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Plan for June 1 - Salem Day Out for CourtCare - it'll be great

5/27/2019

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Oregon Women Lawyers Society (OWLS)
Mary Leonard* Chapter 
2019 Salem Day Out for CourtCare
An Alley Party in support of Mid-Valley Court Care
Saturday, June 1, 2019 in the alley @Taproot (State between Liberty and Commercial)
​
Salem Day Out for CourtCare has something for everyone and is a great way to enjoy our Salem community and support a great cause.  This event aims to raise between $10,000 and $20,000 for Mid-Valley CourtCare! 
  • Enjoy delicious food and drink!
  • Featuring exciting games, raffle prizes, and auction items!
  • We're planning fun for the kids too! 
Watch this page for updates on event details. Tickets will go on sale in mid-April.

(*Mary Leonard has a fascinating story and was the first woman admitted to the bar in Oregon - click here for more)

What is CourtCare?

CourtCare is free child care for children ages six weeks to 12 years in a safe, supportive, and quality environment. Children are spared from witnessing adult conflict, hearing harsh words, and seeing potentially disturbing scenes which could traumatize or even re-traumatize them. If both parent and child are supported during the child’s early stages of life, it makes an enormous impact on the child’s future health and development. What children see and experience in early childhood affects both their brain development and their health.

Why is CourtCare Needed?

Imagine having to go to court for divorce proceedings, a sex abuse trial, a domestic violence case… now imagine not having child care and you have to take your young children with you. This is a current reality for families in both Marion and Polk Counties. Children should not have to be in the room while legal proceedings are taking place. Those involved in the courts have seen babies and toddlers left unattended in hallways while their parents are in courtrooms; young children sent to restrooms unsupervised; children seeing their parents upset and emotional about adult conflicts; children watching as a parent is arrested and taken into custody; children hearing adults talking about family violence, restraining orders, custody disputes, or criminal behavior of family members… thus the need for CourtCare.

OverviewMid-Valley CourtCare provides free, high quality care from trained early childhood staff in a licensed child care setting. Children must be at least six weeks of age and not older than 12 years.  CourtCare hours of operation listed here begin September 5, 2017.  Space is limited and available on a first-come, first-serve basis.  Register online now to reserve your spot!

In Marion County, CourtCare is operated by the Salem Family YMCA, located across from the Marion County Courthouse in downtown Salem.  Please use the child care entrance off of Cottage Street.  Marion County CourtCare is available to anyone with court-related business or a court-related appointment.  

Marion County CourtCare is open Monday through Thursday from 8:00 a.m. to 5:15 p.m.

In Polk County, CourtCare is operated by Family Building Blocks at the Academy Building near the Polk County Courthouse in Dallas.  Polk County CourtCare is available to anyone who needs to conduct business with the court system or local social service agencies including, but not limited to: Polk County Behavioral Health, Public Health, DHS, or Housing.  

Polk County CourtCare is open Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday from 1:00 to 5:30 p.m., and Friday from 7:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.

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Nice attendee feedback from nonprofit training event

2/18/2019

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I got some real nice feedback from the folks who attended a nonprofit training I offered recently, where I was called on a Wednesday to fill in for a speaker who had to withdraw from giving an early morning session on that coming Saturday. 

So it was short notice, but I did get to meet a roomful of really nice nonprofit leaders from all over and give them an impromptu course on "Employment Law 101 for Nonprofits." 
I wanted to let you know that your breakout session, Employment Law 101 for Nonprofits, at our conference, got overwhelmingly positive remarks on our evaluations. . . . People commented positively on it, and we only had a few sessions that had such a high number when it came to specific remarks.

Some specific comments: 
"Employment Law 101 was excellent."
"Employment Law 101: employees should NOT also be volunteers." (in response to "Share one thing that was especially valuable to you")
"Employment law class was very good."
"The substitute class on employment 101 was especially valuable regarding classifying employees."
"The Employment Law for Nonprofits was a really valuable session -- I learned a lot!"
"John Gear's Employment Law was excellent."

We appreciate your expertise and great contribution to the success of this conference!   
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Registration Still Open: Good Info for all Nonprofit Board Members

1/14/2019

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Time to Give Thanks and Reflect on Helping Others Share in Abundance

11/18/2018

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Salem Harvest's November Newsletter worth sharing entirely

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Notes from the Field
November 2018
November Happenings

Wasted! The Story of Food Waste

On November 20th, Salem Progressive Films is showcasing the documentary Wasted! The Story of Food Waste at the Grand Theater at 7:00pm. This in-depth film covers all the bases on where food is being wasted throughout the global food system and offers innovative solutions as well.

