General Description
The City Attorney's client is the legal entity of the City of Portland. Office lawyers are prohibited from providing legal advice to the public or to parties other than the municipal corporation of the City of Portland.
To contact the office via e-mail, please use this email.
The Office of City Attorney provides legal services to the Portland City Council, City bureaus, boards, commissions, agencies, and individual City employees when required by the Oregon Tort Claims Act. Under the terms of the City Charter, the City Attorney is appointed by and serves at the pleasure of the City Council, and is the only City officer appointed by the full Council. The City Attorney's deputies are appointed by and serve at the pleasure of the City Attorney or as delegated to the Chief Deputy City Attorneys. Deputy City Attorneys are exempt from civil service.
The City Attorney's client is the City of Portland. Deputies are assigned by the City Attorney to provide legal services to various City bureaus and operations. The City Attorney and staff have an attorney-client relationship with the City.
The office's legal services include representing the City in a variety of areas including tort lawsuits, workers' compensation actions, personnel actions, and discrimination lawsuits, other labor matters, land use and planning appeals, public records matters, code enforcement, constitutional challenges, license fees, foreclosure and lien actions, nuisance abatement, small claims, interpleaders and civil forfeitures, real property matters, construction and contractor disputes, collections, housing issues, pension and benefit matters, environmental issues, water, and natural resources law, toxic waste issues, park operations, business regulation, and fiscal and taxation matters.
In addition, the office provides various legal opinions and contract and document reviews for the City Council and City bureaus. Most City programs and operations entail some legal staff involvement.
The City Attorney administers the City's occasional use of outside legal counsel when those services are required.
Bureau Mission
To provide excellent, objective, timely and cost-effective legal advice and advocacy in support of the City's policy goals and to ensure that the official actions of the City, its elected officials and employees comply with the law.
Bureau Responsibilities
The Portland City Attorney's Office is responsible for all of the legal affairs of the City of Portland. The Office’s client is the City itself – office attorneys are prohibited from providing legal advice to the public.
The Office represents the City and its elected officials, employees, bureaus, offices, boards and commissions in court and in administrative and quasi-judicial proceedings. Office attorneys draft and review local legislation, contracts, real estate leases, intergovernmental agreements, and other documents and legal instruments. The Office advises on policy development and program implementation. Attorneys advocate and negotiate on behalf of the City. Office attorneys provide training to elected officials, City boards and commissions and City employees on a broad spectrum of law-related topics.
The City Attorney's Office also advises City officials in many different legal subject areas, such as environmental law; constitutional law; civil rights; employee benefits; public records requests and records management; personnel and labor law issues; tort claims; workers compensation; construction law; land use planning; equity, diversity and affirmative action; revenue and taxation; policing; fire, rescue, and emergency services; code enforcement; housing; elections; telecommunications, franchises and utilities; and collection of revenues owed to the City.
City Attorney
- Robert L. Taylor
Chief Deputy City Attorneys
- Heidi Brown
- Tony García
- Linda Law
- Scott Moede
- Linly Rees
- Linh Vu
Deputy City Attorneys
- Sarah Ames
- Ryan Bailey
- Anika Bent-Albert
- Trevor Byrd
- Carey Caldwell
- Adrianne DelCotto
- Matt Farley
- Glenn Fullilove
- Samantha Gamboa
- Matt Gander
- Maja Haium
- Jenifer Johnston
- Lauren King
- Nanci Klinger
- Franco Lucchin
- Macaen Mahoney
- Bill Manlove
- Ken McGair
- Victor Mercado Negro
- Anne Milligan
- Fallon Niedrist
- Mike Porter
- Marc Rodriguez
- Lisa Rogers
- Scott Schneider
- Eric Shaffner
- Naomi Sheffield
- Dan Simon
- Nancy Thorington
- Trung Tu
- Caroline Turco
- Denis Vannier
- Beth Woodard
- Rob Yamachika
- Alan Yoder
Honors Attorneys (Assistant Deputy City Attorneys)
- Alexandria Deitz
- Elsa Haag
Paralegals and Legal Technology
- Rachel Ruthenberg - Supervisor of Paralegals and Legal Systems
- Liset Bañuelos
- Amber Bua
- Christy Carter
- Tammy Davis
- Mandy Gordon
- Sean Jenkins
- Amanda Larson
- Stephanie Murphy
- Pat Rowen
- Emily Swensen
- Verity Sturdavant
- Josephine Vazquez
- Clair Warnock
- Hailey Tilgner - Systems Analyst
Legal Assistants
- Allison McCoppen - Legal Assistant Supervisor
- Amaya Blanco Chapin
- Elizabeth Henlein
- Nichole Hermens
- Katherine Kehoe
- Eileen Kelly
- Darlene Melara
- Victoria Minnieweather
- Marian Mohamed
- Kathleen Simpson
- Kerry Tompulis
- Elliott Ware
Administration
- Crystine Jividen - Business Operations Manager
- Administrative Specialists II
- Ed Becerril
- Darla Eng
- Stephanie Harris
- Christy Pierce
- Shannon White
- Carrie Wilton, Supervisor, Legal Records Management Team
- Austin Axelrod, Paralegal
- Shawn Campbell, Systems Analyst
- Bryce Henry, Systems Analyst
- Aaron Richardson, Systems Analyst
- Administrative Specialists II