– Est. –
1927

Adequate Funding Needed to Support Court: Op Ed Article

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The Oregon State Legislature is currently in full session and debating a proposed budget for Governor Brown’s approval. At stake is funding for our Oregon Courts. The Judicial Branch currently receives less than 3% of the total budget even though it is one of our three branches of government. SYK partner, Chris Costantino, in her role as President of the Oregon State Bar this year co-authored an article which was recently published in The Oregonian outlining the need to adequately fund our state courts in the 2019 budget. Right now, only one court house in the entire state is providing public services full time; other courts have limited time to answer phone calls or in-person requests. This is because court staffing has been cut by more than 12% since 2009.

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Free 24/7 Senior Loneliness Line: A Caring Call

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Senior Loneliness Line

Clackamas County has launched a free and confidential 24/7 call-in at 503.200.1633 (or 800.282.7035) for adults older than 55 who live in Clackamas County. The Senior Loneliness Line supports seniors in the community who are feeling lonely, anxious, or having difficulty connecting. Staff members are primarily trained under Lines for Life, to be well-equipped for crisis management training and suicide prevention. Staff members are also mandatory reporters and have been trained on how to fill out reports to Adult Protective Services.

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Attorneys Blachly & Pasieczny Present on Combating Financial Elder Abuse

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Today, over 46 million Americans are 65 years of age or older. This accounts for nearly 15% of the population. According to the Population Reference Bureau, that number is projected to more than double by the year 2060. It will reach an estimated 98 million and 24% of the U.S. population. Approximately 1 out of every 10 Americans, age 60 and older have experienced some form of elder abuse. Estimates of financial elder abuse and fraud costs range from $2.9 billion to $36.5 billion annually

On Thursday, February 21st, SYK attorneys Victoria Blachly and Darlene Pasieczny will speak to the Oregon State Bar Securities Regulation Section about financial elder abuse in the securities industry. Their program “Recent Tools to Combat Financial Elder Abuse: Mandatory and Permissive Conduct Under FINRA Rules and Oregon Law for Securities Professionals,” will take a closer look at Oregon statues and FINRA rules regarding mandatory and permissive conduct for brokers and investment advisers when there is reasonable suspicion of financial abuse.

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Articles by SYK Attorneys Nelson and Pasieczny featured in the OSB Elder Law Newsletter

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The January 2019, Volume 22 issue of the Oregon State Bar Elder Law Newsletter featured articles by two of SYK’s outstanding attorneys. Laura Nelson, whose practice includes estate planning, trust administration, and guardianship and conservatorship cases was featured on the first page of the newsletter. Darlene Pasieczny’s article, New Tools Help Financial Professionals Prevent Elder Abuse, examines mandatory and permissive conduct for Oregon securities professionals when there is reasonable suspicion of financial abuse. Pasieczny is a fiduciary and securities litigator. She represents clients in both Oregon and Washington in trust and estate disputes, elder financial abuse, securities litigation, and investors nationwide in FINRA arbitration.

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