Salem Harvest will be there in the lobby before the film sharing information about our program and how we reduce wasted food. After the show, I will be addressing the attendees, sharing my experiences as Executive Director and that of our growers and harvest leaders surrounding food waste at the farm level. Please join us!
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Jam Party!

What do you do with plums so sour and astringent that they are nearly impossible to eat? Cook them down with sugar, turning them into jam, of course!

On November 10th and 15th, Salem Harvest volunteers will be gathering to turn 120 pounds of otherwise inedible plums into the tastiest plum jam ever created. Lots of fun, team building, teaching and learning the art of jam making, and keeping food from being wasted.


Hunger and Homelessness Awareness Week

November 10th through the 18th is Hunger and Homelessness Awareness Week, where people come together across the nation to draw attention to the problems of hunger and homelessness. Hunger on college campuses is a rising issue faced by many students. Salem Harvest will be joining Willamette University students and Marion-Polk Food Share in discussing these issues at a forum on the 15th.

As the holidays approach and you ponder the thought of giving, please consider donating to Salem Harvest.
We rely upon the generosity of our community to be involved in events like these, fulfilling our mission of feeding hungry families by harvesting food that would go to waste.

Donate
Salem Harvest a 501(c)3 Nonprofit Organization
E-mail | 503.400.6618 x5 | Website
‌ ‌ ‌
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"Empty Bowls" Food-Share Fundraiser is THIS Weekend - don't miss it!

11/12/2018

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Each year, John Gear Law Office helps sponsor an important event for Salem, the "Empty Bowls" fundraiser put on by Willamette Art Center to raise funds for Marion-Polk Food Share. These two nonprofits team up to give you the opportunity to buy gorgeous things, lovingly made and finished by all-volunteer potters, with all the proceeds going to support the food bank that fights hunger in the Salem area all year round.

Make out your gift lists for the holidays and maybe for all 2019 as well -- friends, family, parents, kids, teachers, coworkers, you name it -- there are so many beautiful, one-of-a-kind things that there is sure to be a perfect gift for everyone you know at Empty Bowls, and you can help boost the total raised to fight hunger in Salem to over $200,000.

Willamette Art Center is on the State Fairgrounds, use the Silverton Road (Yellow) Gate. The event is Saturday and Sunday, November 17 and 18.

The Willamette Art Center hosts the annual Empty Bowls Benefit sale benefiting Marion-Polk Food Share.Saturday, November 17th, 2018 from 9AM to 5PM
Sunday, November 18th, 2018 from 12PM to 4PM

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Doing good & having fun both - Salem Harvest fights hunger in Salem

10/15/2018

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John Gear/John Gear Law Office has been a proud Salem Harvest sponsor since it began
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More new titles available for loan to nonprofit leaders

5/16/2014

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I make my reference library on nonprofit governance and fundraising available for free loan to nonprofit boards and executives -- click the image above to go to my library catalog, where you can browse the many titles (look for the tags that interest you to sort through the 300+ titles; you can start with fundraising and nonprofits). 
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Two new resources for nonprofit leaders in John Gear Law Office library

4/17/2014

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I maintain an extensive collection of resources to assist me in my practice, which nearly all consists of working to help consumers, elders, employees, and nonprofits.  Rather than have these valuable resources sit idly, I make them available to nonprofit boards and executives in the Salem area.  To check out my collection, go here, and search on items tagged with "nonprofits" to winnow down the collection to those helpful for nonprofit leaders. 
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Why you need to call the police if your caregiver or employee steals from you

4/8/2014

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I just had a call from a very nice person who needs caregivers around-the-clock, 365 days a year. One of these caregivers recently stole money from from my friend. My friend said it happened about six weeks ago, and that the person was no longer serving as a caregiver, so she was just going to let it go.

I had to explain to her why it was so important that she call the police:

Because other people looking to hire caregivers are going to look at the home-care workers' registry and look at the results of the criminal background checks, and if she doesn't file a police report about the theft, this caregiver will appear to have both a lot of experience and no problems in her background.

My friend felt uncomfortable; the caregiver is young, and my friend doesn't see herself as vindictive. Basically, she does not want to get the other person in trouble.

