Jay D. Enloe

Jay Enloe is a native Oregonian and a founding partner of the firm. Since 1977, he has represented hundreds of clients in a wide variety of civil personal injury cases throughout Oregon counties, in the Portland tri-county area as well as the northern Oregon coast and central Oregon, plus occasional involvement with cases filed in more distant venues. He has appeared as the trial attorney in well over 100 jury trials involving claims of personal injury and wrongful death and he has represented clients in an even larger number of binding arbitrations and mediations.

Mr. Enloe has also been involved with the defense of claims of professional negligence against his fellow attorneys and often serves as an arbitrator. With 40+ years of representing clients in personal injury litigation, and often acting as a facilitator of settlements between insurers and plaintiff attorneys, he feels particularly qualified to successfully handle mediations of personal injury claims.

In addition to his long career representing parties in personal injury litigation, Mr. Enloe has developed a particular interest in the pre-trial evaluation of cases and the study and analysis of jury verdict trends in the Portland Metropolitan Area. He was responsible for crystalizing the concept of a comprehensive jury verdict database created within the firm, through which jury verdict trends can be discerned, to assist parties analyze the risk of proceeding to trial. His goal for clients is the resolution of claims, as early and as economically as possible, for approximately what a jury would be expected to award if there were a trial. He does not believe in overpaying or underpaying claims. If resolution is not possible, he finds trial itself particularly satisfying, and usually the jury’s verdict does not come as a surprise.

On a personal level, Mr. Enloe enjoys almost any kind of outdoor activity and feels the Pacific Northwest has the best climate to enjoy kayaking, biking, hiking, walking, tennis, with occasional but frustrating excursions on a golf course. He feels much more at home with almost any kind of water sport and has a particular passion for the Northern Oregon Coast, where tries to spend as much time as possible.

Education
University of Oregon School of Law (J.D., 1976)
University of Oregon (B.A., Journalism, 1973)

Bar Admissions
1976, Oregon
1977, U.S. District Court for the District of Oregon
1977, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit

Memberships
Oregon State Bar Association
Multnomah County Bar Association
Washington County Bar Association
Oregon Association of Defense Counsel

Mediation
Mediation provides an opportunity for parties to try to reach an agreed resolution without further expense—economically and emotionally—associated with prolonged litigation. Mediation provides a way for parties to analyze and understand the risks of proceeding with litigation, so as to help the parties see the value in reaching a common understanding and putting the matter behind them.

Parties at times view mediation as unnecessary, as they feel they should be able to settle a claim on their own. If that were always the case, of course, mediation would not exist as a method of alternative dispute resolution. There are occasions when, for one reason or another, a settlement agreement has not been reached and seems unlikely to be reached without the assistance of an experienced mediator. An experienced mediator can help parties envision likely trial or arbitration results and can help them try to fashion an agreement to eliminate the risk of an uncertain result.

Arbitration
If a matter cannot be settled, either informally or in mediation, it must be decided. Traditionally, the ultimate method of deciding a civil claim has been a jury trial—and it still is. On the other hand, a jury trial is very expensive, in many ways. A jury trial can take many days or weeks to complete. Parties must take time from their work and their other daily activities to be present. There are daily trial fees due the court. Attorney fees are incurred by all parties. Expert witness fees can be the most expensive line item cost of a jury trial. An unsuccessful party at trial owes costs to the successful party, which in some cases can include large awards of attorney fees. Justice is dispensed, but at a very high cost, economically as well as emotionally.
Arbitration can decide a civil claim and can produce justice at a much lower cost, in time and money. A multi-day jury trial can often be arbitrated in a single day, with the elimination of court trial fees and a reduced cost in attorney fees due the shortened proceeding. Although trial expenses are eliminated, arbitrator fees do come into play, but can be more affordable if a sole arbitrator is used. Arbitration rules usually allow for presentation of expert opinions by report or other written submission, eliminating the high cost of expert witnesses traveling to court to attend trial, wait to testify and then take the stand, all at high expert witness fee rates. Telephonic testimony is usually allowed in arbitration, at a reduced cost to in person testimony. Parties to arbitration can agree to not claim costs against each other. In sum, arbitration is a much less expensive method of resolving a civil dispute.