J. Ashlee Albies

J. Ashlee Albies has been practicing civil rights and employee-side employment law for almost two decades. She has devoted her legal career to advocating for clients who have been harmed by discrimination, retaliation, or unfair treatment by an employer or by the government. She believes in client-centered practice: ensuring her clients have the information they need to make informed decisions about major life choices.

Ashlee has a long history of civil rights advocacy — working to use the legal system and her legal knowledge to advance human rights. She has served as a legal observer with the National Lawyers Guild (NLG) and represents community groups seeking to hold police accountable. She also helped organize legal seminars for prisoners and the Life Without Parole Storytelling Project at Oregon State Penitentiary in 2019.

Ashlee takes her work outside the law office by serving in leadership positions and teaching about the law. She is past co-chair of the Portland chapter of the NLG, past chair of the Oregon State Bar Civil Rights Section, and current chair-elect of the Oregon State Bar Labor and Employment Section. She regularly offers community education and continuing legal education seminars on the First Amendment, free speech, creative uses of the law, trial advocacy, and civil rights litigation.

Ashlee has been recognized by her peers in multiple forums. In 2010, she received the Law for the People Award, along with other members of the legal team, from the NLG. She is recognized by SuperLawyers, and in 2018, Lewis and Clark Law School presented her with the Community Spirit Award. Most recently, the Oregon Trial Lawyers Association awarded her and a colleague the Arthur Bryant Public Justice Award, and she was selected for the 2021 Ernie Goodman Award by the NLG.

Ashlee is from New Jersey and earned her undergraduate degree from Cook College at Rutgers University before moving to Oregon to study law at Lewis and Clark Law School. When not working, she enjoys reading, crossword puzzles, and spending time with her family and friends.