But of course, it's not my friend who is responsible for the trouble — the thief did that. My friend needs to report to protect others from this person and ultimately to protect herself by making sure that the system for background checks is reliable and complete. Someone who will steal from a disabled person getting 24 hour care is not someone who should be able to find work as a caregiver for other vulnerable people.

So you're not being kind by overlooking abuse or thefts like this. Consider what you're doing to the person's next victim.

My friend was also concerned that, because it would be her word against the caregiver's, she would not be able to prove that the theft occurred. I made two points about that:

  1. one, it's not her problem to prove the case. That is a job of the police and the district attorney, not the crime victim.

  2. Second, it turns out that the circumstances of the theft and what was stolen  means that it is highly likely that the stolen property was fenced nearby, and it will be very memorable to whomever ended up with it -- meaning that it won't be that hard to prove that it was the stolen property in question.

Besides, punishing the thief isn't the issue here, or is at least not the main issue. The main issue is making sure that a person who preys on vulnerable people can't do so invisibly.

The situation is the same with nonprofits. Many times when nonprofits are ripped off, the tendency among the members as to keep it quiet and not make a big fuss about it. It's also very appealing for the board to say that they were partially at fault for allowing the thief to rip them off, and therefore they don't want the bad publicity to their organization etc. etc. The big problem with this logic is the same as in my friend's case: when crime victims don't report crimes, the criminals are allowed to find new victims and victimize them, because they have no reason to know about the person's past.

So, uncomfortable as it is, if someone rips you off, don't make it your job to help them cover it up. If someone abuses you or steals from you, whether you are an individual or as part of an organization, call the police. Let the police and the court system make the decisions on prosecution and any punishment that might occur if warranted.

Bottom line: don't help criminals victimize other people by failing to report past crimes.

UPDATE: A helpful assistant attorney general points out:
"Great points, John. You might also tell your friend and others that they can call the Medicaid Fraud Unit at the Oregon Department of Justice if the care occurs at home and the provider is paid by the State, or if the theft or financial exploitation occurred in a Medicaid-funded facility [note that nearly all nursing homes and assisted living facilities accept Medicaid funding - JMG] whether or not the victim is a Medicaid recipient."

Thanks, AAG!  You can reach the Medicaid Fraud Unit (MFU) at 971-673-1971.

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At last!  IRS tiptoes towards online 501(c)(3) filing!

9/6/2013

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  1.  New interactive Form 1023 available for review
In an effort to make applying for tax exemption easier, the IRS Exempt Organizations (EO) office is in the development stage of an alternate version of Form 1023, Application for Recognition of Exemption. The new application is available for preview until September 20, 2013.

The Interactive Form 1023 (i1023) features pop-up information boxes for most lines of the form. These boxes contain explanations and links to related information on IRS.gov and StayExempt.irs.gov, EO’s educational website. When final testing is completed later this year, you'll print and mail the form and its attachments just like the standard Form 1023.

Although viewers are unable to print or submit this “review” version of i1023, EO encourages the public to click through its new features and promote the i1023 to colleagues and business associates. After reviewing the i1023, please send your comments to [email protected].

Anticipated i1023 benefits:

* Applicants will be able to submit a more complete form
* IRS processing time is reduced
* Applicants receive a tax-exempt determination more quickly

The i1023 was developed from recommendations by the IRS’ Advisory Committee on Tax-Exempt and Government Entities (ACT).
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New:  Free for Nonprofits--Borrow books of interest for nonprofits from the John Gear Law Office nonprofit library

8/23/2013

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One of the biggest challenges facing nonprofit businesses is access to reliable guidance about how to do business -- how to be effective while complying with the myriad laws that affect how the nonprofit operates.

To help Oregon nonprofits meet this challenge, I've decided to make my library available to Oregon nonprofit board members and nonprofit executives.  Check out books tagged as "nonprofits" in my office library here, and contact me if you want to arrange to borrow any of the resources, at no charge.
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Charities to Avoid

12/14/2012

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I'm skeptical of any bright-line rule that says that a nonprofit is no good because it spends too great a percentage of its revenue on administrative overhead.  In fact, what I tend to see is the exact opposite:  nonprofits that starve their administrative side in an effort to please the raters, which only sets them up for terrible problems of the gravest sort, including embezzlement, failure to find or retain good people, employment and wage claims, etc.  The bottom line is that nonprofits are small businesses, and running small businesses is not easy, especially newer and smaller ones.  So bright-line cutoffs are usually to be taken with a big grain of salt.

