2 Trial Lawyer • Summer 2022 By Lara Johnson OTLA Guardian In September 2020, wildfires swept through Oregon, burning a million acres of land, destroying thousands of homes and displacing tens of thousands of Oregon residents. It was one of the worst wildfire seasons in Oregon history. As residents here, we saw how people suffered. As trial lawyers, we understood how vulnerable those displaced by the fires would be to predatory insurance practices. In response, OTLA volunteers stepped up. Over the course of several months, OTLA set up a hotline and held eleven in-person pro bono legal clinics across the state to help those affected by wildfires. It took a whole team of people to pull the program together. All in all, 80 members volunteered. Community involvement One of my favorite things about OTLA’s wildfire program was learning about other OTLA members and how they volunteered in other ways. Faith Morse practices in Medford, an area profoundly affected by wildfires. She helped out at a clinic set up in the Jackson County Expo Center where agents, adjusters and attorneys made themselves available to read insurance policies, and to direct people to programs and We help others, together services. Morse said the work could be heartbreaking. There were 2,800 homes destroyed in the area, most of which were occupied by low-income Oregonians, and many of those with three or four generations in a single home. For two to three months, all Morse did was work, volunteer and sleep. Melissa Bobadilla has provided support and assistance to migrant farm workers and their families for years. Being displaced because of fire, without time to pack a bag, meant some of these families had nothing. Bobadilla turned to OTLA and asked for help. She asked for donations and within a short time she had raised ove $30,000, which would go to much needed basic supplies. She said it was very meaningful to her that she could turn to some of her fellow OTLA members and ask for money, that they said yes without hesitation, and trust the money would get to the right people. Bobadilla is generous with her time and she also recogn i z e s t ha t “we c an a l l he l p i n different ways.” Volunteering can take different forms, but doing it, taking some step, helping in the way you can, is what counts. For Morse and Bobadilla, volunteering did not begin or end with OTLA’s wildfire efforts. Morse is the regional coordinator of Oregonians against Human Trafficking (OATH). This is a volunteer education and outreach arm of the Oregonian Human Trafficking Task Force. Morse gives presentations to public defenders, prosecutors, community groups, classrooms and church groups. She shares with her audiences that human trafficking is not a problem in some far-away place. It is right here. She says the average age for entry in human trafficking is 12 to 14 years old. The kids who are trafficked are often, but not always, “throw away” kids — kids who are homeless, who are in foster care or whose parents are absent. Morse has a passion and a commitment to these children. She says she has never refused an invitation to give a presentation. Bobadilla has done tremendous work with the migrant farmworker community in Oregon for a long time. She collected donations of bikes and helmets, money to buy new ones, and she also distributed them. She partners with churches and other organizations to collect new coats, scarfs and gloves, blankets and snacks. She even puts a collection box in her office, and her clients donate. She says sometimes she feels guilty, “I have so much.” She says, “I was once there in my life. I can relate. I had a used coat.” Bobadilla describes seeing a kid receive and put on a new coat for the first time as “magical.” President’s Message Lara Johnson
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