Luber: Hey everyone – welcome to JD CareersOutThere – where we get you career advice from fellow
lawyers and non-practicing lawyers – to help you find success and happiness in your
career.
I’m ML – and today we’re exploring what it’s like to be a lawyer in a State Attorney
General’s office.
We’re talking to Heather Weigler, an Assistant Attorney General in the state of Oregon, who
previously worked at a corporate law firm.
Here’s a little look at our discussion and the great advice she shared….Okay!
What is the role of an Assistant Attorney General?
Heather Weigler: An Assistant Attorney General’s role depends on the division that you’re
assigned to.
So, for instance, if you’re in the Civil Enforcement Division, you might be assigned
to enforce the civil laws governing financial transactions or child advocacy laws governing
dependency proceedings when children are removed from their homes and put into the foster care
system.
Or you might be assigned to the Appellate Division which represents the State in all
of the appeals before the Court of Appeals or the Supreme Court here in Oregon or also
the Ninth Circuit or the US Supreme Court.
So it kind of depends on where you’re assigned but your role could be anything from litigation
to an advisory general counsel type of role.
Luber: Huh!
Ok.
How many people would you say there are that are Assistant Attorney Generals in Oregon?
Heather Weigler: There are about 300 assistant Attorney Generals here.
And we’re kind of a small state, so when you start looking at Department of Justices
in states like New York or California, that number obviously rises.
Luber: Wow - that’s a lot of people.
So is everyone spread all over the state or is everyone headquartered in one office?
Heather Weigler: Most people are in Salem, Oregon; that’s where the department is actually
situated but there are branch offices in Portland, Eugene, Medford, some of the larger cities
in Oregon.
Luber: Okay, wow!
So now I want to learn a little bit about what you’re doing.
So tell us about your role specifically.
What do you do as an Assistant Attorney General?
Heather Weigler: Well my job is kind of specialized.
I’m in the Civil Enforcement Division but in the Charitable Activity Section.
So what we do is ensure that all the charitable and non-profit entities in Oregon are registered,
filling the reports that they need to file each year and then observing all the laws
governing how you solicit and use charitable contributions, corporate governance issues
as they relate to non-profit corporations and then dealing with any consumer complaints
that come up about misrepresentation in the solicitation process.
Luber: Is there a lot of that?
Heather Weigler: There is a ton of that actually.
The non-profit sector is the fourth largest in our economy.
A lot of people wouldn’t imagine that because you don’t think of non-profits as having
big revenues but they do, and it’s an industry that’s really ripe for mismanagement and
exploitation.
So there’s a large…I don’t know, a large percentage, but there’s certainly a percentage
of people out there who grasp onto a charitable cause that will cause people to contribute
and then use it to their own personal advantage which is unlawful.
Luber: So that’s like me picking up my phone, calling grandmas and saying, “I am representing
a charity that helps puppies,” or, “I’m curing cancer, send money now,” and I’m
going off and buying a yacht?
Heather Weigler: Yes, that’s exactly what it’s like.
Luber: You guys can watch a full episode of Heather and I going more in-depth into Assistant
Attorney General careers and you’re gonna learn more about what she does, how you can
do it, how you can break in – and how you can succeed.
That’s gonna happen at JD-CareersOutThere.com – or JDCOT.com for a shortcut.
If you’re already at the site, you can scroll down to the full version – be sure to become
a member so you can watch the full interview and get access to lots more exclusive content
filled with great advice.
Thanks again for watching everyone – I’m Marc Luber and look forward to seeing you
again soon.
Take care.