Lisa LeSage
Associate Dean, Business Law Program;
Director, Small Business Legal Clinic

Specialty Areas & Course Descriptions

Moot Court: Mock Trial

Academic Credentials

B.A. magna cum laude (Pamplin Foundation Scholarship), 1980 University of Portland
J.D. (Jackson Foundation Scholarship) 1985 Northwestern School of Law of Lewis & Clark College

Professional Background

Before coming to the Law School, LeSage was a partner in a private law firm for several years, representing clients in complex multi-party and class actions in state and federal courts, focusing primarily on labor and employment issues. She has tried several high-profile cases including civil racketeering and a peonage case under the 13th Amendment, and has worked extensively on legislative and policy issues related to labor and employment. Prior to entering private practice, she was a staff attorney with Oregon Legal Services Farm Worker Office. Part of her past public service includes an appointment to the State of Oregon Wage and Hour Commission and the Oregon Labor Commissioner’s Advisory Committee on Agricultural Labor where she co-authored a white paper on migrant health. Currently, she is the immediate past president of the Oregon Law Foundation, serves on the Oregon State Bar's Leadership Advisory Council Board, the Campaign for Equal Justice Advisory Committee, and the statewide Legal Services Governing Council. She has given numerous presentations on a variety of topics, and in addition to her past service on numerous boards has been a vice-president of the Oregon State Bar Board of Governors, is a 2007 recipient of the Oregon State Bar Public Service Award, a 2002 recipient of the Oregon State Bar President’s Affirmative Action Award, and a co-founder of the OSB Diversity Section. She is a member of the Oregon Judicial Department’s Access to Justice Committee, and was the chair of the Oregon Access to Justice Conference 2002. She is admitted to practice in Oregon, the U.S. District Court for Oregon, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals and the United States Supreme Court.