | type = Letter to editor (Nov 15, 1912) | title = ADVICE GIVEN TO THOSE IN TROUBLE -- Associated Charities Now Has Legal Aid Committee | journal = Morning Oregonian | place = Portland, OR | volume = 52 | issue = 16,219 | date = Nov 18, 1912 | at = p6, col.6 | url = https://oregonnews.uoregon.edu/lccn/sn83025138/1912-11-18/ed-1/seq-6/ | last = | first = | type = Dateline: Portland, OR (Oct 5) AP | title = Overseas Veterans Adopt Children | journal = Herald and News | place = Klamath Falls, OR | volume = | issue = 10,636 | date = Oct 5, 1945 | at = p7, col. 4 | url = https://oregonnews.uoregon.edu/lccn/sn99063813/1945-10-05/ed-1/seq-7/

Oregon lawyers created the Modest Means Program to help moderate income Oregonians find affordable legal help.{{Citation | last = Cooten | first = Blaine | title = Dealing with Sexual Harassment | journal = East Oregonian | volume = 145 | issue = 141 | date = Sep 14, 2021 | pages = A4, column 4 | url = https://oregonnews.uoregon.edu/lccn/sn88086023/2021-09-14/ed-1/seq-4/ | url = https://www.koin.com/news/special-reports/justice-for-all-overwhelming-need-for-free-legal-help-in-oregon/ | title = Justice for all: Overwhelming need for free legal help in Oregon – Attorneys volunteer services, but demand outpaces supply | last = Lambert | first = Hannah Ray | date = Feb 5, 2020 | website = | publisher = KOIN News 6 | access-date = Oct 19, 2024 | quote =

Public Records Law

In March 1936, the board of governors of the newly-incorporated bar association declined to release the names of three attorneys who had received bar reprimands for unethical conduct, as well as the names of two other attorneys who had been exonerated.{{cite news | type = Dateline: Portland, Ore., March 23 (AP) | title = EXONERATION FOR ATTORNEYS VOTED | url = https://oregonnews.uoregon.edu/lccn/sn90066132/1936-03-23/ed-1/seq-1/ | newspaper = Capital Journal | location = Salem, OR | publisher = Journal Pub. Co. | editor-last = Putnam | editor-first = George | volume = 48 | issue = 71 | date = Mar 23, 1936 | at = p.1 col.1}} Records, or at least some of them, did become public when the bar association sought an actual suspension of an attorney from practice by a filing in the Oregon Supreme Court.{{cite news | type = | author = | title = SUSPENSION OF GLOVER FROM BAR REQUESTED | url = https://oregonnews.uoregon.edu/lccn/sn90066132/1937-02-10/ed-1/seq-9/ | newspaper = The Capital Journal | location = Salem, OR | publisher = Journal Pub. Co. | editor-last = Putnam | editor-first = George | volume = 49 | issue = 35 | date = Feb 10, 1937 | at = p.9, col.6

In June 1974, Russell Sadler, a reporter for the Salem Capital Journal sought disciplinary records related to lawyer and politician Jason Lee, who was standing as a candidate for a judgeship on the Oregon Court of Appeals.{{cite news | type = Dateline: UNITED PRESS INTERNATIONAL | author1-last = Robinson | author1-first = Sue | title = Salem newsmen seek access to Jason Lee's files | url = https://oregonnews.uoregon.edu/lccn/2004260239/1974-06-26/ed-1/seq-1/ | newspaper = Oregon Daily Emerald | location = Eugene, OR | publisher = ASUO | editor1-last = Heikes | editor1-first = Drex | volume = 75 | issue = 170 | date = Jun 26, 1974 | at = p.1, col.1

James Welch, managing editor of the Capital Journal, stated that the newspaper's interest was based on the fact that Lee had narrowly defeated incumbent judge Jacob Tanzer in the primary election held on May 28, 1974, despite Tanzer's having had overwhelming support from members of the Oregon State Bar.

Lee had been reprimanded by the Oregon Supreme Court in 1965, and this was already on the public record.{{cite court | litigants = In re Conduct of Jason Lee | vol = 242 | reporter = Or. | opinion = 302 | pinpoint = | court = | date = 265 | url = https://cite.case.law/or/242/302/ | access-date= | quote = | postscript =

Sadler brought legal action under the Oregon Public Records law to enforce his request, and in 1975, the Oregon Supreme Court ruled in his favor and required disclosure of the records.{{cite court | litigants = Sadler v. Oregon State Bar | vol = 275 | reporter = Or. | opinion = 279 | pinpoint = | court = | date = 1976 | url = https://cite.case.law/or/275/279/ | access-date= | quote = | postscript = | author-last = Hyman | author-first = Mark | title = Dealing with misbehaving lawyers; In Oregon, grievances are public record; not so in Maryland | url = | newspaper = Baltimore Sun | location = Baltimore, MD | publisher = | editor = | volume = | issue = | date = May 28, 1996 | at = p.1A

