Baxter & Baxter, LLP
421 High Street, Suite 103
Oregon City, Oregon 97045
(503) 657-6531 Telephone
(503) 291-9172 Facsimile

Oregon City, Oregon Office

Justin Baxter spoke to consumer protection lawyers about Fair Debt Collection Practices as part of the National Consumer Law Center’s annual Consumer Rights Litigation Conference in Chicago this year. Click here for more information about the NCLC.

The National Consumer Law Center is a nonprofit advocacy organization that seeks to build economic security and family wealth for low-income and other economically disadvantaged Americans. They promote access to quality financial services and protect family assets from unfair and exploitive transactions that wipe out resources and undermine self-sufficiency. For over 40 years NCLC has used its expertise to write the rules of a fair marketplace.

Justin Baxter was previously included in Super Lawyers’ “Rising Stars” list in 2009, for the best attorneys who are 40 or under, or who have been practicing for 10 years or less.

Super Lawyers magazine features the list and profiles of selected attorneys and is distributed to attorneys in the state or region and the ABA-approved law school libraries. Super Lawyers is also published as a special section in leading city and regional magazines across the country.

Click here to view Justin Baxter’s superlawyers.com listing.

Justin Baxter, a consumer attorney with the Portland firm Baxter & Baxter, heard the same story and didn’t hesitate with an answer.

“If someone holds themselves out as an expert or as qualified to give advice then they are bound by that advice,” he said. Of course, he added, consumers are responsible for what they — or their cars — consume, yet that responsibility expands when we seek out expert advice.

Baxter sees it as a continuum. At one end there’s an expert such as an ASE-certified mechanic and the other, he said, even a Fred Meyer clerk who offers similar fluid advice.

“If a business’s marketing strategy is ‘You can trust us,’” he said, “then they should be held to the standard that they created for themselves.”

Click here to read the whole story.

An Oregon jury returned a $100,000 verdict for violations of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act and invasion of privacy. The lawsuit alleged that the defendants sued the plaintiff, Linda West of Bend, Oregon, for a delinquent Chase credit card account which did not belong to her. The suit claimed that defendants obtained a judgment against Ms. West and sent her collection letters even after Ms. West had notified the defendants that she was not the correct account holder.

Ms. West’s attorneys were Michael Baxter and Justin Baxter of Baxter & Baxter, LLP. Baxter & Baxter, LLP, is a Pacific Northwest consumer protection law firm with offices in Portland, Oregon, Hillsboro, Oregon, and Vancouver, Washington. The Oregon consumer protection lawyers of the Consumer Litigation Group specialize in cases with false credit reports, identity theft cases, unlawful debt collection cases, and consumer fraud cases.

Click here for more about the case.

Ms. Edwards obtained furniture from TRS Home Furnishings, an assumed business name for The Rental Store. TRS partners with furniture stores across the country, including Ashley Furniture, and Mor Furniture in Oregon, and provides financing for lease purchase or rent-to-own transactions. In June of 2008, TRS agreed to a temporary reduction of the monthly payment. Before the next payment came due, TRS began harassing Ms. Edwards with a multitude of calls to her cell phone and workplace. The credit manager left menacing voicemails threatening to have Ms. Edwards jailed and prosecuted for a felony. Ms. Edwards borrowed money and attempted to pay off the entire balance, however, her letters were returned. TRS swore out false charges to have her arrested by the Springfield police, and charged by the Lane County DA. Those charges were subsequently dismissed.

Ms. Edwards’ attorney was Justin Baxter of Baxter & Baxter, LLP.

In 2009, Justin received the prestigious AV peer review rating from Martindale Hubbell. The AV® rating is the highest such peer review rating available to any individual lawyer.

The Martindale-Hubbell Peer Review Ratings system is based on the confidential opinions of members of the Bar and the Judiciary, including both those who are rated and those who are not. Martindale-Hubbell representatives conduct personal interviews to discuss lawyers under review with other members of the Bar. A compilation of these opinions from various sources is necessary to form a consensus, and lawyers under review are sometimes asked to provide professional references to assist with the process. In addition, confidential questionnaires are sent to lawyers and judges in the same geographic location and/or area of practice as the lawyer being rated. Members of the Bar are instructed to assess their colleague’s legal ability and general ethical standards.

There are two components to Martindale-Hubbell Peer Review Ratings:

1. General Ethical Standards Rating
The General Ethical Standards Rating denotes adherence to professional standards of conduct and ethics, reliability, diligence and other criteria relevant to the discharge of professional responsibilities.

The General Recommendation Rating is:
V – Very High

A lawyer must receive a General Ethical Standards Rating before his or her review can proceed to the next step.

2. Legal Ability Ratings
Legal Ability Ratings take into consideration the standard of professional ability in the area where the lawyer practices, the lawyer’s expertise, and other professional qualifications. If a lawyer’s practice is limited or specialized, Martindale-Hubbell Peer Review Ratings are based on performance in those specific fields of law.

Legal Ability Ratings are:
C – Good to High
B – High to Very High
A – Very High to Preeminent

A jury in Portland, Oregon has returned a verdict of $200,000 against Equifax Information Services, LLC, for violations of the Fair Credit Reporting Act. Plaintiff’s counsel were Portland attorneys Mike Baxter and Justin Baxter.

Ms. Valentine, a high school librarian from Portland, has been disputing fraudulent accounts and information on her Equifax credit reports since 1987, including false and derogatory medical bills and collection accounts. The bills were incurred by a woman in Texas fraudulently using Ms. Valentine’s identity. Ms. Valentine sent Equifax police reports, letters from creditors, and detailed correspondence, but Equifax refused to delete false accounts and other false information. Even when accounts were deleted, they would subsequently reappear months or years later. As a result of Equifax’s false reporting, Ms. Valentine had to be removed from the deed to her family’s home, and endured years of futile attempts to have her otherwise perfect credit restored.

* Verdicts not intended to be representative.