Schrock Law Office PC

09/18/2023

I posted a short artice regarding the changes to noncompetition agreements in Oregon in 2022.

The Oregon legislature made some important changes to the statute governing noncompetition agreements in employment (ORS 653.295). These apply from 2022 forward. From 2022, agreements that do not meet the “criteria” are void instead of only voidable. This means the employee does not have to take...

07/13/2023

Decision in SEC v. Ripple Labs, Inc.!!!

Judge Torres in the Southern District of New York today filed her decision on cross motions for summary judgment in this case. Although the court rejected some of Ripple's arguments concerning the definition of an investment contract, the essential ruling from the case is that the secondary sales of XRP are NOT sales of unregistered securities. The SEC did receive summary judgment in it's favor on some of the original sales directly by Ripple to institutional investors. This is not a big surprise.

The case opinion is well reasoned. However, it is likely that the SEC will appeal the decision.

The current environment is on in which Gary Gensler and the SEC are refusing to bring clarity as to when Crypto tokens are securities, have made no effort to publish "safe harbor" provisions, and are taking a stance that would have the effect of pushing an exponentially growing technology (and consequently an exponentially growing industry) out of the United States. While the future is uncertain, certainly this decision bodes well.

I will go into deeper analysis at a future date. While I am not a securities attorney, I am extremely interested in the litigation affecting the crypto industry because this is just a big overreach by the SEC in many of these cases.

06/27/2020

The Court's now: Just a quick update. The courts in Oregon are open - sort of. Electronic filing is fairly normal. Hearings and trials in civil cases are largely being postponed until next year. There is expected to be inreased use of virtual hearings. It is actually a good time to file a case - file a case now and a person should be able to get a trial scheduled in the normal length of time, and there is enough time to get into the discovery process and determine if any hearings are necessary.

Of course there is enough time to settle the case as well...

For divorce cases - at least some court's are entering status quo orders on their own in cases involving children during the Covid 19 scare. So, if one parent is living out of the house when the case is filed, there are implications for parenting time, etc. If you know someone doing that, naybe suggest they talk to an attorney.

06/18/2020

Now Using Zoom.

While I originally intended to use Skype for my virtual meetings, I now am using Zoom. Zoom has worked very well. I also have used Microsoft Office. I think this will continue to work well in the future, as it allows for more convenient initial and other appointments. Face-to-face meetings will continue to be an important component of the practice, but of course keeping legitimate safety concerns in mind.

This also will allow me to be more flexible in meeting with people that are more vulnerable or are immobile.

Just one more way to help people live a happier and more fulfilling life by assisting them in overcoming obstacles and understanding legal issues.

06/18/2020

Contact Tracing by the City of Beaverton as of June, 2020:

As a member of the Library Advisory Board for the City of Beaverton, I recently reviewed some discussions of library policy regarding contact tracing. While at the time of the meeting there was no final policy in place, what was clear at that time is the following:

1. Reporting individual identity and contact information would be voluntary. The library (and I presume the City) are not going to require visitors to register their presence. However, that option will be available in some fashion which has not been finally determined.

2. If a person does leave contact information, Washington County would follow up with that person to inform them of any potential Covid 19 exposure if such an occurrence does arise.

I do not have the details at this time as to what number 2, above will entail. Hopefully I can provide more information later.

What are my primary concerns?

1. Civil liberties - We do not want any enforced quarantines or mandatory testing based on "potential exposure." This is not a police state, and we are not dealing with an extremely deadly disease. Most people will have mild or no symptoms if they actually get the virus, and we simply cannot allow our freedom to be restricted on hypothetical basis, in order to hypothetically protect a very small percentage of the population. I realize people may have other opinions, but please do some research and in particular do not accept any information as true if it comes from mainstream media, either broadcast or in print. Do further research. Feel free to provide me with any first hand accounts of doctors actually treating patients (who are very successfully treating patients prior to them developing ARDS), or peer-reviewed publications.

2. Vaccines - We do not want any requirement of vaccination. Voluntary basis is fine. There is just no way to verify what is in a vaccine, and this is another serious imposition on individual liberties.

03/23/2020

Governor Kate Brown has entered a Stay at Home order. This rachets up the government restrictions on business and travel. Important take-aways:

1. Restaurants - takeout is ok;
2. Groceries, drugs and healthcare - these can operate;
3. Law Offices may remain open, subject to some other social distancing restrictions;
4. Travel is restricted somewhat, but allowed for food, medical care, and a list of other permissible activities.
5. You may engage in hiking, running, walking, and other outdoor activities without restriction so long as "social distancing" is not impacted - this means team sports would be out because of the distancing requirement. Otherwise, spend as much time outside as you would like.

The text of the order can be found at this link:

03/16/2020

Now Using Skype!
I am now beginning to offer Skype for virtual conferences. This is particularly useful for contract reviews and business consultations. It also allows me to be virtually present at company meetings. For details on how to take advantage of these services, please contact Schrock Law Office.

01/07/2020

Here is a tip for the new year. When signing a contract or legal documents write out the full year, "2020". If you only write "20" this leaves open the possibility of someone being able to insert a "19", "18", etc. after the date to make it look like you signed it on a different year.

In most years this would not be an issue - no one is going to think you signed something in another century! But 2020 is unique in this respect, and sometimes it could make a difference.

10/30/2019

A few of the notable litigation accomplishments for the year.

1. Successfully litigated and resolved wage claim for payment of bonuses that were owed, together with attorney fees and penalties.

2. Successfully arbitrated business dispute between client minority owner and majority owner of business, and received award for value of minority share together with other amounts owed.

3. Litigated and resolved wage claim for overtime due to client in a job situation involving sleep time issues.

Many matters are ongoing. Stay tuned!

10/30/2019

Waterfall at the Japanese Garden. Reminding us that everthing changes in a natural flow.

06/07/2019

A new article is up regarding spousal support, also called alimony, in Oregon

A common question in divorces is whether one of the spouses is entitled to spousal support in Oregon (spousal support is Oregon’s terminology for alimony). An additional related question is how the court is going to determine the amount of spousal support to award. Oregon recognizes three primary ...