Biography
Meagan Aileen Flynn has served as Oregon’s 44th Chief Justice since January 1, 2023, and was elected to that position by her colleagues. Chief Justice Flynn was initially appointed to serve as an justice on the Oregon Supreme Court in 2017 and was elected to her position in 2018 and again in 2024. Chief Justice Flynn is an active member of the Conference of Chief Justices. She currently serves on the conference’s Committee on Legal Education and Admissions Reform (CLEAR) and as chair of the conference’s Civil Justice Committee. She recently completed a term on the board of directors for the conference and chaired the CLEAR working group on alternative pathways to licensure for law graduates. She also currently serves as a member of the Law School Accreditation Council for the ABA, on the board of Oregon’s Civics Learning Project, and as a coach for the We the People constitution team at Franklin High School in Portland. Chief Justice Flynn previously served as a judge on the Oregon Court of Appeals, from 2014 to 2017.
Before becoming a judge, Chief Justice Flynn:
- Earned a BA in philosophy and political science from Willamette University in 1989 and attended Gonzaga University School of Law as a Thomas More Scholar, graduating magna cum laude in 1992.
- Served as a judicial clerk to the Honorable Rick Haselton and Honorable Robert Durham on the Oregon Court of Appeals (1992-94).
- Practiced civil litigation at Pozzi Wilson Atchison, LLP in Portland, Oregon, where she primarily handled cases in the areas of products liability, personal injury, state workers compensation and federal longshore compensation (1994-99). • Practiced civil appellate law at Preston Bunnell & Flynn, LLP in Portland, Oregon, primarily handling matters before the Oregon Supreme Court and Court of Appeals, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals and the Benefits Review Board of the U.S. Department of Labor (partner 2004-14; associate 1999-2004).
- Served as chair of the Oregon State Bar Appellate Practice Section and Consumer Law Section and on the board of the Oregon Law Institute (legal education organization).
- Authored numerous appellate briefs on significant issues of Oregon law for the amicus committee of the Oregon Trial Lawyers Association and was an author for publications of the Oregon State Bar and the Oregon Trial Lawyers Association on topics of appellate practice and insurance coverage litigation
