1. Dedication to Wendy J. Johnson
Former Deputy and General Counsel of the Oregon Law Commission
With admiration and affection, we are pleased to dedicate this 2015 Biennial Report of the Oregon Law
Commission to Wendy J. Johnson in honor of her myriad contributions to the Oregon Law Commission.
A 1998 graduate of Willamette University College of Law, Wendy came to the Commission from the
Oregon Supreme Court where she was the lead petitions law clerk. She clerked for Chief Justice Wallace
P. Carson and the Court from 1998-2001. Before working for the Court, she clerked for Attorney General
Hardy Myers and the front office attorneys at the Oregon Department of Justice. AG Myers, who worked
with Wendy again as a commissioner on the Oregon Law Commission stated, “Over many
years Wendy Johnson was resolutely devoted to the Oregon Law Commission her personal gifts and
attributes: keen intelligence, integrity, a huge capacity for hard work, superb organizational and
communication skills, and a great sense of humor. She is a truly pivotal figure in the Commission's public
service history.”
Wendy served the Commission as its first full-time Deputy Director and General Counsel from 2001 to
2015. According to former Oregon Law Commission Executive Director David Kenagy, “Wendy came to
the Commission when we still were not sure exactly what the Law Commission could do and how it
could do it. Her big picture insights helped us bring function to an emerging institutional design. Her
work built and sustained the credibility of the Commission and explains why its work so often enjoys the
support of lawmakers.”
Wendy Johnson staffed large and small law reform projects, including revisions of the Oregon Revised
Statutes relating to: judgments, juvenile law; civil rights; automobile insurance; eminent domain;
government borrowings; family law (parentage); government ethics; emergency preparedness; estate tax;
and adoption law. She regularly worked with state and local officials; the public and private bench and
bar; academics; the Uniform Law Commission; and the general public through many legislative sessions
to advance law reform recommendations.
The trust and confidence she established with Commission members, stake holders and legislators were
critical to the remarkable record of accomplishments the Commission enjoyed during her years of service.
According to current Executive Director and Willamette University College of Law Prof. Jeffrey
Dobbins, “the processes, philosophies, and practices that underlie the modern Oregon Law Commission
are a direct result of Wendy's 14 years of dedicated work as Deputy Director and General Counsel. The
Commission would not be the successful and respected entity it is today without the solid foundation
provided by her work on past projects and the goodwill she generated through her long and successful
guidance of Commission work through the legislative process. Her intuition, expertise, knowledge, and
good nature will be greatly missed at both Willamette and on the Commission.” The Oregon Law
Commission extends its thanks and best wishes to Wendy in all her future endeavors.