What Oregon Trial Lawyers Association does

The Oregon Trial Lawyers Association (OTLA) is a Portland, Oregon-based 501(c)(6) non-profit professional membership association founded in 1959 that serves plaintiff trial lawyers practicing in Oregon. The organization represents 1,000+ attorney members with a small operational staff (1-10 employees) and is supported by a separately incorporated advocacy foundation, the Oregon Jury Project, established in 1999 as a 501(c)(3).

OTLA operates a multi-product member stack. Continuing legal education is delivered through the SeminarWeb on-demand catalog (68+ programs) and live conventions and conferences. Research and practice support is provided via the TrialSmith database, which incorporates AI-assisted deposition analysis, and via OTLA Listservs and the OTLA Job Bank. Member-facing content includes the quarterly Trial Lawyer Magazine, the bimonthly Sidebar Newsletter, and the OTLA Cares community giving program.

The business model combines individual membership dues, paid CLE programming, advertising across publications and digital channels, and a tiered Annual Partnership Program (Diamond, Platinum, Gold) that bundles event sponsorship, CLE sponsorship, and advertising inventory. Revenue is therefore a mix of recurring membership income and concentrated partnership/sponsorship income from law firms, legal services vendors, and financial services firms serving the Oregon plaintiff bar.

Name

Oregon Trial Lawyers Association

Legal name

Oregon Trial Lawyers Association

Website

https://oregontriallawyers.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1959

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Oregon Trial Lawyers Association is a Portland-based 501(c)(6) professional membership association founded in 1959 that serves 1,000+ plaintiff trial lawyers in Oregon through CLE programming, publications, the TrialSmith database, and a tiered Annual Partnership Program.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Portland

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Membership Dues: Annual membership dues from attorneys and legal professionals providing access to member benefits, resources, and professional community.
2. CLE Programming: Continuing legal education programs including live webinars and self-paced online courses generating registration fees. Pricing varies by member status with member rates at $79-$99 and non-member rates at $99-$129 per program.
3. Advertising: Advertising revenue from Sidebar Newsletter (6x annually, 1,200+ circulation) and Trial Lawyer Magazine (4x annually, 1,600+ circulation) reaching attorneys, judges, legislators, and law professors.
4. Annual Partnerships: Tiered annual partnership programs (Diamond, Platinum, Gold, Specialty) offering year-round recognition via web exposure, print and electronic advertising, exhibitor and event sponsorship opportunities, and access to OTLA's 1000+ attorney members.
5. Event Sponsorships: Sponsorship opportunities for educational and social events including lunches, happy hours, gala events, specialty CLEs, and the Annual Convention.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

OTLA is a non-profit professional membership association that provides Oregon plaintiff trial lawyers and legal professionals with annual membership, continuing legal education programming (live and self-paced webinars approved by 29+ state bar authorities), advocacy for civil justice, networking (listservs and an annual convention), practice resources (deposition and brief repositories, expert witness tools), publications (Trial Lawyer Magazine and Sidebar Newsletter), and tiered annual partnership/sponsorship opportunities for law firms and legal service vendors.

Product overview

The Oregon Trial Lawyers Association (OTLA) is a professional membership organization serving Oregon's plaintiff trial lawyers. The organization operates a unified platform of member services organized around a central website (https://www.oregontriallawyers.org/), featuring the core SeminarWeb CLE Catalog for continuing legal education with both live webinars and self-paced online courses, the OTLA Job Bank for career placement, and the integrated TrialSmith legal research database for depositions, expert analysis, and case law. OTLA also publishes the Trial Lawyer Magazine (quarterly) and Sidebar Newsletter (bimonthly), operates OTLA Listservs for member communication, and administers community programs including OTLA Cares and the Oregon Jury Project through its nonprofit arm. The organization offers business partnership tiers (Diamond, Platinum, Gold) providing annual sponsorship and exhibitor opportunities at CLE events and the Annual Convention.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Oregon Jury Project: OTLA's 501(c)(3) non-profit public education foundation focused on educating the community about the civil justice system
• OTLA Cares

Products and services

• Attorney Membership Annual membership for licensed Oregon plaintiff trial attorneys providing access to CLE programming, OTLA Listservs, DME and Brief Fileshares, TrialSmith research database, member directory, advocacy, and the Trial Lawyer Magazine and Sidebar Newsletter.
• Legal Professional Membership Annual membership for non-attorney legal professionals (paralegals, legal assistants, law students, and judicial clerks) providing listserv access, professional development resources, networking, and Job Bank services.
• SeminarWeb CLE Catalog

Quantifiable outcome

• Sidebar Newsletter reaches 1,200+ individuals; Trial Lawyer Magazine reaches 1,600+ individuals including judges and legislators
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers2 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

20 partnerships are on record, tiered flagship, core and minor.