Ok, that said, here are some outfits that require a charitable interpretation of the word "charity" just to be considered as one.  In other words, these aren't close -- these are the stinkers that cause good nonprofits such problems, because when the public gets a whiff of these stinkers, all nonprofits get a bad name.  The best thing to do with this list is check it before you write your end-of-year gift checks -- and make sure you avoid these outfits.  I'll just give the top three -- download the full list of 20 below.

Organization                                                     Average Annual                                  Percent Spent
                                                                                    Expenditures                                     Charitable Cause

Law Enforcement Education Program             $2,299,994                                     2.7%
Troy, MI

Shiloh International Ministries                              $846,340                                                     3.2%
La Verne, CA

American Medical
Research Organization                                         $783,217                                                     4.2%
Sarasota, FL

(I'm pleased to note that there are no Oregon nonprofits among this "Worst 20" list, although sad to see several in Everett, Washington.)

attorney_generals_20_worst_charities_2012.pdf
File Size: 100 kb
File Type: pdf
Download File
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A must-read for all nonprofit leaders

8/28/2012

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A good essay about the biggest risk in nonprofit leadership (pdf):

            Seeing but not really observing what's going on in the organization.

Nearly all of Behn's public management essays are good -- although supposedly aimed at the government sector, I can't think of a single non-governmental nonprofit that would not benefit greatly by having all its board and senior staff read and discuss one of his essays every month.  Or share them all and do a retreat where different board members summarize the ideas and discuss how they could be applied within their own organization.
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Another Crucial Reminder for Nonprofits:  Good Records Matter - a LOT

8/16/2012

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The time to verify your recordkeeping systems are in place and working well is BEFORE the crash.
The case below is a vital reminder for nonprofits of the value of keeping proper records about your organization:

Failure to keep accurate records about what employees do cost this small business almost $70,000 in higher worker's comp premiums.




The only differences between that business and most nonprofits are

   (1) that the business will definitely learn from the experience, and

   (2) that the business will have the resources to pay the higher assessment until the records are straightened out, if they aren't already.


If your nonprofit thinks keeping timely and accurate records is just something to aspire to, you and your group are probably at risk in any number of areas.  Remember, the prime duty of a board member for a nonprofit is to do what a reasonable and prudent person would do to oversee the affairs of the organization, which means paying attention, which requires timely and accurate records.

As a board member, you don't have to check every record yourself, but you have to assure yourself that there is a SYSTEM to make sure that the records are being kept, that there is a SYSTEM so that they are checked as much as necessary to give you confidence that they are accurate, and (most important) that there is a SYSTEM in place so that, if they aren't kept or are being kept poorly, you will quickly know it --- before you get the $70,000 bill.  
employment_law_-_why_you_must_keep_good_records_in_your_nonprofit_a145610.pdf
File Size: 71 kb
File Type: pdf
Download File
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Important reminder -- are your "independent contractors" really employees?

8/16/2012

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  I advise nonprofits as a key focus in my practice.  Like all small businesses, nonprofits struggle with payroll taxes, worker's comp, unemployment insurance, and sometimes the board decides, "hey, I've got an idea, let's just use independent contractors instead of employees." 

It's possible to do that, but you really have to work hard and take special care to do it right, or you can face penalties and interest on the not-quite-avoided payroll taxes.

Remember, authorities at every level (IRS, SAIF, Employment Dept.) have a very serious interest in making sure that only those people who are truly independent contractors get treated that way.  And don't think that the "contractor" wanting to be treated that way cuts any ice with anybody.  People have a funny way of having memory lapses in times of trouble -- such as when budget cuts force you to drop the contractor, who only then realizes that "independent contractors" can't claim unemployment, or when they fall down the stairs while working for you and only then learn that they don't have any worker's comp coverage (of course, not having worker's comp also might mean that they could have a right of action against your agency for personal injury). 

If you're only going to know one thing about this area of law it's this:  Anyone who does work for pay is an employee unless you establish otherwise, and the burden is on you, the employer to prove otherwise; in other words, if you are using an independent contractor in your nonprofit and someone decides that you have misclassified that person and that you should have been paying payroll taxes on their wages all along, it is you who has to prove them wrong.  (If you fight them to a tie on the issue, then you lose, because you failed to carry your burden.)

