The Multnomah Bar Association (MBA) is a voluntary bar association located in Portland, Oregon. The organization is also sometimes referred to as the Multnomah County Bar Association. Although named after Multnomah County membership in the association is open to all lawyers in the State of Oregon. The present MBA was founded in 1906. There was an earlier group of attorneys, also called the Multnomah Bar Association, which appears to have dissolved some time in the early 1900s.
The Multnomah Bar Association now provides numerous services for both attorneys and members of the community involved in the justice system or needing legal assistance. Most of the association's work is done pro bono by volunteer attorneys.
Services to justice system Most of the work of the association is done through volunteers on its committees.
The CLE committee plans, conducts, and evaluates numerous continuing legal education events for lawyers, by developing topics and recruiting speakers. The Court Liaison Committee works with the judiciary and court administrator regarding rules or procedural changes and assists the court in educating MBA members about court issues. The committee surveys MBA members court issues, and writes articles for publication in the association's newsletter about court topics and backgrounds of local judges and referees.
The Equity, Diversity & Inclusion Committee works toward diversity, inclusion and equality in the MBA and Multnomah County legal community and for mutual support between the MBA and diverse bar organizations. The committee administers the LSAT scholarship program and MBA Diversity Award Nomination & Selection Process. The Judicial Screening Committee confidentially reviews applications of pro tem and judicial appointment candidates and reports its recommendations as called for in the MBA's board-approved process. The committee's goal is to assist the governor in appointing highly qualified lawyers to be judges on the Multnomah County Circuit Court.Multnomah Bar Association Judicial Screening Process (latest revision: Sep 2022)
MBA makes available pro bono projects through which volunteer lawyers can provide services to the community. These include the Senior Law Project (SLP), which includes monthly legal clinics in senior centers in Multnomah County. Volunteer lawyers also provide free 30-minute phone consultations on any civil legal issue to seniors 60 or older. MBA also has programs for volunteer lawyers to assist seniors with guardianship, protection orders, and similar civil matters.
MBA also maintains pro bono programs for other areas of legal assistance, including consumer, family, immigration, and juvenile law, and protection from abuse.
Multnomah Bar Foundation The association is linked to the Multnomah Bar Foundation (MBF), which provides support services to persons involved in the justice system. MBF was founded in 2005 and is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. MBF funds three programs: CourtConnect, CourtSupport, and Multnomah CourtCare.
Multnomah CourtCare makes available free, drop-in childcare for families with business at the Multnomah County Central Courthouse. CourtSupport provides the Multnomah Central Courthouse with a bilingual employee at the information desk to serve to the public by answering questions about the court, helping people with needed services or accommodations at the courthouse, and generally making improving the public's courthouse experience. CourtConnect arranges for lawyers and judges to visit community groups and present information about the court system and the rule of law.
History
Although formally organized in 1906, there are multiple earlier references to an association by the same name. The earlier association may have been established around 1899, or earlier. The Multnomah Bar Association is mentioned in 1891 in an obituary for pioneer Oregon lawyer Ferdinand O. McCown. In 1892, the first Multnomah Bar Association raised $500 to pay to have a portrait painted of Circuit Court Judge Eramus D. Shattuck, who served on the court from 1886 to 1898. He had also been Chief Justice of the Oregon Supreme Court from 1866 to 1867.
The first association was reported to have become involved in politics and consequently dissolved before 1906. The first association may have had some attorney disciplinary role in 1904, as a judge is reported to have rebuked an attorney for a disrespectful brief, and stated that he had considered referring the matter to the Multnomah County Bar Association.
Formation of the current association Attorneys met at the Abington building in Portland on Saturday evening, February 3, 1906, to plan the creation of the Multnomah Bar Association. Even though most local lawyers belonged to the state bar association, Multnomah County was then the only county in Oregon that did not have a local bar association, and it was felt that one needed to be re-established. Two rules of the new organization were to be that it would endorse no political candidates and members of every political party would be entitled to admission.
On the evening of February 10, 1906, about 150 lawyers met in Portland at the Chamber of Commerce building and "took definite steps towards the organization of the Multnomah County Bar Association", by appointing temporary officers and scheduling a formal meeting to elect permanent officers. The purposes of the association were to promote the ethics of the profession and to foster higher standards among its members. The association had monthly meetings at the county courthouse and held an annual banquet.
The first officers chosen were: S.C. Spencer, president; Ralph B. Fisher, secretary; Waldemar M. Seton, treasurer, and L.E. Crouch, A.T. Lewis, and J.H. Woodward, vice-presidents. Three chancellors, Circuit Court Judge Robert G. Morrow, J.H. Woodward, and George F. Brice, were appointed to act as a trial court to hear charges against attorneys. Ralph R. Duniway was elected prosecutor. Fifty local lawyers signed the charter roll, and many others joined in the following week.
