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Band 1
Provided by Paula Barran
Affirmative Action Plans
Class Actions
Compliance Advice
Contract Administration
Employers in Healthcare
Employment Law Advice & Litigation
Faculty Recruitment, Hiring & Promotions
FERPA Compliance
Grievance Arbitrations
Higher Education Representation
Labor Relations
Navigating Coronavirus in the Workplace
On-Site Employment Law Training
Policy Advice & Preparation
Reductions in Force
Strikes, Pickets & Boycotts
Subcontracting, Relocations & Closures
Successorship & Acquisitions
Title IX Compliance Advice & Training
Unfair Labor Practices
Union Organizing & Union Elections
Wage & Hour
Paula Barran, a founding Partner at Barran Liebman LLP, has been practicing law since 1980 with concentrations in labor and employment law and the law of higher education. She has written extensively on management law, higher education, investigative processes, and is a national speaker and trainer. She handles litigation in labor and employment and higher education, in state and federal courts, as well as employment and labor arbitrations. Additionally, she develops and presents “train the trainer” programs to introduce comprehensive and cost effective training programs into workplaces and educational institutions. Since the first publication of the OregonSuper Lawyers Magazine in 2006, Paula has repeatedly been named as a “Top Ten Lawyer” in Oregon. In 2008, 2010, and 2017-2023, she was honored as the “Top Point Getter” for the year and has since been honored as the top-ranked female attorney on the list. Since 2003, Paula has been ranked in Band 1 for Labor and Employment Law defense in the State of Oregon by Chambers & Partners USA, America’s Leading Business Lawyers. She is also a fellow of The College of Labor and Employment Lawyers, a fellow of the American Bar Foundation, and has been named in The Best Lawyers in America directory since 2001. She is admitted to practice in Oregon, Washington and before the U.S. Supreme Court, U.S. Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit, U.S. District Court, District of Oregon and U.S. District Court, Eastern and Western Districts of Washington.
Paula received her B.A. from the College of William and Mary, M.A. from Cornell University, Ph.D. from the University of British Columbia, J.D., with honors, from Osgoode Hall Law School at York University, and M.B.A. degree from the University of Oregon, Oregon Executive M.B.A. program. Paula has also earned an Association of Title IX Administrators Title IX Coordinator Certificate. In addition to her labor and employment practice, she represents colleges and universities on wide ranging compliance issues, including institutional obligations under Title VI, Title IX, the Rehabilitation Act, and other state and federal laws relating to the work of those institutions.
University Risk Management & Insurance Association (URMIA): Affiliate Member (2021-present)
Lewis & Clark Graduate School: Adjunct instruction in The Law of Higher Education (2017-present)
Portland Human Resource Management Association: General Counsel (2016)
Association of Title IX Administrators: Northwest Chapter Board of Directors, Member (2015-present); Member (2012-present)
Super Lawyers: National Advisory Board (2014-present)
National Association of College and University Attorneys: Member (2013-present)
Children’s Cancer Association: Board Member (2009-2023)
Canadian American Bar Association: Member (2009-present)
College of Labor and Employment Lawyers: Fellow of the College (Inducted 2005)
Willamette University: Labor Law, Adjunct Professor (2000-2001)
Society for Human Resources Management: Northwest Chapter, Counsel to the Board (1998-1999)
American Bar Association: Labor & Employment Section; Associate Editor, Primary Chapter Editor, and Contributing Editor of The Developing Labor Law (1972-present)
Trial Law Institute: Member
Diversity Law Institute: Member
The Nonprofit Association of Oregon: Member
American Bar Foundation: Life Fellow
American Bar Association: Individual Employment Rights Section
Pacific Printing and Imaging Association
“U.S. Supreme Court Weighs in on Burden of Proof for Non-Minority Plaintiffs,” Barran Liebman Electronic Alert, July 9, 2025
Interviewed in Oregon Public Broadcasting: “Portland State University Faces Federal Investigation for Possible Civil Rights Violation,” October 23, 2024
Quoted in The Oregonian: “OHSU Nurses’ Contract Expires This Week, Informational Picket Line Planned,” June 27, 2023
“Covered Employers May Now Report 2021 EEO-1 Component 1 Data (Are You Covered? And What Will You be Reporting?),” Barran Liebman Electronic Alert, April 14, 2022
College of William and Mary
B.A.
Cornell University
M.A.
University of British Columbia
Ph.D.
Osgoode Hall, York University
J.D., with honors
University of Oregon
M.B.A., Valedictorian
Provided by Chambers
Provided by Chambers
Paula Barran is the best attorney I've worked with in my decades-long career.
Paula Barran is wonderful and very knowledgeable.
Paula Barran counsel is always relevant and easily understood by clients who are not lawyers.
Paula Barran is the best attorney I've worked with in my decades-long career.
Paula Barran is wonderful and very knowledgeable.
Paula Barran counsel is always relevant and easily understood by clients who are not lawyers.
2 items provided by Barran Liebman LLP
Covered Employers May Now Report 2021 EEO-1 Component 1 Data: Are You Covered?
This week, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission announced that the 2021 EEO-1 Component 1 data collection process is open. This Barran Liebman LLP E-Alert unpacks what is required of employers before the May 17 deadline.
New Oregon Unemployment Rule to Take Effect Next Week
The Oregon Employment Department’s new temporary unemployment benefit availability rule will take effect next week. This Barran Liebman E-Alert explains the rule’s clarifications.
Covered Employers May Now Report 2021 EEO-1 Component 1 Data: Are You Covered?
This week, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission announced that the 2021 EEO-1 Component 1 data collection process is open. This Barran Liebman LLP E-Alert unpacks what is required of employers before the May 17 deadline.
New Oregon Unemployment Rule to Take Effect Next Week
The Oregon Employment Department’s new temporary unemployment benefit availability rule will take effect next week. This Barran Liebman E-Alert explains the rule’s clarifications.