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DOJ trial division seeks 33 positions, says outside counsel costs rose to $12M in 2024
Summary
The Department of Justice's trial division told lawmakers it sent 74 cases to outside counsel in 2024 and paid more than $12 million, and requested 33 new positions (attorneys plus support) to keep work in-house and reduce outside costs.
The Oregon Department of Justice's trial division asked the Public Safety subcommittee for 33 additional positions to respond to rising litigation workloads and to reduce reliance on outside counsel, which the division said cost the state more than $12 million in 2024.
Sheila Potter, division chief for the trial division, told lawmakers on April 15 that the division had to send 74 cases to outside counsel in 2024 and that payments to special assistant attorneys general (SAGs) exceeded $12,000,000. "We would have seen a substantial savings to the State if we had been able to handle all of those cases internally," Potter said, citing litigation complexity and post-pandemic caseload growth.
Why it matters: Potter and other DOJ witnesses described steadily growing caseloads across corrections litigation, water and environmental suits, post-conviction and habeas corpus matters, and large infrastructure-related claims. She said certain case types — notably corrections-related litigation and state habeas cases — have become more complex and time-consuming, in part because of evolving legal standards and multi-day evidentiary hearings.
Staffing request details: The trial division's policy option package proposes attorney teams where each two attorneys would be supported by a paralegal and a legal secretary; Potter described plans for a separate corrections unit with six AAGs and a new attorney-in-charge to improve manager-to-employee ratios. Potter noted that two attorney positions added in the prior biennium billed about 4,400 hours and helped keep higher-cost outside work in-house.
Costs and supervision: Committee members asked whether the $12 million figure accounted for DOJ staff time spent supervising outside counsel; Potter said it did not include management time reviewing work product, which further increases the true cost of outsourcing.
Ending: Potter framed the request as a cost-saving and capacity-preserving measure, arguing in-house representation produces better outcomes for the state because DOJ attorneys know agency operations and avoid supervisory overhead associated with outside counsel.
