Earlier this month, members of OCJ’s legal team (attorney Matt Kirkpatrick and paralegal Lucia Becchetti) joined attorney Matthew Sutton in Medford, prevailing on multiple claims in a trial to find justice for Ms. Graciela Orozco against family law practice, Rise Law Group, Inc (Rise).
Ms. Orozco, whose primary language is not English, engaged Rise to represent her during her divorce. While Ms. Orozco understandably put her trust in her attorneys to use their skills to get her the best result, they instead took advantage of her at every turn, making an already difficult time in her life that much worse.
From the beginning, the law firm took inappropriate steps, depositing her retainer and payments into an unregistered account instead of the trust account, as required by the law. For almost three years, they turned down offers to resolve her divorce and prevented one property from being sold as market prices fell. Further, they put an attorney lien on the two marital properties, billed her for work on the Oregon Bar complaint she had filed about them, and continued to bill her following their removal as her attorneys. The law firm charged more than $50k in attorney fees and took most of the small marital estate from these working-class Oregonians.
The legal team took Rise to court on five claims: negligence, failure to register a business name, quiet title, unlawful trade practices, and debt collection practices. While additional motions are still proceeding, the team prevailed on behalf of Ms. Orozco in full on the claims for failure to register a business name and quiet title and partly on the claims of unlawful trade practices and debt collection practices.
This case is about standing up for what’s right. During this trial, OCJ championed consumer rights alongside Mr. Sutton and held accountable the bad actors who set out to exploit Ms. Orozco. Following the trial, Ms. Orozco shared that the verdict finally affirmed that someone believed her.
By maintaining our people-first approach, OCJ is fostering professional relationships, building trust within the legal community, and showing up to achieve positive outcomes for Oregon consumers.