Paul Bierly

Paul focuses his practice on complex litigation and appeals, and on representing companies and individuals in obtaining insurance coverage from their insurers. He has authored countless briefs and motions that resulted in favorable opinions and outcomes for clients. Paul has also consistently obtained favorable appellate judgments for clients in the Oregon and Washington Courts of Appeal, as well as in the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. 

Representative cases include:

• Representing a company that was faced with several million in workers' compensation and wrongful death exposure; successfully obtained a judgment that the company's insurer was responsible for all claims.
• Representing a municipality that sued a global engineering firm; Successfully obtained an affirmance of a remand order in the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals.
• Representing a family-owned ranch in Southern Oregon against claims by minority shareholders; successfully obtained a reversal in the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals.
• Representing a widow who sued for benefits under an accidental death insurance policy; successfully obtained a reversal in the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals.
• Representing a construction company in its efforts to obtain insurance coverage for an on-site accident; successfully obtained a reversal in the Washington Court of Appeals.
• Representing one faction of a closely-held family company after the family entered into a settlement agreement; successfully obtained an affirmance in the Oregon Court of Appeals that the agreement was enforceable. 
• Representing a prominent commercial real estate appraiser against claims for professional negligence related to a business property appraisal; successfully settled the dispute on terms favorable to the client before a ruling by the Oregon Court of Appeals.
• Representing a widow in a suit against an insurance company that had denied claims under a life insurance policy; insurer paid policy limits after oral argument in the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. 

Paul is also the firm’s go-to lawyer when clients need advice on insurance disputes. He was the author of a chapter in the Oregon State Bar’s Continuing Legal Education book on how insurance policies should be construed in Oregon.  

After obtaining his law degree, Paul clerked for the Alaska State Courts, and then for Judge H. Russell Holland of the United State District Court for the District of Alaska.  While there, he gained experience on such diverse matters as Indian sovereignty rights, admiralty law, savings and loan defaults, and corporate bankruptcies. Before joining the firm in 2000, Paul practiced at another leading Northwest law firm where he worked on a wide variety of cases, ranging from the Exxon Valdez case and tobacco litigation to small pro bono disputes.  In addition to his regular practice, Paul served as a member of the Oregon Board of Bar Examiners from 2001 to 2004. 

Away from the office, Paul has enjoyed participating in Olympic-style weightlifting for over a decade. In addition, he is a certified judge for the USA Weightlifting Federation. He organizes and runs meets, and judges Olympic-style weightlifting competitions in the Pacific Northwest.