Everything Must Go

A new blog post that isn’t a throwback?  That’s right: there’s been a massive new development.  As of now, I have now closed shop in Tillamook and hung my shingle in Salem, Oregon!

As June was wearing down, I brainstormed the logistics of how I was going to move out.  I had located a new office and found a promising housing option in Salem, I’d been in touch with several attorneys in Marion County about how to get in the local defense consortium, and I had negotiated the end of my Tillamook County Defense Consortium contract.  I expected that moving my office was going to be a gradual process over the course of the entire summer.

That expectation lasted until Monday, June 23, when I was informed that I was expected to vacate my office by June 30.  I had to accelerate my plans quite suddenly!

What followed was one of the busiest weeks I’ve had in a while.  I had to move everything—supplies, case files, freaking giant pieces of electrical equipment—over the course of one week (while still attending a few court hearings and staying on top of my active cases).  It was go time; I pulled every string I had and called in some favors to evacuate Every. Single. Friggin’. Thing. in my office.  A lot of things, such as office supplies, were easy enough to move.  What was less easy was my work computer, my giant scanner/printer, and every f***ing case file from the last 6 years (have I made it clear how frustrating this got at times?).  I made the commute to and from Salem almost every day to transport whatever fit in my car (with occasional backup for the big ticket items).  The case files were arguably the most frustrating things to move; it turns out 6 years and over 1,000 cases generate a lot of paperwork to keep track of, and there’s only so much I could fit in my trunk at a time.  I couldn’t move everything to the new office by June 30, but I did manage to clear out the old office in time.  The first few days of July saw me returning to Salem daily to finish clearing out what I had to temporarily store in my rented bedroom.  It took time, sweat, and a whole lot of patience, but I finally got everything moved to the new office.  I’ll still need to furnish the office and sort out everything I brought, but it feels like a massive weight has been lifted from my shoulders (along with the literal weight of everything I had to move over the course of a week and a half).  My immediate future and new office may be cluttered, but my mind and old office are clear.

My glorious office, all cleared out.

As the transfer started winding down at the end of June, I had one more obligation in Tillamook.  On June 30, I had my last day as a full member of the Tillamook County Defense Consortium.  I went into court early to do the out-of-custody arraignments (of which there were virtually none), stayed in court all day between my morning and afternoon hearings (which was necessary due to my office internet being turned off), and handled my last in-custody arraignment (which had something memorably goofy happen, as mentioned below).  At 5pm, the day was done and so was I.

The end of an era.

Now that my office has changed and my Tillamook contract is over, I’m that much closer to starting a new chapter in my life.  Other changes, like a new business mailing address and a new work email address, have been coming up and down almost every day.  There’s still a lot of things to do: I’ve got Tillamook cases to finish negotiating/litigating, a residence to move to, all the red tape that comes with moving, getting my office properly organized, the red tape that comes with starting practice in Marion County, and a host of other things that likely haven’t occurred to me yet.  As this summer brings about a dramatic new change, I’ll keep documenting what I can on this blog, dear reader!

To cap off my active time in Tillamook, here’s the last foreseeable installment of…

 

GREAT MOMENTS IN TILLAMOOK JURISPRUDENCE

*insert sophisticated music*

Episode IX: Much Apoo About Nothing

[During in-custody arraignment, the judge and the parties are discussing a possible release agreement.]

Judge: The release assistance officer is recommending against conditional release because [Defendant] is now charged with failure to apoo-I mean failure to appear.

[Both attorneys chuckle.]

[Arraignment finishes and video link to jail is terminated.]

J: *chuckling* Failure to apoo; that’s certainly a new one.

[I finish my last Tillamook County Defense Consortium day with a smile on my face.]