Challenge to the unified bar

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f1/OSBB_Apr_2018_editorials.png" caption="Controversial articles and graphic design published in the Oregon State Bar Bulletin in April 2018"] ::

Supreme Court restriction on "non-germane" activities

OSB is an "integrated" or "unified" bar, meaning that all lawyers in the state are required to belong to the association.{{cite web | url = https://www.osbar.org/resources/unifiedbar.html | title = Q&A: Unified Bars and Federal Litigation | last = | first = | date = | website = | publisher = OSB | access-date = Nov 6, 2022 | quote = | type = | author-last = Levin | author-first = Leslie B. | title = The End of Mandatory State Bars? | url = https://www.law.georgetown.edu/georgetown-law-journal/wp-content/uploads/sites/26/2020/04/Levin_The-End-of-Mandatory-State-Bars.pdf | newspaper = Georgetown Law Journal On-Line | location = | publisher = | editor = | volume = 109 | issue = | date = 2020 | at = p.2 | type = | author-last = Cavicchia | author-first = Marilyn | title = The post-Janus world: A look at recent court challenges to mandatory bars | url = https://www.americanbar.org/groups/bar_services/publications/bar_leader/2021_22/july-august/the-post-janus-world-a-look-at-recent-court-challenges-to-mandatory-bars/ | newspaper = ABA Bar Leader | location = | publisher = American Bar Association | editor = | volume = 47 | issue = 6 | date = Jul 22, 2022 | at =

In 1990, in the case of Keller v. State Bar of California, the Supreme Court held that a state could require lawyers to belong to an integrated bar association, but prohibited integrated bars from funding with mandatory dues "activities having political or ideological coloration which are not reasonably related to the advancement of [its regulatory] goals."

Lawyers have sued a number of unified bars alleging that under the 2018 Supreme Court decision in Janus v. AFSCME, it is unconstitutional to require an attorney join a bar association to practice law.

OSB publication of political material

OSB publishes a monthly magazine called the Oregon State Bar Bulletin which is printed using funds from membership dues and which is sent to all members of the Oregon State Bar.

In April 2018 two statements allegedly of a political nature were published in the bar bulletin. One, entitled "Statement on White Nationalism and Normalization of Violence", was signed by six officers of the Bar.{{cite news | type = editorial | author1-last = Nordyke | author1-first = V.A. | author2-last = Puente | author2-first = J. | author3-last = Hiersbiel | author3-first = H. | author4-last = Constantino | author4-first = C. R. | author5-last = Reeves | author5-first = L. | author6-last = Patterson | author6-first = J. | title = Statement on White Nationalism and Normalization of Violence | url = https://www.osbar.org/bulletin/issues/2018/2018April/index.html | newspaper = Oregon State Bar Bulletin | location = Tigard, OR | publisher = OSB | editor-last = Hankin | editor-first = Julie A. | volume = | issue = | date = Apr 2018 | at = p.42 | type = editorial | title = Joint Statement of the Oregon Specialty Bar Associations Supporting the Oregon State Bar's Statement ... | url = https://www.osbar.org/bulletin/issues/2018/2018April/index.html | newspaper = Oregon State Bar Bulletin | location = Tigard, OR | publisher = OSB | author1-last = Bechthold | author1-first = D. | author2-last = Markley | author2-first = J. | author3-last = Harris | author3-first = A. | author4-last = Resendiz Gutierrez | author4-first = I. | author5-last = Franco Lucero | author5-first = A. | author6-last = Graham | author6-first = K. | author7-last = Morinaka | author7-first = C. | editor-last = Hankin | editor-first = Julie A. | volume = | issue = | date = Apr 2018 | at = p.43

The statements were published on facing pages. A green margin band enclosed both statements within a single print area, making the two statements appear to be joined.{{cite news | type = quoting attorney for plaintiffs | author-last = Tashea | author-first = Jason | title = Oregon lawyers sue over mandatory bar dues in wake of Supreme Court's union dues decision | url = https://www.abajournal.com/news/article/citing_supreme_court_decision_2_lawyers_sue_oregon_state_bar | newspaper = ABA Journal | location = | publisher = American Bar Association | editor = | volume = | issue = | date = Sep 18, 2018 | at = | type = | author-last = Budnick | author-first = Nick | title = Lawyers spar over bar dues, partisanship | url = https://pamplinmedia.com/pt/9-news/394282-285904-lawyers-spar-over-bar-dues-partisanship | location = | publisher = Pamplin Media Group | editor = | volume = | issue = | date = May 2, 2018 | at =

At the meeting of the Oregon State Bar's Board of Governors on April 20, 2018, the Bar's chief executive officer noted that the Board of Governors "did not formally adopt the statement by the specialty bar groups" but that "publishing the two statements together was 'ill-advised and confusing.'”{{cite news | type = quoting attorney for plaintiffs | author-last = Weiss | author-first = Debra Cassens | title = Statements by Oregon State Bar and specialty groups draw fire | url = https://www.abajournal.com/news/article/statements_by_oregon_state_bar_and_specialty_groups_draw_fire | newspaper = ABA Journal | location = | publisher = American Bar Association | editor = | volume = | issue = | date = Apr 24, 2018 | at =

