The work does not stop at the courthouse
We are a local firm, based in Oregon, serving the same communities our clients come from — on boards, in classrooms, granting wishes, and building houses.
- Two partners
- Six organizations
- 30+ years in this community
Why we do this
A firm should be useful to the place it practices in
As a local firm based in Oregon, we take pride in serving our community and strive to give back through our time and resources.
Our clients are parents, nurses, tradespeople and neighbors. The organizations below are the ones we have given years to — not one-time checks. Both partners also teach, which is how a small firm passes on what it knows.
“Trial lawyers have a responsibility to serve both their profession and their community. The courtroom is one way to do that. It is not the only way.”
Jane Paulson · PartnerWhere our time goes
Organizations we serve
Board seats, volunteer shifts and teaching hours — held over years, by name.
Jane Paulson · Board member
Habitat for Humanity, Portland Region
Jane served for many years on the board of the Portland region’s Habitat affiliate, which builds and repairs homes with families who would otherwise be priced out of ownership.
John Coletti · Former board member, active volunteer
Make-A-Wish
John still serves as a volunteer wish granter, sitting with children and families facing life-threatening illness and helping build the wish itself — not only raising money for it.
Jane Paulson · Board member
Campaign for Equal Justice
The Campaign funds civil legal aid across Oregon, so that people facing eviction, abuse or the loss of benefits can get a lawyer regardless of what they can pay.
Jane Paulson · Board member
Center for Women’s Leadership, Portland State University
Housed in PSU’s Hatfield School of Government, the Center trains women moving into public and civic leadership in Oregon.
Both partners · Adjunct faculty
Lewis & Clark Law School
Jane and John have each taught Advanced Trial Advocacy, preparing Oregon’s next generation of lawyers to try cases persuasively, effectively and ethically.
Jane: OTLA President · ABOTA President
Protecting the right to a jury trial
Jane is a past President of the Oregon Trial Lawyers Association and was the first woman to lead the Oregon chapter of the American Board of Trial Advocates — an organization devoted to preserving the civil jury trial for everyone.
Accountability as public service
Some of the most useful things we do for this community happen in a courtroom
A verdict does more than compensate one family. It forces a utility, a manufacturer or a hospital system to change what it does next — which protects people who will never know our names.
- $49M
- Wildfire survivors, against a utilityA verdict and judgment against PacifiCorp for survivors of the 2020 Labor Day Fires and the devastation caused by the utility’s reckless inaction.
- $10M
- Medical care inside jails and prisonsAgainst the nation’s largest for-profit medical provider for prisons and jails, for the estate of a 26-year-old woman who died after being denied care during opiate withdrawal.
- 1st
- The first pain pump verdict in the countryJohn’s verdict against a pain medication pump manufacturer was the first in the United States to hold the makers of those devices responsible for the harm they caused.
- $13.9M
- Safer streets for people on footA verdict against a waste company whose truck amputated a man’s leg in a crosswalk — the kind of case that changes how fleets train drivers around pedestrians.
Recognized for service
Awards that are about conduct, not results
These three were given by other Oregon lawyers for how the work gets done and who it serves.
2015
Justice Betty Roberts Award
Oregon Women Lawyers, for an outstanding contribution to promoting women in the legal profession and in the community. Awarded to Jane.
2017
Professionalism Award
Multnomah Bar Association, recognizing the highest ethical standards and exemplary conduct in the practice of law. Awarded to Jane.
OTLA
Distinguished Trial Lawyer & President’s Award
Oregon Trial Lawyers Association honored Jane as its Distinguished Trial Lawyer in 2021, and John with both the Distinguished Trial Lawyer of the Year and President’s Award.
Tell us about your organization
Doing good work in Oregon? We would like to hear about it.
We support a small number of local causes each year so we can show up properly rather than thinly. If you run a nonprofit, a school program or a community team that needs help, call us — a person reads every one of these.
Ask for Jane or John