• EvenUp LawflagshipGTM or Marketing PartnerDiamond Annual Partner. EvenUp Law provides AI-powered legal technology solutions for plaintiff attorneys. Contact: Maxwell Bettendorf, [email protected], (415) 406-9002.
• HMR ServicingflagshipGTM or Marketing PartnerDiamond Annual Partner. HMR Servicing provides settlement structuring services. Contact: Richard Abi-Rached, [email protected], (346) 300-8787.
• Ringler Objective Settlement AdvisorsflagshipGTM or Marketing PartnerDiamond Annual Partner. Structured settlement specialists. Contact: Nolan Robinson, [email protected], (503) 601-8100.
• The Gatti FirmflagshipGTM or Marketing PartnerDiamond Law Firm Partner. Plaintiff personal injury firm. Contact: Ryan Jennings, [email protected], (503) 543-1114.
• LexisNexiscoreGTM or Marketing PartnerPlatinum Annual Partner. Legal research and analytics provider. Contact: Chris Jackson, [email protected], (503) 443-8130.
• Lucid VideocoreTechnology or IntegrationPlatinum Annual Partner. Legal video production services. Contact: Clay Drinwater, [email protected], (503) 610-3929.
• Sage SettlementscoreGTM or Marketing PartnerPlatinum Annual Partner. Structured settlement services. Contact: Audrey Kenney, [email protected], (208) 631-7298.
• Synergy Litigation Support ServicescoreTechnology or IntegrationPlatinum Annual Partner. Litigation support and technology services. Contact: Barbara Haikal, [email protected], (503) 808-1010.
• Paulson ColetticoreGTM or Marketing PartnerPlatinum Law Firm Partner. Personal injury litigation firm. Contact: Jane Paulson, [email protected], (503) 226-6361.
• PDW LegalcoreGTM or Marketing PartnerPlatinum Law Firm Partner. Plaintiff litigation firm. Contact: Randy Pickett, [email protected], (503) 226-3628.
• D'Amore Law GroupminorGTM or Marketing PartnerSpecialty Law Firm Partner - Leadership Academy Sponsor and Minority Caucus Sponsor. Contact: Tom D'Amore, [email protected], (917) 314-6342.
• Sugerman Dahab Law FirmminorGTM or Marketing PartnerSpecialty Law Firm Partner - Minority Caucus Sponsor. Contact: Nadia Dahab, [email protected], (503) 228-6474.
• Vames Wang Sosa HoodminorGTM or Marketing PartnerSpecialty Law Firm Partner - New Lawyer Sponsor. Contact: Paul Vames, [email protected], (503) 669-3426.
• Integrity Legal Nurse Consulting PDXminorGTM or Marketing PartnerGold Annual Partner. Legal nurse consulting services. Contact: Wendy Votroubek, [email protected], (503) 775-3221.
• Malaer Legal Nurse Consulting LLCminorGTM or Marketing PartnerGold Annual Partner. Legal nurse consulting. Contact: Robert Malaer, [email protected], (503) 241-4019.
• Medical Vocational PlanningminorGTM or Marketing PartnerGold Annual Partner. Vocational expert services. Contact: Sharla Paso, [email protected], (360) 583-5100.
• Orthopedic Spine and Injury CenterminorGTM or Marketing PartnerGold Annual Partner. Medical provider for injury cases. Contact: Christy King, [email protected], (425) 272-2727.
• Pinpoint Claim ServicesminorGTM or Marketing PartnerGold Annual Partner. Insurance claim services. Contact: Ryan Baird & Kayla Baird, [email protected], (541) 316-3083.
• Cheng LawminorGTM or Marketing PartnerGold Law Firm Partner. Civil litigation firm. Contact: Ron Cheng, [email protected], (971) 770-2053.
• Stoll BerneminorGTM or Marketing PartnerGold Law Firm Partner. Complex litigation firm. Contact: Cody Berne, [email protected], (503) 227-1600.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Emerging players

• EvenUp Law: AI-powered legal technology vendor for plaintiff personal injury firms and OTLA Diamond Annual Partner. Comparable as a tech-enabled services provider targeting the same plaintiff attorney end-customers that OTLA serves, and a leading sponsor in its partner ecosystem.

Others

• LexisNexis: Legal research and analytics provider serving as OTLA's Platinum Annual Partner. Comparable as an enabling ecosystem player whose legal content tools overlap with OTLA's TrialSmith offering, and as a competitor for advertising/partnership spend from law firms.
• Association of Legal Administrators: National membership association for legal management professionals. Comparable as a professional association serving the legal industry with CLE, publications, and a tiered partner/exhibitor program, though its audience is firm administrators rather than trial lawyers.

Broad incumbents

• National Bar Association: National association predominantly serving Black attorneys, lawyers, judges, and law students. Comparable in mission (advocacy, professional development, publications) and CLE/programming model, with broader scope than OTLA's plaintiff-only focus.
• American Association for Justice: National plaintiff trial lawyer bar association offering CLE, advocacy, and member resources. Directly analogous to OTLA in mission and product mix (membership, CLE, publications, listservs), but operating at national scale rather than within a single state.
• Consumer Attorneys of California: California statewide trial lawyer association. Operates the same core product mix as OTLA (membership, CLE, publications, partnerships, legislative advocacy) but at materially larger scale given California's plaintiff bar size.
• Oregon State Bar: Mandatory unified bar for all Oregon attorneys. While not a peer in the plaintiff-bar niche, it shares the same lawyer-membership audience in Oregon and offers overlapping CLE programming that competes for members' time and CLE spend.
• Defense Research Institute: Leading national organization for defense trial lawyers and corporate counsel. Direct functional mirror to OTLA on the defense side of the bar, with identical product mix (membership, CLE, publications, expert resources) and similar partnership/advertising economics.

Direct peers

• Washington State Association for Justice: Statewide plaintiff trial lawyer association serving Washington attorneys. Closest regional peer: same product model (membership, CLE, publications, partnerships), adjacent geography, and overlapping member/partner ecosystem with OTLA.
• Idaho Trial Lawyers Association: State-level plaintiff bar association for Idaho offering CLE, advocacy, and member services. Directly comparable in scope and operating model to OTLA, just at smaller scale in a neighboring state.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/oregonjustice
• Facebookfacebook.com/oregontriallawyers

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Oregon Trial Lawyers Association