John Gear

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Serving consumers, elders, employees and nonprofits since 2010

Experience: 20 years

Consumer Law, Employment Law, Elder Law and 5 others

Michigan and Oregon

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Awards 1

Experience 20y

Online & Web 1

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About 80% of my practice is helping wronged consumers recover from businesses that have cheated them. The rest is a mix of end-of-life and estate planning for elders, wage and hour claims for employees, and advising or serving nonprofits as outside counsel or in providing nonprofit boards with training to avoid problems. I don't stray outside those basic areas much -- for example, I don't take personal injury cases, car crashes, or any family or criminal law cases. But if the problem is otherwise within Oregon civil law, I'm happy to be consulted and to help out or provide referrals. At this point in my practice, the bulk of my cases come from referrals, which I greatly value. As an engineer before becoming an attorney, I learned to use a frugal problem-solving approach. In my practice, that means emphasis on solving the client's problem first, rather than defaulting to a given legal approach. If I can solve a client's issue with a letter instead of a lawsuit, I'm happy to do that.

Jurisdictions Admitted to Practice

Michigan

2004-2007

Oregon

Since 2007

Professional Experience

2006 - 2007

Michigan Public Service Commission

Regulatory Affairs Attorney

2004 - 2006

Michigan Court of Appeals

Research Attorney

1994 - 2001

Catalyst Consulting Services

Principal

1989 - 1994

Westinghouse Hanford Company

Principal Engineer

1987 - 1989

US Navy

Submarine Officer, USS Omaha (SSN-692)

Education

2001 - 2003

Western Michigan University Cooley Law School

J.D. (2004) | Law

Awards as top student in: Ethics/Professional Responsibility; Remedies; Products Liability; Election Law; State Admin Law; Federal Admin Law; Trial Workshop; Law Practice; Law Office Management.

1990 - 1993

Washington State University - Tri-Cities campus

M.S. | Engineering Management

1980 - 1984

University of Wisconsin - Madison

B.S. | Nuclear Engineering

Honors: Distinguished Scholars Program

Awards

year - John Gear

Lawyer of the Year

Marion-Polk Volunteer Lawyers Program

Contacts

Security Building 161 High Street SE Salem OR 97301 Telephone: (503) 569-7777 Fax: (503) 206-0924

Main Office 161 High St SE, STE 208B Salem OR 97301-3610 Telephone: (503) 569-7777 Fax: (503) 206-0924

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John Gear Serving consumers, elders, employees and nonprofits since 2010

Experience: 20 years

Website: Open

Phone: (503) 569-7777

Location: USA

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Practice Areas

Consumer Law

Class Action, Lemon Law

Employment Law

Employee Benefits, Employment Contracts, Employment Discrimination, ERISA, Overtime & Unpaid Wages, Sexual Harassment, Whistleblower, Wrongful Termination

Elder Law

Estate Planning

Guardianship & Conservatorship Estate Administration, Health Care Directives, Trusts, Wills

Probate

Probate Administration, Probate Litigation, Will Contests

Foreclosure Defense

Municipal Law

Arbitration & Mediation

Business Arbitration, Consumer Arbitration, Family Arbitration

Websites

Law for Real People blog