The opinion announced today in Oregon is a well-written, clear cut guide to the issue that anyone who is using independent contractors might want to review and discuss with an attorney versed in this area.
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File Size: 18 kb
File Type: ee or ic
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Resources for Nonprofits available for loan

5/8/2012

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     I've been especially gratified by the response to the services I offer for nonprofit organizations.  When I went into practice, I knew that there were lots of places where many hardworking folks needed a hand, but I also know that too many nonprofits wait until it's very hard to help them to reach out and ask for it.  Some of the most satisfying work I do is to help groups of volunteers who have formed (or are thinking about forming) an organization to pursue their vision for a better community.  I love being able to share some of what I've learned over the years. 

      And one reason I founded the Nonprofit Organizations Law Section as a professional practice section in the Oregon State Bar was that I saw that there wasn't enough sharing of resources among people who support the sector.  Sometimes it seems like competitors in the for-profit sector were doing more sharing than nonprofits who don't even compete with each other.

     Then, today, it occurred to me that I could do more, because I have a lot of great resources on my shelf that could benefit more groups than just my clients.  So, to continue with the sharing theme, I would like to offer to make my bookshelf available to nonprofits here in Salem (or with board members willing to come to Salem).  Just call or send me an email to make an appointment to have your executive director or a couple board members come by to check out what's available -- when I got to looking at it today, I realized it's quite a decent collection of current materials.

     I hope I can share some with you soon. 
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Is Strategic Planning the Same as Long-Range Planning? No.

3/1/2012

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One of my favorite authors wrote this: 

Ugly language: strategic planning

Sam Smith - The phrase "strategic planning" is a pretentious business school substitute for the far more descriptive term "long range planning." Progressives should wipe business school words from their vocabulary and this is a good place to start.

Prompting me to send him this reply:

Sam,

You know I tend to agree with you far more often than not, but as someone who tries to help nonprofits, I make a particular and, I think, quite meaningful distinction between strategic planning and long-range planning.

As I use the terms, strategic planning is not schedule based at all; rather, it works best when the participants identify their specific critical dependencies  -- the things they have to have to operate and to reach their goals -- and then assess the stability/instability facing each of those critical dependencies and the causes for those.  

The key task is to identify the most important threats to the most important things that the organization has to have to function (attain its goals).  If there is any time element at all, it's usually only when figuring out which of the problems identified need to be addressed first.  Strategic planning actively assesses the "out there" -- the larger forces in society, including limits on natural resources, that will affect the organization's ability to attain its goals.

Long-range planning, on the other hand, is just that -- an inwardly focused look at the organization's goals and objectives.  Ideally, leaders consciously relate the results of their strategic planning work to their long-range planning, recognizing that, like federal budgets, the further out you go, the more fanciful they are, particularly because of the factors that the strategic planners have identified.

What most organizations do, to the extent that they plan at all, is a watered down form of long-range planning that occurs during sessions called "strategic planning."  You can immediately recognize the faux strategic planning by its assumption that the larger world will remain pretty much as it is today (business as usual assumption) for the indefinite future.

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Speaking of gratitude

12/10/2011

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John Gear Law Office opened in September 2010.  Thanks to the many clients I've been able to help since then, the doors are still open and I'm able to share some of my good fortune with others -- so thanks to you all.  All of these organizations (scroll down) merit your consideration and your support if you are looking for places where your shared good fortune will do some good.  And all those icons are hotlinked -- they'll take you right to the page where you can make a gift of support.
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One more thing to be thankful for

11/21/2011

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Yes, you can't just accept its answers uncritically, but even for the errors that creep in, Wikipedia is a treasure indeed.  It's the closest thing we have to giving everyday people low-cost access to the mass of human knowledge.
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KMUZ's nonprofit parent wins tax-exempt status designation

10/10/2011

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Great news from KMUZ:

"Dear Board and key volunteers:
 
    Our 501(c)(3) status has been approved by the IRS.  Willamette Information, News, and Entertainment Service (WINES) is its own non-profit and is tax exempt from federal income taxes!!
 
    Kudos to Dave and me for pushing through the arduous process of figuring out and filling out the forms.  Special thanks to John Gear for his legal overview, w/out his suggested changes, we may still have been in legal limbo.  And to Karen Lord, CPA who help us at the intial stages. And to Fritz Graham, Sen. Wyden's office, for bird-dogging our application on our behalf."
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Fall 2011 "Friday Fundamentals for Flourishing Nonprofits" workshop series

7/20/2011

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Training without travel for mid-valley nonprofit leaders!

