Leadership
Phone: (503) 947-4540 | Fax: (503) 378-3784
Renee Stineman, Chief Counsel
Renee is the chief counsel of the General Counsel Division, which is responsible for providing legal services to almost all state agencies.
The General Counsel Division’s work is organized as follows:
Business Activities Section (BAS)
BAS works directly with over 50 regulatory boards, commissions, and agencies to support their missions of public protection and help ensure that their regulatory services and business operations are conducted in a legally sound manner. Section attorneys provide legal advice on a wide variety of issues and represent them in regulatory and administrative enforcement proceedings..
Business Transactions Section (BTS)
BTS attorneys provide legal services supporting clients in the state’s complex commercial transactions, focusing on information technology, information security and privacy, and real property. BTS attorneys also assist clients in responding to data breaches and other unauthorized disclosures of regulated information and advise clients on intellectual property matters, including providing assistance to state agencies in registering and maintaining state and federal trademarks.
Government Services Section (GSS)
GSS serves as general counsel to several agencies, providing operational and subject matter expertise on issues as diverse as policing and public safety, ethics, corrections, elections, and education. Government Services offers a broad spectrum of legal services, ranging from advice and risk assessment to contract reviews, interagency and intergovernmental agreements, rule and legislation drafting, and administrative hearing advocacy.
Health and Human Services Section (HHS)
HHS provides an array of legal services to state agencies that help Oregonians live full and healthy lives. Section attorneys help agencies comply with laws and regulations of state and federal health and public assistance programs. HHS attorneys also serve as subject matter experts on programs regulating health, residential care and childcare settings. Section attorneys provide advice, risk assessments, contract review, assistance with rule drafting, and representation in administrative hearings. Additionally, they assist the Oregon Health Authority (OHA) and the Oregon Department of Human Services (ODHS) to engage in emergency preparedness and emergency response activities to assist Oregonians during emergencies, including pandemics and natural disasters.
Infrastructure and Transportation Section (INS)
INS provides legal services to support the State’s built infrastructure and transportation services. INS attorneys are the state’s legal experts in design and construction, who provide specialized legal services related to state infrastructure, including advice, contract planning, contract development, and contract review for design and construction projects across state government. INS attorneys provide advice, risk assessments, and contract review for transportation agencies, around the administration, operation, and maintenance of the State’s transportation services and infrastructure. INS attorneys also support the state’s efforts to increase equity and accessibility throughout state government, by advising clients on diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives.
Labor and Employment Section (L&E)
L&E represents the state, in its role as employer, in labor and employment matters including employment disputes, labor arbitrations and in administrative hearings and proceedings. L&E attorneys also advise clients on the broad spectrum of labor and employment law, including performance management, policy drafting and review, workplace investigations, state and federal anti-discrimination and leave laws and wage and hour laws.
Natural Resources Section (NRS)
NRS attorneys provide legal advice, representation in administrative proceedings, assist in rulemakings, provide advice at board and commission meetings, review contracts and provide litigation support services to state agencies that are responsible for protecting Oregon’s environment and helping to promote the sustainable use of Oregon’s cherished natural resources. In addition to the sections’ attorneys advising client agencies on Oregon statutory authority, they interpret Federal environmental and natural resource statutes like the Clean Water Act, the Clean Air Act, the Endangered Species Act, the Energy Policy Act of 2005, and the Coastal Zone Management Act, among many others. Through their legal work, NRS attorneys help client agencies protect Oregon’s environment and sustainably use our state’s cherished natural resources.
Tax and Finance Section (T&F)
T&F handles two core areas: tax law and public finance. T&F attorneys represent state agencies in administrative hearings and, when needed, in trial and appellate courts. On the tax side, T&F attorneys represent the Department of Revenue in the Oregon Tax Court, the Oregon Supreme Court, and occasionally in federal courts. The T&F attorneys’ work covers property tax, personal income tax, corporate income and excise taxes, and other state and local issues, including local budget law. T&F also assists other state agencies on tax matters before the Internal Revenue Service.
On the finance side, T&F attorneys advise state agencies about banking, investment, and borrowing activities as well as retirement, disability and death benefits tied to Oregon Public Employees Retirement System (PERS). T&F attorneys also help state agencies negotiate loans, grants, and other financial transactions.