As the Deputy General Counsel, Doug is UO’s Chief Counsel for the Phil and Penny Knight Campus for Accelerating Scientific Impact, and UO’s Head of Litigation.  He also manages UO’s outside-counsel legal services portfolio, supervises the Law Fellowship Program, and advises units on all aspects of UO operations.  Since joining UO in 2007, Doug has held the positions of Assistant General Counsel, Associate General Counsel, and Interim General Counsel.  His prior work includes teaching at the UO law school, and working for a private law firm, the ACLU, the Associated Counsel for the Accused, and the Oregon Department of Justice (DOJ). 

While at DOJ, Doug developed the arguments that prevailed in two U.S. Supreme Court cases and received DOJ’s highest professional honor (the Outstanding Achievement Award) for successfully defending the constitutionality of Oregon’s dangerous offender statute and the Balfour appellate procedures.  In 2020, the Oregon Women Lawyers Association awarded Doug its highest professional honor (the Justice Roberts & Judge Deiz Award) for his outstanding contributions to promoting women and people from outside the dominant culture in the legal profession and in the community. In May 2023, the federal district judges in Oregon selected Doug as a Ninth Circuit Lawyer Representative for the District of Oregon (2023 - 2026 term).  Lawyer representatives are chosen by federal judges in each of the Ninth Circuit’s fifteen districts.  In this role, Doug works closely with federal judges and the federal bar to improve the administration of justice in the Circuit.

Doug holds a BA in English literature from the University of Washington, and a JD from the University of Oregon.  He has co-authored articles published in the Willamette Law Review and the Oregon State Bar Criminal Law Manual. He served on the Board of Directors for the Eugene Education Foundation for six years helping to raise funds for and distribute grants to Eugene’s public K-12 schools.  Doug is currently one of the longest serving members (10 years) on the UO’s Leadership Council for the Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art, where he also serves on the Executive Committee and chairs the Development Committee.  Doug has served as a presenter on multiple higher education topics, including serving as panelist for the National Association of College and University Attorneys, the American Council on Education, and the Association of Student Conduct Administrators. 

Pronouns: he/him/his

Assistant:
Kelly Fondren
541-346-3463