Pamela Abernethy - former judge with the Marion County Circuit Court - is now a mediator, arbitrator, and reference judge in all areas of the law, including: business and tort litigation; transaction disputes; professional liability actions; employment and labor matters; personal injury claims; and family and probate matters.
She will also practice as an attorney with an emphasis on government and public law and complex civil litigation. Pamela serves clients in Portland, Salem, Eugene and the mid-Willamette Valley.
Before joining the firm, Pamela spent eighteen years on the Marion County bench and twelve years as a civil litigator for Oregon Department of Justice where she held various senior management positions including Special Counsel to the Attorney General, Chief Counsel and Administrator for the Civil Enforcement Division and founding attorney in charge of the Special Litigation Unit.
Memberships/Awards
Pamela is a member of the Oregon State Bar. She is admitted to practice before all state courts in Oregon and the U.S. District Court for the State of Oregon. Pamela also received the following awards: Carson Award, Marion County Bar Association, Service to the Community; Leadership Award, Salem Leadership Foundation; Veteran Service Award, Amigos de las Americas; Athena Award, Statesman Journal and Salem Community; and Juvenile Court Champion, Oregon Judicial Department.
Education
Pamela earned a J.D. from Willamette University, College of Law where she graduated cum laude, won the First Year Moot Court Competition, was awarded merit scholarships from Russell Brooks and the Student Bar Association, and was Comments Editor for Willamette Law Review. She also has a B.A. from the University of California at Santa Cruz, where she graduated with honors.
Pamela attended the Institute for Conflict Management for Mediation in 1995 and the Pepperdine University Strauss Institute for Complex Mediation in June 2011.
Representative Presentations
- “Collaboration with Dependency Courts for Systems Reform,” National Conference on Child Welfare (2009)
- “The Legal Framework for Meeting the Needs of Infants and Toddlers,” American Bar Association (February 2008)
- “Using Judicial Leadership to Protect Infants and Toddlers,” National Association of Juvenile and Family Court Judges (2007)
- “First Thing We Do, Let’s NOT Kill All the Lawyers: Promoting the Promises of the Pledge of Allegiance,” Campaign for Equal Justice Keynote (2006)
- “First Do No Harm: Creating A Child-Centered Family Practice,” Keynote, Oregon State Bar Family Law Conference (2000)
- “Cutting Edge Trends Beyond Mediation and Parent Education,” Oregon State Bar Family Law Conference (1999)
- “New Approaches to Troubling Domestic Relations Issues,” Oregon State Bar (1996)
- “The Art of Being Private in Public: Teaching Your Witness to Be Believed and Believable,” Oregon State Bar Litigation Institute (1995)
- “Vision 2020: The New Oregon Trail, Creating the Future for Oregon Courts,” Portland City Club (1995)
- “Understanding the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act,” Oregon Conference on Organized Crime (1992)
- “Legal Issues Relating to the Funding of Special Education Law,” Division of the Institute for Study of Educational Policy (1986)
- “The School as a Community: Trends in National and Oregon Education Law,” Oregon Department of Education Personnel Management Advisory Council (1986)
- “Establishment Clause and the Oregon Constitution, Article I, Section 5," Oregon Department of Education (1985)
- "Trial Advocacy for Women: Complex Litigation,” Oregon Law Institute (1985)
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333 High Street, N.E.Suite 200
Salem, OR 97301-3632
Tel: 503.371.3330
Fax: 503.371.5336
Practice Emphasis