Legal action against OSB

In 2018, two lawsuits were brought against the Oregon State Bar, specifically Gruber v. OSB and Crowe v. OSB.{{cite court | litigants = Crowe v. Oregon State Bar | vol = 989 | reporter = F.3d | opinion = 714 | pinpoint = 728 | court = 9th Cir | date = 2021 | url = https://cdn.ca9.uscourts.gov/datastore/opinions/2021/02/26/19-35463.pdf | access-date= | quote = | postscript =

A lawyer for the plaintiffs stated that the lawsuit "says lawyers should still be licensed, but 'that's different from membership with the bar, which implies somebody speaks for you.'”

In 2019, both cases were dismissed by the U.S. District Court. Appeals were taken to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, which gave its decision in 2021. The Ninth Circuit "affirm[ed] the district court as to Plaintiffs’ free speech claim and the adequacy of OSB’s procedural safeguards with respect to protecting Plaintiffs’ free speech rights," but found that "[p]laintiffs' freedom of association claim based on the April 2018 Bulletin statements is viable," and remanded the case to the trial court with instructions to consider the claim in the light of the Supreme Court's Janus decision. In February of 2023, the U.S. District Court for the District of Oregon again rejected plaintiffs' free association claims.{{cite web | url = https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.ord.139661/gov.uscourts.ord.139661.109.0.pdf | title = February 14, 2023 order in Gruber v. Oregon State Bar | last = | first = | date = | website = | publisher = CourtListener | access-date = Feb 3, 2024 | quote = | url = https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.ord.142216/gov.uscourts.ord.142216.100.0.pdf | title = February 14, 2023 order in Crowe v. Oregon State Bar | last = | first = | date = | website = | publisher = CourtListener | access-date = Feb 3, 2024 | quote =

Both cases were again appealed to the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit,{{cite web | url = https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/7769040/gruber-v-oregon-state-bar/ | title = U.S. District Court docket in Gruber v. Oregon State Bar | last = | first = | date = | website = | publisher = CourtListener | access-date = Feb 3, 2024 | quote = | url = https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/8405734/crowe-v-oregon-state-bar/ | title = U.S. District Court docket in Crowe v. Oregon State Bar | last = | first = | date = | website = | publisher = CourtListener | access-date = Feb 3, 2024 | quote = | url = https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.ord.139661/gov.uscourts.ord.139661.112.0.pdf | title = 2nd Ninth Circuit decision in Gruber v. Oregon State Bar | last = | first = | date = | website = | publisher = CourtListener | access-date = Sep 4, 2024 | quote = | url = https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.ord.142216/gov.uscourts.ord.142216.104.0.pdf | title = 2nd Ninth Circuit decision in Crowe v. Oregon State Bar | last = | first = | date = | website = | publisher = CourtListener | access-date = Sep 4, 2024 | quote = |text=OSB engaged in nongermane conduct by adopting the Specialty Bars’ statement. . . . At least some of the Specialty Bars’ statement was not germane. The statement opened by describing the Specialty Bars’ “commitment to the vision of a justice system that operates without discrimination,” but much of its criticism of then-President Trump did not relate to the justice system at all . . . .}}

The court then found that "[t]he remedy for this violation need not be drastic," and that "if OSB does engage in nongermane activities, in situations in which those activities might be attributed to its members it could include a disclaimer that makes clear that it does not speak on behalf of all those members."

The Court of Appeals dismissed the claims against OSB in the Gruber case on the same immunity grounds as in the Crowe case, and dismissed the remainder of Gruber's claims (against OSB officers) in light of her resignation from OSB. Finally, the court upheld the district court's grant of summary judgment in favor of OSB officers with regard to Gruber's co-plaintiff's claims.

Notes

References

ORS § 9.160
[http://www.minnesotalegalhistoryproject.org/assets/ABA%20Canons%20(1908).pdf American Bar Association CANONS OF PROFESSIONAL ETHICS (Adopted on August 27, 1908)]
Under OSB rules in effect in 2022, the text 1892 advertisement would likely subject the lawyer to discipline, as it is required that the advertisement include the lawyer's name.[https://www.osbar.org/_docs/rulesregs/orpc.pdf Oregon Rules of Professional Conduct, Rule 7.2(c), Advertising].
[https://www.osbar.org/_docs/rulesregs/orpc.pdf Oregon Rules of Professional Conduct, Rule 1.5(c)(1), Fees].
Oregon State Bar Rule 6.1(d) (1992)
Oregon State Bar Rule 6.1(e), 8.1(a)(iii) (effective January 1, 1996).
1967 OR. SESSION LAWS, Ch. 546.
ORS §§ 9.615-9.665 (1967).
1977 Oregon Laws Ch. 527 § 1, codified in ORS §§ 9.080 and 9.191.
''Gruber v. Oregon State Bar'', 3:18-cv-01591-JR (USDC Oregon)

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