OREGON
The Oregonian
By Aimee Green, The Oregonian
Ten years after a man secured a $900,000 settlement for abuse as a child by one of Oregon’s most notorious pedophile priests, an ugly battle over how much his attorneys got to keep is finally over.
The man’s case came to light two years ago after he filed a lawsuit saying that his attorneys claimed $877,000 of his settlement, leaving him with just $23,000. The news stirred public outrage — and deeply embarrassed the legal community, which constantly fights the stereotype of greedy, money-grabbing lawyers.
But since then, the man known only as G.B. has managed to recover $225,000. And though he’s better off than he was before, that’s far short of the $600,000 he should have gotten if his attorneys had taken only the standard fee of 33 percent.
“It’s just a travesty,” said Richard A. Weill, a volunteer trial attorney for the Oregon State Bar.
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