Clark, Kelly W. G.

Current Employment Position(s)

Partner

Lawyer Overview

Kelly Clark is a trial and appellate lawyer who represents individuals, families and businesses against governments, corporations and other powerful institutions. He is well-recognized for his courtroom skills as well for his knowledge of public and constitutional law. He is also one of the leading lawyers in the US for victims of childhood sexual abuse. As of 2008, Mr. Clark has practiced before or against some 85 federal, state and local government agencies. He has brought cases in state and federal court on civil rights, voting rights, religious liberty, free speech and property rights. He has been legal counsel to numerous political campaigns, including legislative, congressional and gubernatorial candidates.

Just in the last few years, Kelly Clark has successfully handled numerous cases of public significance: in 2008 winning his second major Oregon Supreme Court victory for child abuse survivors (see more on this case below); in 2007, capping over a dozen years of work on behalf of those abused by Catholic priests, with over 40 clients in the Archdiocese of Portland bankruptcy; also in 2007, obtaining several trial court rulings and a state Supreme Court win in a major abuse case against the Mormon Church; since 2005, challenging the expansion of casinos in Oregon, including the Florence casino and the proposed Columbia Gorge casino; since 2004, advocating for the rights of property owners under Oregon's landmark property rights Ballot Measure 37; and in 2004 challenging Multnomah County's issuance of same sex marriage certificates—a challenge which resulted in a unanimous win before the Oregon Supreme Court. Kelly and his firm have also been the primary lawyers for charter schools around the state since the Legislature authorized such schools in 1997, as well as frequently being brought as counsel to ballot measures or electoral campaigns.

For two decades, Kelly Clark has been one of Oregon's leading advocates for children, initially while serving in the Legislature, co-authoring Oregon's child abuse statute of limitations as well as the ban on possession of child pornography, and then in private practice, where he has represented over 150 individuals abused as children by trusted adults, including Catholic priests, Mormon Church leaders, other ministers, coaches, Scout leaders, and teachers. His 1999 win in the Oregon Supreme Court against the Catholic Church gained nationwide attention for its landmark theory of liability for "institutions of trust" whose employees abuse children. Likewise, his 2008 win against the Boy Scouts and a local government agency helped remove some of the special immunities abuse survivors face in bringing claims against public agencies.

Mr. Clark is active in community and charitable endeavors, is a sometime adjunct Professor of Political Science at George Fox University, and is also a candidate for the Master's Degree in theology from Australia's Melbourne College of Divinity.

Often asked to lecture on effective public speaking, Mr. Clark is widely in demand as a speaker and writer on issues of law and public policy.

Areas of Practice

• Administrative Law
• Business & Commercial Law
• Civil Rights
• Constitutional Law
• Education Law
• Election Campaign & Political Law
• Employment Law -- Employee
• Nursing Home
• Litigation & Appeals
• Eminent Domain
• State, Local & Municipal Law

West Practice Categories

Administrative Law, Business & Commercial Law, Civil Rights, Constitutional Law, Education Law, Election Campaign & Political Law, Employment Law -- Employee, Nursing Home, Litigation & Appeals, Eminent Domain, State, Local & Municipal Law

Bar Admissions

• Oregon, 1983
• U.S. District Court District of Oregon, 1984
• U.S. Court of Appeals 9th Circuit, 2002

Professional Associations and Memberships

• William Temple House, Episcopal Church, 2004 - Present (Member, Board of Directors)
• Oregon State Bar's Lawyers Assistance Committee, 2000 - 2004 (Member)
• Oregon State Bar's Lawyers Assistance Committee, 2000 - 2004 (Chairman)
• Young Life, Portland South, 2000 - 2002 (Steering Committee)
• OSB Constitutional Law Section, 1998 - 1999 (Committee Member)
• Oregon Abuse Survivors and Advocates, 1997 - 1998 (Board Member)
• Oregon Criminal Justice Council, 1991 - 1993 (Member)
• Ecumenical Ministries of Oregon, 1991 - 1992 (Member, Board of Directors)
• Oregon Private Schools Association, 1991 - 1992 (President)
• St. Andrew Legal Clinic, 1987 - 1991 (President, Board Member)
• Senator Mark O. Hatfield, Washington D.C., 1982 - Present (Legislative Intern)
• Young Life, 1976 - 1981 (Volunteer Leader)
• Oregon Republican Leadership Institute, 1997 - Present (Founder, Chairman)
• State Representative, Oregon Legislature, 1989 - 1993 (Member, Judiciary Committee)
• State Representative, Oregon Legislature (Chair, Judiciary Subcommittee)
• State Representative, Oregon Legislature (Member, Revenue and School Finance Committee)

