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Sophia von Bergen

My approach to providing exceptional service involves collaboration with clients to ensure my advice is practical and meets their goals. I am responsive, thorough, and personable, and I enjoy getting to know my clients. Quotation mark
Sophia von Bergen
Sophia von Bergen
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About Sophie

Sophie von Bergen is a member of the firm’s litigation practice team and has experience representing clients in all phases of litigation, with a focus on complex litigation matters, business disputes, and insurance recovery for policyholders. Sophie represents businesses and individuals in state and federal courts in Oregon. Her experience representing clients as both plaintiffs and defendants allows her to analyze issues from multiple perspectives and appropriately advocate on her clients’ behalf.

Before joining Miller Nash, Sophie practiced at a Portland law firm where she represented clients in commercial litigation matters, including complex cases. During law school, Sophie was a judicial extern to the Honorable Magistrate Judge Stacie F. Beckerman at the U.S. District Court for the District of Oregon where she researched and drafted opinions in civil cases. She also advised businesses at the Small Business Legal Clinic on transactional matters, including on intellectual property issues. Sophie has also co-authored a chapter on issues of gender and politics in developing countries and Lewis & Clark Law Review published her Note on causes of action against companies engaged in “greenwashing.”

Representative Experience

  • Corporate Governance & Shareholder Disputes Plus
    • Representing individuals in corporate governance disputes involving Oregon LLCs and corporations.

    • Defending financial services organization against claims from creditor of educational institution.

    • Defending large retail company in putative class action with claims of alleged violations of the unlawful trade practices act.

    • Major builder’s risk insurance recovery for new Oregon data center. Successful litigation and mediated resolution of a project owner’s $8 million claim against its builder’s risk insurance carriers following two explosions and fires during the construction of a 250,000 sq. ft. data center in Washington County, Oregon. The builder’s risk insurers’ untimely and unreasonable claims adjustment resulted in zero payment to the project owner prior to Miller Nash’s involvement. Litigation involved extensive discovery of electronically stored information and depositions, in addition to summary judgment briefing and other motions. With the assistance of a mediator, the vast majority of the owner’s losses were recovered.

    • Representing Portland-area businesses seeking coverage for business interruption losses sustained from COVID-19, including in the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals

Services

Education

  • J.D., Lewis & Clark Law School, summa cum laude, 2020
    • Articles Editor, Lewis & Clark Law Review
    • Dean’s Scholarship Recipient
    • Best Oral Advocate, First Year Moot Court Competition, 2018
    • Outstanding Student Mentee Award, 2018
  • B.A., Occidental College, cum laude, politics, 2016

Bar Admissions

  • Oregon, 2020

Court Admissions

  • U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, 2022
  • U.S. District Court, District of Oregon, 2020

Activities

Professional Plus
  • Multnomah Bar Association, Member
    • Young Lawyers Section
      • Board of Directors, 2024-present
      • CLE Committee, 2021-present
  • Oregon State Bar, Member
  • Oregon Women Lawyers, Member
  • Oregon Trial Lawyers Association, Member
  • ACLU of Oregon, Intake Volunteer, 2016
  • Federal Bar Association, Member
Civic Plus
  • Campaign for Equal Justice, Associate Committee, Co-Chair, 2023-present
  • Occidental College, Portland Alumni Representative, 2017
  • Forward Stride, Volunteer, 2016-2017

Recognition

  • Selected for inclusion in Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch® (Portland, OR)
    • Litigation—Banking and Finance, 2024-present
    • Litigation—Environmental, 2024-present
    • Litigation—Securities, 2024-present
    • Mass Tort Litigation/Class Actions—Plaintiffs, 2024-present
    • Commercial Litigation, 2022-present
  • Selected for inclusion as an Oregon Super Lawyer—Rising Star, 2023-present

Insights from Sophie

  • “Applying to & Navigating Law School and How to Use Law for Social Justice. An Oxy Alumni Panel,” Occidental College, The Matrix: Conversations & Transformations, panelist (Sept. 2021)
  • “Women’s Gains and Men’s Losses: Zero-Sum Approaches to Gender Policy in the Anglophone Caribbean,” Fourth Annual European Conference on Politics & Gender, Uppsala, Sweden (June 2016) (with Jennifer Piscopo)
Collaborations

Outside the Office

Born and raised in Portland, Sophie enjoys riding horses and training for Hunter/Jumper competitions in the Northwest. She also plays tennis, is an avid crossword puzzler, and attempts to train her cat, Smokey.

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