Jeb Bladine: Walking a mile, or two, in the other guy’s shoes
We’re often reminded that many news articles can’t capture the full human story behind the reported facts, especially when those facts involve the activities of law enforcement and the judicial system. That recognition occurred again when details were compiled for today’s article about the nine-month suspension of attorney Brent Goodfellow’s law license.
If you haven’t read that article, please do that now before returning here for more of the story. Not, as broadcasting legend Paul Harvey claimed, “the rest of the story” — just a bit more context to the startling fall from grace for a long-time professional.
Goodfellow, fresh out of Willamette University School of Law in 2003, joined Robert Johnstone’s firm, becoming full partner in 2006 and soon a prominent local attorney/judge. Johnstone’s premature death was both a personal and professional blow to Goodfellow in 2015, a year Goodfellow also experienced divorce proceedings that ended his marriage the following year.
Years later, after establishing his own firm and re-marrying in 2018, Goodfellow filed a contentious $1.3 million lawsuit claiming Johnstone’s heir improperly assumed ownership of the Johnstone & Goodfellow firm. It was dismissed for technical reasons, and Goodfellow’s lawsuit against another attorney involved in that takeover was dismissed in 2022 by mutual agreement.
Those events likely sowed sour seeds in Goodfellow’s life. Then, 2024 produced reciprocal dissolution of marriage proceedings filed by himself and his spouse, ultimately dismissed due to failures to appear by one of both parties. Today, they remain jointly engaged in a $250,000 claim against their former landlord for harassment and improper disposition of property left in a leased Washington County residence.
Those divorce proceedings and tenancy problems were accompanied in time by the Oregon State Bar investigation that produced the April 2025 license suspension. In that same early-2025 period, Goodfellow allegedly incurred almost $125,000 in credit card debt to the Bank of America and JPMorgan Chase Bank, both plaintiffs in new civil actions against Goodfellow.
“The rest of the story.” Certainly not. Anyone making that claim might well first consider the old proverb, traced to the Cherokees, “Don’t judge a man until you’ve walked (a mile) in his shoes.”
Looking back at today’s news article, you’ll find this somewhat buried observation from the Oregon Supreme Court judgment:
“In mitigation, Goodfellow had no prior disciplinary record, absence of a dishonest or selfish motive, personal or emotional problems, and remorse.”
That terse statement cannot be overlooked. Judges issued what some might have considered a smaller than expected penalty because of Goodfellow’s long, distinguished legal career; the lack of “dishonest or selfish motive,” the existence of “personal or emotional problems;” and his personal remorse for the breaches of trust.
And who’s to say the negative turnaround in Goodfellow’s life couldn’t be followed by an offsetting positive reversal, perhaps even resulting in a return to Oregon legal practice when his license suspension ends in January 2026. Perhaps even a return to McMinnville practice?
Now that really would be “the rest of the story.”
Jeb Bladine can be reached at jbladine@newsregister.com or 503-687-1223.
Comments