Honors and Awards

• Nominee, Oregon Trial Lawyers" Association's "Arthur Bryant Public Justice Award" for work on child abuse cases, 2004
• Graduate, Gerry Spence Trial Lawyers College, Jackson, Wyoming, 2001
• Recipient, Outstanding Young Alumnus, Lewis & Clark College, 1991
• Recipient, Outstanding Legislative Leadership Award, Oregon Juvenile Department Directors Association, 1991
• Recipient, Certificate of Commendation, ACLU, 1989
• Recipient, Environmental Law Certificate, Lewis & Clark Law School, 1983

Classes and Seminars

• Speaker, "The Law as Vocation", Lewis and Clark Law School Baccalaureate Address, May 25, 2007
• Speaker, "Constitutions, Courts and the Common Sense. Does Oregon Have Too Much Free Speech?", Portland City Club, June 16, 2006
• Speaker, "Talk About Chutzpah: A Christian talks to Jews about the Ten Commandments-- (and More Developments up on the Mountain)", Solomon's Legacy Jewish Legal Federation, June 9, 2005
• Speaker, "Middle Earth, Middle Oregon, and Mordor: A Modern Fellowship of the Ring", Passage of Measure 37, Oregonians In Action Annual Conference, March 12, 2005
• Speaker, "Emerging Issues in Oregon Constitutional Law", Oregon Law Institute Seminar, December 10, 2004
• Speaker, "Why the Pledge is Constitutional: A Nuanced View", US District Court Historical Society, September 23, 2004
• Speaker, "Suffer the Little Children - Reflections on the Child Abuse Scandal in the Church", The Warrior, (Journal of The Trial Lawyers College), April 5, 2002
• Adjunct Professor, Constitutional Law and Political Science, George Fox University, 2004

Pro Bono Activities

• Pro Bono Legal Counsel, North Portland Nurse Practitioner Community Health Clinic, Providing Health Care to Uninsured Children, 2005 - Present

Past Employment Positions

• Law Offices of Kelly Clark, Wilsonville, Principal, 1993 - 1998
• Pioneer Pacific College, President, 1989 - 1992
• State Representative, Oregon Legislature, 1989 - 1993
• Bouneff, Chally & Marshall, Portland, Associate Attorney, 1983 - 1988

Education

• Lewis and Clark College Northwestern School of Law, Portland, Oregon, 1983
  J.D.
  Major: Constitutional, Administrative and Environmental Law
• Trinity College Theological School
  M.A.
  Major: Theology
• Lewis and Clark College, Portland, Oregon, 1980
  B.S.
  Major: Political Science

Published Works

• "The Silent Survivors: Cases against the Catholic Church may end, but the struggles of the abuse victims go on", Register Guard Op-Ed, April 29, 2007
• "Government as Brothel: What's Your Pleasure, Honey?", Public Gambling, ONU National Conference, Washington, D.C. , November 14, 2006
• Of Compelling Interest: The Intersection of Religious Freedom and Civil Liability in the Portland Priest Sex Abuse Cases, 85 Or. L. Rev. 481, 2006
• "Why I Said Yes", Brainstorm NW Magazine, May, 2004
• "The Gay Marriage Debate", Lewis and Clark College Chronicle, Summer, 2004
• Continuing the Fight for the Initiative: O & C Challenges Ballot Measure 26, Summer, 2004
• "On Using All of the Arrows in the Quiver,", Oregon Administrative Law Newsletter, June, 2002
• "Tearing Down Oregon's Cloister of Secrecy", The Oregonian, Guest Commentary, March, 2002
• "A Short History of the Sudden and Untimely Death of the Oregon Initiative: Marbury v. Madison, Oregon Style", Co-Authored with Ross Day, Esq., Brainstorm Magazine, March, 2002

Address

Fremont Place II
Suite 302
1650 NW Naito Parkway
Portland, OR 97209-2534

Phones

(503) 306-0224

Faxes

(503) 306-0257

Emails

Contact Us

Websites

http://www.oandc.com
http://www.kellyclarkattorney.com
http://www.boyscoutabuse.com
http://www.mormonabuse.com