Steven Goldberg Law

About Steven Goldberg

Steven Goldberg has been practicing law since his graduation from Harvard Law School in 1972. He has represented clients in state and federal trial courts, appellate courts, and various administrative agencies in a wide variety of cases.

When he first moved to Oregon in 1975, Steven represented various senior citizen groups before the State Insurance Commissioner, resulting in Oregon's first rules requiring disclosure by insurance companies selling policies supplemental to Medicare.

For 26 years, Steven was a partner in Goldberg, Mechanic, Stuart & Gibson, one of Oregon's foremost law firms representing labor unions and their members. Steven continues to represent union pension and health plans. He has been an advocate for men and women in divorces involving complicated questions of custody, property and support. He has represented adults and children seeking compensation for major injuries suffered in automobile and trucking accidents, and from medical negligence.

Steven has also been willing to represent unpopular and controversial clients. In 2005, he presented Emiliano Santiago, a member of the Oregon National Guard who, after serving an eight year commitment, challenged the involuntary extension of his enlistment contract and deployment to Afghanistan. Although that case was ultimately lost in the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, it exposed the unfairness of what Senator John McCain referred to as the Army's "back door draft."

Since 2006, Steven has been part of the legal team representing an Islamic charity in southern Oregon challenging the Bush administration's policy of warrantless electronic surveillance. The most recent development in the case was a hearing held in U.S. District Court in San Francisco in April 2008. The issue is whether the case can proceed despite the government's attempt to end the case based on its assertion of the "state secrets privilege." An article on the lawsuit appeared in the April 28, 2008 New Yorker magazine. The link to the article is http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2008/04/28/080428fa_fact_keefe.

Steven has represented labor unions and low income Oregonians whose access to AIDS medication under the Oregon Health Plan was suddenly cut off. In 1990 he was part of a legal team that successfully challenged medical and mental health conditions in the Eastern Oregon Correctional Institution.

Steven brings the same passion and commitment he has shown representing clients in these cases to every person he represents.

Practice Areas

• Family law
• Injuries and Accidents
• Wills and Probate
• Civil Litigation

Education

• University of Michigan, B.A., 1969
• London School of Economics & Political Science, 1967-1968
• Harvard Law School, J.D., with honors, 1972

Bar and Professional Memberships

• Admitted to Oregon State Bar, 1975
• Admitted to Florida State Bar, 1972 (inactive)
• Oregon Trial Lawyers Association
• National Lawyers Guild

Teaching Activities

• Portland State University, Adjunct Professor, 1977
• Willamette University College of Law, Adjunct Professor, 1978-1980, 1988
• Various continuing legal education seminars for attorneys, paralegals and mental health professionals

Martindale-Hubbell Rating

• AV Rating (highest professional rating)