How to sue your lawyer in Oregon.

Oregon applies the two-year statute of limitations in ORS 12.110(1) to legal malpractice. The Oregon Supreme Court put it plainly in Stevens v. Bispham (1993): a claim for professional negligence in the form of legal malpractice must be commenced within two years of the date on which the claim accrues.

Oregon follows the discovery rule for lawyers, which traces back to U.S. National Bank v. Davies (1976). In Oregon, a legal malpractice claim accrues when the client both suffers damage and knows, or in the exercise of reasonable care should know, that the lawyer's acts or omissions caused it, and suit must be filed within 2 years of that date. Both parts matter. Suspecting a mistake is not enough if you have not yet been harmed, and being harmed is not enough if you had no reason to connect it to the lawyer. The court has said that in some cases only a jury can decide when that point arrived.

Continuous representation

Many states pause the clock while the same lawyer keeps working on the matter. In Stevens, the Oregon Supreme Court noted that the continuous representation doctrine is widely accepted elsewhere but has not been adopted in Oregon. Do not count on it.

The ten-year repose

ORS 12.115(1) provides that no action for negligent injury to person or property may be commenced more than ten years from the date of the act or omission complained of. Oregon's statute of ultimate repose, ORS 12.115(1), bars negligence claims filed more than 10 years after the act or omission, even if the harm was discovered later. See how that compares nationally on our statute of limitations page.

The Oregon Supreme Court describes a traditional legal malpractice claim like other negligence claims involving a special relationship: a duty the lawyer owed you, a breach of that duty, harm to you, and a causal link between the breach and the harm. The harm element is where many claims are won or lost, because until you have been harmed in a way the law recognizes, you have no claim.

In litigation cases, proving causation usually means the case within a case: showing the original matter would have come out better if the lawyer had done the job right. Read the case within a case explained. A loss after a reasonable strategy call is not malpractice; see what is not legal malpractice.

Experts and filing requirements

Oregon does not require a certificate of merit or affidavit to file a legal malpractice complaint. In practice, you should expect to need an expert witness, usually an experienced Oregon lawyer, to explain the standard of care and how your lawyer fell short. Our expert witness guide explains what they cost and do.

Collectibility and the Professional Liability Fund

A judgment is only worth what you can collect. In Oregon, that problem is smaller than elsewhere. Every Oregon State Bar licensee in private practice with a principal office in Oregon must carry malpractice coverage through the Professional Liability Fund, with primary limits of $300,000 per claim and $300,000 per year, plus a $75,000 allowance for defense costs. Those limits include defense costs, so a long fight can shrink what is left to pay a claim, and some lawyers buy excess coverage above them. See does your lawyer have malpractice insurance.

Oregon follows the exoneration rule. Under Stevens v. Bispham, a convicted client cannot sue a criminal defense lawyer for malpractice until exonerated through reversal on direct appeal, post-conviction relief, or otherwise, and the 2-year limitations period starts at exoneration. The court treated exoneration as part of the harm element, so the claim does not exist until then.

In Abbott v. DeKalb, the courts wrestled with exactly when exoneration happens when the state appeals a grant of post-conviction relief. The Oregon Supreme Court dismissed review in 2009 without settling that timing question, so if your case involves a contested post-conviction ruling, get advice on the date early. The Stevens court discussed, but did not adopt, the Massachusetts approach that also requires proof of actual innocence. See criminal defense malpractice.

The Oregon State Bar runs a Fee Dispute Resolution Program, administered since July 2024 by Arbitration Service of Portland. It covers fee disputes between Oregon lawyers and clients and offers binding fee arbitration or nonbinding mediation. Both sides must agree to take part. The Oregon State Bar fee dispute program charges each party a $300 filing fee for disputes under $25,000 and $400 for disputes of $25,000 or more. See our fee arbitration guide for how to prepare.

If a lawyer took your money or property, the Oregon State Bar Client Security Fund can reimburse losses caused by a lawyer's dishonest conduct while providing legal services or acting as a fiduciary. The Oregon Client Security Fund pays up to $100,000 for misconduct on or after January 1, 2022 ($50,000 for earlier conduct). Claims generally must be filed within two years of the conviction, judgment, or disciplinary action, or of when you knew or should have known of the loss, and never more than six years after the loss. The application must be signed and mailed. See how client protection funds work.

Complaints about Oregon lawyers start with the Oregon State Bar Client Assistance Office. If you think a lawyer violated a disciplinary rule, you file a written complaint with any supporting documents; no special form is required. The office may help resolve the problem, explain the lawyer's ethical duties, refer you elsewhere, or send the matter on for disciplinary investigation.

A bar grievance is not a lawsuit. The bar says you should not expect to receive money through the complaint process, except through a Client Security Fund claim or the lawyer's malpractice coverage or another civil claim, and the office cannot give legal advice. A complaint does not stop the two-year malpractice clock. Read legal malpractice vs. a bar complaint.

1. Identify the harm date. When did the mistake first cost you, and when should you have connected it to the lawyer? Count two years from there.
2. Request your file. See how to get your case file from your lawyer.
3. Remember the PLF. Most Oregon private-practice lawyers have coverage, so a valid claim is usually collectible up to the limits.
4. Use the bar programs where they fit. Fee disputes to the Fee Dispute Resolution Program, theft to the Client Security Fund.

If you think your lawyer's mistake cost you, a free case review takes about two minutes and can connect you with an independent attorney in Oregon who handles legal malpractice claims.