News and Features

Erika Pirotte is an attorney working in the Natural Resources Unit (NRU) of the Navajo Nation Department of Justice. Licensed to practice law in New Mexico and the Navajo Nation, Pirotte is part of a team that handles all legal matters pertaining to the development and use of the Nation’s land and natural resources and protection of the environment.  
Oregon Law has a long history of dedication to public service. In a year with a global pandemic and remote learning – that hasn’t changed. The law school recently reported that during the 2019-2020 academic year, 45 students logged 3,996 hours of pro bono work.
Oregon Law alumnus Jeffrey Beaver recently donated a major gift to create and fund the Jeffrey A. Beaver Law Student Scholarship Endowment. The scholarship endowment will help provide financial assistance to students from underrepresented populations and economically disadvantaged backgrounds.  
In an ongoing effort to address structural inequalities and counteract institutionalized racism, several faculty at Oregon Law have been researching in the area of “access to justice.” During the 2019-20 academic year alone, law faculty published seven articles on topics related to access to justice, with at least eight more forthcoming in 2020-21.
Susan Gary, professor emerita at the law school, recently created and helped obtain a grant that supports an estate planning program for the African American community in Portland. Through the nonprofit The Commons Law Center, the program will also serve as a pipeline to increase the number of African American estate planning lawy
Neil Kagan and the Oregon Wilderness Act of 1984: The story of how one Oregon Law alumnus became a catalyst for national policy change.   
Professor Michael Higdon met with students, faculty, and administrators during a two-day “virtual visit” to Oregon Law as the 2020 Galen Distinguished Guest in Legal Writing. 
The School of Law observes Indigenous Peoples Day and the ongoing presence and leadership of sovereign tribal nations here in the United States and indigenous communities across the world.
“Part of what drew me to the field of dispute resolution was the prospect that one could take instances of difference and use those as opportunities to create value, rather than divide or even destroy it.” Michael Moffitt
The four-week program, held over the summer, provided an intense focus on the skills required for success in the law school admissions process and a legal career.