Oregon has suffered high unemployment, including for lawyers. Young people graduate law school in debt and cannot find work. Some decide to open their own law practice, which concerns me because law schools do not teach people how to practice law. This means that people who hire freshly-minted lawyers must beware.
In decades past, most of us could find jobs with big firms or experienced attorneys. In effect, many of my generation enjoyed a type of apprenticeship, even though no one called it that. Our responsibility grew only as we grew in our knowledge and skill.
Unfortunately, some young lawyers "don't know what they don't know." I've received many calls from people who believed their attorney committed legal malpractice, causing them to lose their right to sue or suffer a bad result at trial. I've helped some of them recover their losses from their former attorney.
The good news for consumers that Oregon requires all lawyers to have malpractice insurance of $300,000. Also, leaders in the bar recognize the problem of inexperienced lawyers practicing law, and we are trying our best to match them up with experienced mentors.
Jeff Merrick, Oregon Trial Attorney
Injury & Employment Law
503-665-4234