Early qualifications for admission At the bar association's meeting on the evening of May 26, 1906, there was an "animated discussion" about the new association's plans for a grievance committee and whether it should refer complaints to the state bar association for action through its own grievance committee. The vote was that "all reputable persons of good moral character who have been admitted to the bar by the Supreme Court [of Oregon] are eligible for membership." "Riff-raff lawyers and pettifoggers are to be excluded."
Membership changes As of February, 1907, 169 lawyers were members of the association. As of May 1909, Ella Crim Lynch was the only woman member of the Multnomah Bar Association. By February 1912, there were 302 members of the association. By February 1920, there were 450 lawyers who were members of the association, constituting the majority of the lawyers practicing in Multnomah County.
Panic of 1907 Following the October financial crisis known as the Panic of 1907, the bar association voted to suspend attachment proceedings for 90 days except in emergencies.
Retaliatory murder of bar prosecutor The case against Finch came before the Justice court on December 2, 1908, for a preliminary hearing. Finch was represented by attorneys C.F. Lord and C.H. Piggott. The state of Oregon was represented by District Attorney George J. Cameron and his chief deputy John J. Fitzgerald.
On Saturday, December 12, 1908, the circuit court ordered Finch to be prepared to go to trial the next Friday, December 18. Finch asked for one more week to decide how he would plead, but this request was denied by circuit court presiding judge Calvin U. Gantenbein. When Finch declined to enter a plea, judge Calvin U. Gantenbein entered a plea of "not guilty" for him, and scheduled the trial to begin the next Friday. The speed of Finch's trial, less than a month after the murder, was said to have set a new record in speedy trials.
On the afternoon of Wednesday, December 30, 1908, Finch was found guilty of first degree murder by the jury after deliberations that lasted only 30 minutes. The jury was composed entirely of men. The trial judge was Earl C. Bronaugh, Jr.
Portland vice scandal In 1914, prominent lawyer and MBA member Edward Stonewall Jackson McAllister was convicted of sodomy in what became known as the Portland vice scandal. According to the charge, this occurred in McAllister's law office. McAllister's conviction was reversed on appeal on the grounds of the trial judge giving improper instructions to the jury. Despite this, McAllister's law practice was ruined, and on January 27, 1914, the Multnomah Bar Association terminated his membership with no dissenting vote. In June 2000, MBA reviewed McAllister's case and voted to posthumously restore him to its membership.
Steamboat excursion The bar association sponsored social events for its members. In August 1915, the bar association chartered the stern-wheel steamboat Joseph Kellogg for an excursion to run from Portland to the Waverly Country Club.
Involvement in Espionage Act case In 1922, the Multnomah County Bar Association became involved in the case of a lawyer, Joseph Woerndle, who had been prosecuted under the Espionage Act and against whom, unsuccessfully, the government had filed de-naturalization proceedings.
Judge Bean found for Woerndle in the denaturalization proceedings, and his ruling was upheld by the U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. The Multnomah Bar Association also initiated disbarment proceedings in the Oregon Supreme Court against lawyer Joseph Woerndle. The complaint against Woerndle alleged he had committed perjury, in that he had made a false affidavit in securing a passport for himself, which he was said to have given to one Hans W. Boehn, an alleged German spy, to assist Boehn in returning to Germany from the United States.
Involvement in legislation
In 1920, the Multnomah Bar association had the practice of sending a representative to each session of the Oregon Legislature to assist in putting through measures to facilitate procedures in court.
Over the years, MBA recommended, criticized, or involved itself in a large number of legislative and politicals. Some the proposals, such as the telegram to the Oregon congressional delegation advocating construction of a naval base at Astoria, Oregon, had little or nothing to do with the practice of law or the justice system.
Initiative and referendum In March, 1911, there was a contested election for the president of the bar association. Lawyer Harrison Allen, who was on the staff of the Oregon Electric Railway Company, was standing for election as president, but received only a plurality of the votes due to opposition on grounds that Allen might too readily serve corporate interests. The opposition was led by W.M. Davis, who emphasized the need to "protect initiative, referendum, and "many other features of the 'Oregon Plan. Allen eventually was elected.
Reinstatement of capital punishment Capital punishment in Oregon had been abolished by a referendum in 1914. At a meeting around late 1919, the bar association went on record as endorsing the reinstatement of capital punishment for first degree murder in Oregon.
Repeal of Prohibition In March 1930, the Multnomah Bar Association conducted a secret poll of the approximately 800 lawyers in the county as to whether Prohibition should be repealed. Of the 250 lawyers who responded to the poll, wets (opposed to Prohibition) considerably outnumbered the "drys" (favoring Prohibition). Of the respondents 134 favored government dispensation of alcoholic beverages while only 49 voted no.
Non-partisan judiciary From 1859 to 1931, judicial elections in Oregon were partisan, with each political party nominating its own candidate tor the judgeship.