BULLETINS FROM ALOHA

The issue of a New Bar Center came up recently by Karen Garst, Executive Director.  She appropriately recommended that the Board of Governors begin to explore future facility needs in a report to the Oregon State Bar Board of Governors in 2003.  But there was a hidden agenda.  Ms. Garst's church where she was a congregant owed her $22,000.  This church, The Living Enrichment Center (LEC),  headed by Mary Morrissey had other problems.  The church and the Morrisseys were insolvent, owed their congregants over $10 million and were about to lose their property in Tualitan where the church was located.  But this church had further problems.  Mr. Morrissey  had further problems.  Numerous laws were violated in how the church went about securing these loans from their congregants and he eventually pled guilty to a money laundering from 1996 to 2004  in Oregon federal district court (See Case # 05-CR-132).   Ms. Garst had a plan.  She convinced several members of the Oregon State Bar Board of Governors to explore purchasing this LEC white elephant in 2004.

The only problem was the PLF had left the current Oregon Bar Center leaving thirteen  (13)  vacant offices as of 2002.  Moreover, by 2004 the Oregon State Bar had less employees than in 2002 partly because the new Client Assistance Office had reduced the number of employees needed in the Disciplinary Counsels office.  The disciplinary counsel's office workload went from 400 pending cases down to 200 pending cases in the interim. 

The New Bar Center is an unnecessary boondoggle.