We advocate for people and the places they love.

 WE know the system, and 
 we're here for you

Practice Areas

HOW WE CAN HELP YOU

PERSONAL INJURY

LITIGATION

ELECTION LAW

INSURANCE DISPUTES

Willamette Law Group (WLG) serves the following types of clients: people injured by others' negligence; people who want to use Oregon's election system to improve their 

communities; people treated unfairly by their insurance companies; and people defending the natural world and public spaces.

ENVIRONMENTAL LAW

Oregon law allows you to recover money when you have been injured by another person’s negligence. Oregon law also allows the spouse, children, and parents of a person whose death is caused by the negligence of another to recover for their losses. Usually, the money is paid from the negligent person’s insurance company. The negligent party may also have to pay money out of their own pocket for your injuries or death if that person has too little or no insurance.

Injury or death can be caused by many kinds of negligence, but some of the most common are: car crashes, truck crashes, motorcycle crashes, bicycle crashes, crashes involving pedestrians, and unsafe premises.

If you have been injured or if a loved one has lost their life due to another person’s negligence, please call for a free consultation. We handle these cases on a contingency fee basis, which means that you will be charged a fee only upon the case being resolved, and then the fee is based on a percentage of the amount for which the case was resolved, either by settlement, arbitration, or trial. In the unlikely event there is no recovery, you do not owe us anything.

Personal Injury

AUTO ACCIDENTS

TRUCK Accidents

motorcycle accidents

bicycle accidents

pedestrian accidents

wrongful death

PERSONAL INJURY

We handle these cases on a contingency fee basis, which means that you will be charged a fee only upon the case being resolved.

Tens of thousands of people are injured or killed in auto accidents in Oregon every year. Those who have been injured in a motor vehicle accident have rights that need to be protected. When you have been injured in an accident or collision, you are worried about who is going to pay your medical bills, lost wages, and other damages. The last thing you want is to be taken advantage of by an insurance company. If you do not protect your rights, you may not be able to make a claim. It is critical to learn what your rights and responsibilities are as soon as possible after the accident. Our goal is protect your rights and help you to recover for your losses. Please call for a free consultation about your legal rights and responsibilities. We will provide you with an honest evaluation of your case. If we can help you, we’ll tell you so. Even then, you’ll be under no obligation to hire us.

Auto Accidents

In the unlikely event there is no recovery, you do not owe us anything. Please contact us if you would like to schedule a free consultation.

AUTO ACCIDENTS

TRUCK Accidents

motorcycle accidents

bicycle accidents

pedestrian accidents

wrongful death

PERSONAL INJURY

Special problems can arise in truck accident cases (those involving large commercial trucks, like semi-trucks or other commercial vehicles). If you’ve been injured in a truck accident, please contact us to schedule a free consultation.

Truck Accidents

AUTO ACCIDENTS

TRUCK Accidents

motorcycle accidents

bicycle accidents

pedestrian accidents

wrongful death

PERSONAL INJURY

In Oregon, motorcycles are not required to be fully covered by insurance. This can be a big problem, especially when it comes to paying for medical bills. We’re experienced in handling these situations, as well as the other unusual and problematic aspects of motorcycle accidents. If you’ve been injured in a motorcycle accident (whether you were driving the motorcycle or not), please contact us to schedule a free consultation.

Motorcycle Accidents

AUTO ACCIDENTS

TRUCK Accidents

motorcycle accidents

bicycle accidents

pedestrian accidents

wrongful death

PERSONAL INJURY

Few things are worse than a car-on-bicycle crash. First, the injuries can be severe. And on top of that, cyclists in our car-saturated society are often unfairly blamed for causing crashes. Because there are special rules that apply to cyclists, if you’ve been injured in a car-on-bicycle crash, please contact us to discuss your rights and duties. We have helped many people get the insurance coverage they deserve in this situation.

Bicycle Accidents

AUTO ACCIDENTS

TRUCK Accidents

motorcycle accidents

bicycle accidents

pedestrian accidents

wrongful death

PERSONAL INJURY

If you’ve been hit by a car as a pedestrian, you should seek legal advice immediately. While injured pedestrians often have great medical and financial needs, those needs often go unmet because obtaining adequate insurance recoveries can be complicated. We have helped many injured pedestrians in this situation. If you’d like to discuss your situation, rights, and next steps, please contact us for a free consultation.

Pedestrian Accidents

AUTO ACCIDENTS

TRUCK Accidents

motorcycle accidents

bicycle accidents

pedestrian accidents

wrongful death

PERSONAL INJURY

Losing a loved one is extremely emotionally difficult. But losing a loved one because of someone else’s negligence comes with even more difficulty, including legally. We can help guide you through the process. If you’d like to set up a free consultation to discuss your family’s rights after the wrongful death of a loved one, please contact us.

Wrongful Death

AUTO ACCIDENTS

TRUCK Accidents

motorcycle accidents

bicycle accidents

pedestrian accidents

wrongful death

PERSONAL INJURY

It’s no secret that most personal injury cases involve insurance companies. The other driver probably has insurance (Oregon law requires it), but maybe they don’t. You probably have insurance, but maybe you don’t. And even when everybody is insured, the insurance companies (including yours) will often play games with you.

