PORTLAND, OR -- An Oregon nonprofit is expanding its consumer advocacy services to include legal advice and representation. Oregon Consumer Justice has worked the last few years to pass state and federal laws to protect consumers from scams and corporate schemes. It's now rolling out personal legal services, "Related to auto, related to insurance, related to debt," says OCJ Executive Director Jagjit Nagra, "Those will be our primary focus areas."

The goal, he says, is to be all-inclusive and serve a large demographic typically incapable of fighting large corporations, "Unlike Legal Aid - who does fantastic work - we don't have income requirements. We're statewide, as well. So whether you're in Drain, Oregon or you're in Banks, in southern Oregon, wherever you are, our services are open to you." Nagra adds, "That may not mean necessarily filing a case or doing a big class action, but even just being able to speak to a lawyer to get legal advice, so they can help navigate their situation."

He says the focus on auto, insurance and debt-related issues also separates them from services provided by Legal Aid, "Serving that 'missing middle,' between what Legal Aid can provide and what private consumer attorneys can provide. And that chasm is actually quite large; it's quite large." But, Nagra says, they will be flexible, "One scam today will look like a different scam tomorrow, even if you're talking about in the same space; even if you're talking about the mortgage space or the auto space. So, we're also prioritizing being responsive to emergent opportunities." Currently, OCJ is co-counsel on a class action lawsuit that claims CenturyLink has not fulfilled its "Price for life" guarantee. 

The group has also released free educational materials and guidance for navigating common consumer challenges, like buying a used car.

OCJ aims to help consumers who have been taken advantage of, "The system is not working in their favor. It's actually designed for them to fail. And that's where we're trying to really put people first and empower them, and give them opportunities to have justice either in the court, at the state legislature, with their local utility commission, cities, counties, all of that, and also at the federal level." The nonprofit launched in 2020, funded by unclaimed settlement money paid by BP, after the oil giant was accused of ripping off Oregon customers.