Christopher Lundberg

Partner

Phone: (503) 225-0777

E-mail: clundberg@hk-law.com

V-card

Background

Chris’ interest in constitutional rights is the foundation of his interest in law and his areas of expertise – Indian Law and Employment Law. Chris is inspired to help individuals and tribal communities fully realize their fundamental rights to fair and equitable treatment, to have their culture and experience fully respected, and to live within a community that is strong, stable and full of opportunity. Relationships are important to Chris. He returns phone calls and emails, and he listens. Fundamentally, getting it right is what matters to him. To that end, he works hard to understand his clients’ goals, and to ensure that each client receives the maximum benefit the law provides.

Before starting his civil law career at his firm, Chris served as a judicial clerk for the Honorable Paul J. De Muniz of the Oregon Court of Appeals, as a staff attorney for the Oregon Supreme Court on a Racial Diversity Project, and as a staff attorney for the Southern Oregon Public Defenders' Office.

Representative Work

Indian Law

Metlakatla Indian Community – Serves as general counsel for the Community, which involves providing legal advice to the Council and the government’s various departments, drafting ordinances, representing the Community in lawsuits including Indian Child Welfare Act matters, providing legal representation on economic development projects and other matters as assigned.

Confederated Tribes of Siletz Indians – Serves as general counsel for the Tribe’s economic development entity, which involves transactional, employment and litigation advice, as well as providing representation to the Tribe on special projects as assigned.

Employment Law

Since coming to the firm, Chris has developed and leads the firm’s employment law practice. In this capacity, he has developed expertise in all aspects of employment law (and related tort and contact law) and has served as lead trial counsel in numerous cases, some of which are highlighted below:

John Michael Cooke, Ron Swor, and the International Church of the Foursquare Gospel v. Tim Tubra. Secured a jury verdict of $355,000 for pastor on defamation claim involving complex constitutional issue, and protected verdict on appeal in all Oregon appellate courts and the United States Supreme Court.

Disability Rights Cases. Successful handled a variety of disability rights cases involving mental health conditions, temporary and permanent physical conditions, and accommodation concerns.

Morten v. Washington Department of Corrections. Secured $80,000 and reinstatement for an African American superintendent of a correctional institution on a racial discrimination claim.

Scruggs v. Washington Employment Security Department. Secured $80,000 settlement for an African American employee on a racial discrimination/retaliation claim.

Edwards v. IKEA Oregon, LLC. Secured confidential settlement for an African American manager on racial discrimination claim.

Quigley v. Multnomah County. Secured $150,000 settlement for human resources executive due to his firing for opposing same-sex harassment.

Middleton v. City of Sherwood. Secured settlement of $250,000 for Chief of Police concerning military-service discrimination claim.

DeBruyne v. Merrill Lynch Secured confidential settlement for female vice president of major financial company on family-care discrimination claim.

Leaverton v. Inn at the Spanish Head. Secured a confidential settlement for bar tender on age discrimination claim.

Barton v. Knife River. Secured confidential settlement for female construction worker on gender discrimination and harassment claim.

On behalf of a 20-year veteran police officer, secured a six-figure settlement before lawsuit filed for officer’s whistleblowing activity.

Kurdock v. Electro Scientific Industries. Secured confidential settlement for chief operating officer involving defamation-by-implication and contract claims.

McDowell v. Providence Health System. Secured confidential settlement for billing clerk due to her whistleblowing activity with respect to Medicare reimbursements.

Community Involvement

Uniting to Understand Racism - founding member and ten-year board member (two years as President) of the Uniting to Understand Racism organization, whose mission is "to reduce racism in our communities through study and personal examination."
Adjunct Professor, Portland State University, Equalizing Access to Justice – served for two years as Adjunct Professor, Portland State University, Equalizing Access to Justice – Removing the Barriers
Facilitator for numerous structured, six-week dialogues on racism, which took place in law firms, business and government institutions
In his spare time, Chris enjoys spending time with his wife and three sons, traveling, and being outdoors.

Related News

Faculty Member and Speaker, Law Seminars International Conference – Tribal Energy in the Pacific Northwest, “Evaluating the Various Structural Options for Partnerships Between Tribes and Developers,” October 17 and 18, 2011.

Practice Areas

Admitted To Practice

State Courts of Oregon
U.S. District Court of Oregon
U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals
U.S. Supreme Court
Siletz Tribal Court
Metlakatla Indian Community’s Magistrate Court

Education

J.D, Northwestern School of Law, Lewis and Clark College
B.A., Economics, Southern Methodist University

Professional Membership

American Bar Association
Multnomah County Bar Association
National Congress of American Indians
Oregon Trial Lawyers Association