About John
John Gear educated first as an engineer and later as a lawyer. He earned a B.S. in Nuclear Engineering from the University of Wisconsin–Madison in 1980, observed by a M.S. in Engineering Management from Washington State University’s Tri-Cities campus in 1990. He then became to regulation, receiving his J.D. from Western Michigan University Cooley Law School in 2004.
His early career started within the Navy as a submarine officer aboard the united statesOmaha (SSN-692) in 1987. He moved into enterprise work as a principal engineer for Westinghouse Hanford Company in 1989 and later based Catalyst Consulting Services in 1994, serving as a principal there. After law program he entered legal work, serving as a studies lawyer at the Michigan Court of Appeals in 2004 and taking a regulatory affairs position on the Michigan Public Service Commission in 2006. In 2010 he based his personal company and has been the managing lawyer at John Gear Law Office since that yr.
Those transitions from engineering and army service into law shaped a practice that combines technical knowing with legal analysis. His time at the general public utility regulator involved work on regulatory filings and policy things. Work at the Court of Appeals concerned legal research and drafting. Earlier roles demanded project control and technical problem-solving. The aggregate of those experiences gives him a practical perspective on instances that contain technical or regulatory detail.
Gear has been active in bar and advocacy teams. He based the Nonprofit Organizations Law Section of the Oregon State Bar in 2011 and has served on its government committee. He has been a member of the National Lawyers Guild since 2001 and joined the National Association of Consumer Advocates in 2011. He also holds memberships in the Marion County Bar Association, the Oregon Trial Lawyers Association, the Oregon State Bar Elder Law Section and the Nonprofit Association of Oregon. He served on the Executive Committee of the Consumer Law Section of the Oregon State Bar from 2012 to 2014. These affiliations reflect regular engagement with shopper, elder and nonprofit problems.
As a lawyer licensed in Michigan and Oregon, Gear’s practice blends regulatory work, shopper regulation matters and nonprofit organization issues. He practices from the John Gear Law Office and handles legal proceedings, regulatory filings and advising nonprofit boards. He focuses his practice on consumer protection, senior law and nonprofit company things.