Friday Fundamentals for Flourishing Nonprofits

Eight carefully designed, targeted 90-minute workshops, with attendance limited to eight nonprofit leaders, so you will get the personal attention to the questions that matter to you and your nonprofit.    Training that gets right to the point, right here in Salem, created and presented by an attorney focused on helping nonprofits do more good while having more fun.

9/9
“First things first?  So how do we know what’s first?”
     (Priority-setting for nonprofit leaders)

9/23
File, forget, and flounder.
    (Using minutes to help make better use of your hours.)

10/7
By law or not by law? 
     (Bylaws for the bewildered.)

10/21
“Procedures?  We don’ need no stinking procedures!”
     (How and why nonprofits can learn to love doing things “by the book.”)

11/4
What taxes?  I thought we were a nonprofit!
     (“Excuse me, your unrelated business income is showing.”)

11/18
“We do the Lord’s work, so why do they act like Satan?”
     (Conflict on boards.)

12/2
“We love mankind.  It’s the employees who drive us mad.”
     (Employment law for nonprofits.)

12/16
“But Judge, . . . !” 
(How to raise funds without having a lawyer on speed-dial.)

Each workshop will be at 11 am on Fridays in downtown Salem. 
Tuition is just $35 for each one (paid in advance)
or $40 (paid day of) – or guarantee your seat by enrolling for all eight for just $250 (save $30). 

Workshop creator and leader is John Gear of the John Gear Law Office, LLC. 
See http://JohnGearLaw.com for more information. 

To enroll or for questions, call John at 503-339-7787.

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Salem Resources List: Free meal sites, Emergency Services, Social Services, Shelters etc

6/22/2011

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   I found an old Salem Resources list with a number of useful listings.  As a first step towards updating it, I made a legible version of it (see file below).  Anyone knowing of newer or better information is invited to contact me with the updates so I can update the file.  Please feel free to direct others to this resource list and to suggest additional resources for people in need.
jglo_pdf_4-page_salem_social_services_resource_list_6-2011.pdf
File Size: 125 kb
File Type: pdf
Download File
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Good thoughts on the Nonprofit Conundrum

6/21/2011

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   Nonprofits face a Catch-22 when it comes to spending on "overhead."  Lots of services out there like to evaluate (or interrogate under a harsh light) nonprofits for donors based on how much (or, preferably, how little) the nonprofit spends on overhead.
   But starving the overhead function -- the part of the operation concerned with establishing internal policies and procedures, risk management, evaluating past performance, board development, and all the other "back room" functions -- is setting your nonprofit up for long-term failure or serial crises (and then, often, failure). 
    Nonprofits are like farmers --- a good farmer doesn't just put in crops and harvest them.  A good farmer leaves the soil in better condition than before, so that the same land can be used to produce crops year after year.  Nonprofit programs --- the services delivered to the community --- are the crops.  But if you just put all your energy into crop production, the soil is going to get short-changed.  Over time, yield goes down or the inputs required to maintain the yield keeps going up.  Here's a good article by one of the authors of the Oregon Nonprofit Corporation Handbook on this dilemma.
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Important for anyone who works in or with an organization

3/11/2011

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Salem Progressive Film Series -- supported in part by John Gear Law Office, LLC

1/30/2011

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Two Thursdays from now, on February 10, the Salem Progressive Film Series will present "Dirt," a film about the least appreciated part of the three components of the biosphere (Land, Air, Water, or LAW).

John Gear Law Office, LLC, is proud to contribute to the Salem Progressive Film Series so that they can continue bringing provocative, intelligent, and important films to Salem's Historic Grand Theater.
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John Gear Law Office LLC and Salem Consumer Law.  John Gear Law Office is in Suite 208B of the Security Building in downtown Salem at 161 High St. SE. That is right across High Street from the Elsinore Theater, a half-block south of Marion County Courthouse.

John Gear is only licensed to practice law in Oregon. This site may be considered advertising under Oregon State Bar rules. There is no legal advice on this site so do not take anything you read here as advice for your particular problem or situation. And I do not represent you and I am not your attorney unless you have hired me with a representation agreement. While I do want you to consider me when you seek an attorney, you should not hire any attorney based on brochures, websites, advertising, or other promotional materials.  All original content on this site is Copyright John Gear, 2010-2024.
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