Carl Neil

Partner

Carl’s practice is centered primarily around maritime and carriage of goods matters, as well as commercial litigation and contract preparation. But those who dig a little deeper will find Carl’s personal commitment to civic involvement, the law and social justice.

He has served as counsel in litigation of business matters for almost 50 years and an arbitrator for more than 35 years. Carl has provided long-time counsel to forest products wholesalers with operations nationwide and in Canada.

Carl has represented both plaintiffs and defendants in various types of maritime disputes, provided counsel to employers and professional employees in employment contract matters, drafted and litigated commercial leases and contracts; and he has represented officers, directors and employees in securities litigation.

Carl has argued two cases before the U.S. Supreme Court and received the Multnomah Bar Association’s most prestigious recognition, the Professionalism Award, in 2007.

Inside and outside the courtroom, Carl has enjoyed a diverse career. He has maintained an active pro bono practice in Portland as a Legal Aid attorney; he represented people in Mississippi in 1966 whose civil rights had been violated; and he has acted as a mediator and an arbitrator in a wide variety of cases. He continues to teach admiralty for Northwestern College of Law at Lewis and Clark College.

Carl served as president of the Oregon State Bar from 1976-77. He notes that among his proudest achievements have been helping to avoid the execution of Jeannace Freeman until capital punishment in Oregon was abolished in 1964; and getting the death sentence of Richard Schwensen overturned on appeal.

A graduate of Columbia Law School, he graduated magna cum laude from Yale University. He is a member of the Oregon Bar, the Bars of the U.S. Court of Appeals and the Fifth and Ninth Circuits, the U.S. Court of Federal Claims and the U.S. Supreme Court.

AV® Peer Review Rated by Martindale-Hubbell

“Lindsay, Hart, Neil + Weigler has a lot of credibility with judges in Portland and the rest of the state. We’ve been around a long time, and even some of our former partners are appellate and state Supreme Court judges. It speaks well of our work here.”
– Carl Neil