Profiles of Oregon Accident and Injury Attorneys and Staff at Shulman DuBois LLC

Attorneys:

Josh Shulman

Shulman DuBois LLC
1553 SE Tolman Street
Portland, OR 97202

Portland attorney Joshua Shulman passed up his first opportunity to become a lawyer. As a senior at Reed College, he had applied to law school, and while the application process was proceeding, took a position at a large corporate law firm in Boston. His experience there went so strongly against his values that he changed his mind about being a lawyer and withdrew his law school applications. A few years later, following some travel and stints in organic farming and residential real estate, having returned to Portland with his wife to settle down and raise a family, Joshua also returned to the idea of practicing law. He realized being a lawyer didn't necessarily mean following the path that had turned him off initially - working for a firm representing faceless corporate entities and focusing on maintaining billable hours. He could practice in a way that was consistent with his values and passions - working for deserving individuals, where he could really make a difference in people's lives.

Joshua attended New York University School of Law (ranked in the top 3% of all law schools in the country by US News & World Report), but spent his last year as a visiting student at local Lewis & Clark Law School in order to return to the town he loved so much and get a jump on reestablishing ties. After graduating from law school, he became an executive at a Portland financial planning company that specialized in managing the funds of personal injury victims who had received large settlements. He saw first-hand what a difference that money made in the quality of the care the clients were able to get and their recovery overall. He also met many successful personal injury attorneys and was struck by how much the best of them cared for their clients.

Following that experience, he opened his own personal injury law practice and later formed a partnership with Sean DuBois, a like-minded attorney he met while they were both volunteering on a committee for the Oregon Trial Lawyers Association (OTLA). One particularly satisfying outcome thus far in his career as a personal injury attorney was for a retired couple, both retired, in their 70s. Before the couple were in an automobile accident, the husband took care of the wife in their home, because she was wheelchair-bound and had other health issues. Due to injuries sustained in the accident, the husband was no longer able to care for his wife at home, so she had to go into a convalescent home. The husband was devoted to the wife and they were heartbroken. As a result of the settlement Joshua got them, they were able to hire professional nursing care and live together in their own home once again.

Joshua has been published in Trial Lawyer Magazine and has served on the Publications Committee for OTLA, has given speeches on topics related to personal injury law, and is a member of Public Justice, Southern Poverty Law Center Leadership Council, the Oregon Trial Lawyers Association Presidents Circle, American Association for Justice, the Oregon State Bar, the Multnomah Bar Association, Oregon Public Broadcasting, and a is a proud graduate of Bill Barton's Litigation Boot Camp.

Outside of his law practice and related activities, Joshua enjoys spending time with his wife and two children, Ezra and Elijah, taking them to Little League, Kung Fu and their other activities, and gardening and growing fruit trees. He is also on the Board of Directors of the Sunstone Montessori School in Portland, which Ezra and Elijah attend.