Insurance Disputes

There are many ways insurance companies play games. Even though you’ve paid your premiums, they might deny coverage anyway. Or they might say that you’re covered, but only pay for some of your medical bills, leaving you to fend for yourself on the others. Or they will pay for your medical bills but deny payment of any other damages. Or they might just blame you, and pay for nothing. And, too often, they get away with it because injured people don’t know their insurance coverage rights.

That’s where we come in. We have a deep knowledge of Oregon’s insurance laws and regulations. We understand the system, and can work within it. Most importantly, we know when the insurance companies are playing games with you, and we know how to stop it.

If you have any kind of injury-related insurance problem, please contact us for a free consultation about your insurance coverage rights.

While Willamette Law Group focuses on personal injury, insurance, and environmental cases, sometimes other types of litigation become necessary for us to serve people and the places they love.

Litigation

So, if you need to go to court in a case that aligns with that mission, please contact us to see if we’re the right fit.

Oregon was the first state in the U.S. to adopt the initiative and referendum. Having the initiative power means that Oregonians can propose their own laws, local or statewide, and let the voters vote them up or down. Having the referendum power means that lawmakers can send proposed laws directly to the voters for a decision, and voters can veto legislative acts. Together, the initiative and referendum powers create what is known as “direct democracy.” Direct democracy is a tool that has been used for good and for evil.

Election Law

Ballot title disputes

initiative measures

ELECTION LAW

Willamette Law Group handles certain election law matters, including initiative petitions and the associated legal process. If you’re interested in improving your community’s laws via the initiative process, at the local level or the state level, feel free to contact us.

If a proposed initiative measure obtains enough sponsorship signatures, and gets past certain other hurdles, then it qualifies for a ballot title. Ballot titles are what the voters see in the Voters’ Pamphlet at election time. At the state level, ballot titles are drafted by the Attorney General’s office, and at the local level they’re drafted by local government attorneys. However, because the ballot title is so critical to the success or failure of an initiative measure, they are often hotly contested. Willamette Law Group is available to help in the ballot title dispute process.

Ballot Title Disputes

Ballot title disputes

initiative measures

ELECTION LAW

Willamette Law Group is available to help draft proposed initiative measures, and to shepherd them through the initiative process, if needed. This might involve working with the local or state elections departments, challenging or defending draft ballot titles, and defending the procedural constitutionality of proposed measures. We are also available to challenge proposed initiative measures that are not in the public interest.

Initiative Measures

Ballot title disputes

initiative measures

ELECTION LAW

We represent people and organizations who love our forests, other public lands, and the ecosystems that sustain humans and wildlife. This often involves enforcing federal laws like that National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), the National Forest Management Act (NFMA), the Endangered Species Act (ESA), and the Clean Water Act (CWA), as well as various state-level environmental laws.

Working with our clients we protect ancient old-growth forests from clear-cut logging, keep public lands public, support biodiversity, and oppose irresponsible development. We are proud to help leave future generations a habitable planet.

Environmental Law

forest law

public lands

environmental law

Willamette Law Group is for people and the places they love. Environmental law fully encompasses that mission.

endangered species

land use

For Willamette Law Group, practicing forest law means using these various documents to benefit the public interest. Often this means using federal laws like the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and the National Forest Management Act (NFMA) to encourage responsible management practices and public participation in the decision-making process. However, sometimes it involves state laws, such as those under Oregon’s Forest Practices Act (FPA). But whatever laws are involved, our goal is to help our clients in their work to protect our dwindling public lands, biodiversity, and natural resources.

Forest Law

forest law

public lands

environmental law

“Forest law” is a very broad term. The sources of forest law are scattered to the wind, meaning you can’t find them written down in one place. Instead, “forest law” is a patchwork of federal and state laws, forest-specific management plans, regional guidance documents, executive orders, regulations, local decision documents, and more. Together, they control the management of our state, federal, and private forests.

endangered species

land use

Much like our work in forest law, Willamette Law Group works with clients to protect and encourage beneficial management practices on our public lands. While many of the Northwest’s public lands are forests, there are many other types of public lands, such as grasslands, parks, wilderness areas, roadless areas, rivers, lakes, and streams.

Public Lands

forest law

public lands

environmental law

endangered species

land use

It’s impossible to work with forests and other public lands without encountering wildlife. Unfortunately, thanks to poor management decisions and irresponsible development, many wild animal species are on the brink of extinction. Much like the injured people we represent, we aim to give a voice to the vulnerable and voiceless animals that need legal protection.

Endangered Species

forest law

public lands

environmental law

endangered species

land use

Oregon’s land use system is often celebrated, but it still has many problems. Back in the 1970s, when our land use system was new, lawmakers and lawyers were excited to have a system that was easy for the average person to use. It didn’t work out that way. Not at all. Instead, our land use system has turned into a convoluted mess that, most of the time, requires lawyers. Given that reality, Willamette Law Group occasionally represents clients in land use proceedings, including at the Land Use Board of Appeals. Like our work with forests and other public lands, our land use work is done in the public interest.

Land Use

forest law

public lands

environmental law

endangered species

land use

You may contact us directly: tel. 503-656-4884 | e. jesse@WLGpnw.com

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