chad@gov-law.com (503) 802-0011

Chad Jacobs, Partner, joined BEH in 2011 and became a partner in January of 2014. He has spent over 23 years representing local governments in all aspects of municipal law. He began his career with the San Francisco City Attorney’s Office where he rose to the position of Senior Deputy City Attorney and was head of the office’s Ethics and Elections Team. Upon arriving in Oregon, Chad continued his service to local governments as the General Counsel for the League of Oregon Cities, where he represented the interests of all of Oregon’s 241 incorporated cities.

Throughout his career, Chad has provided legal advice to public officials at all levels of local government and has represented clients in both the court room and in administrative law hearings.  Chad works on a full range of municipal law issues for his clients including government ethics, public meetings, public records, elections, charters, tort liability, risk management, municipal finance, real estate transactions, and urban renewal. Chad has worked with clients to negotiate complex transactions including public/private partnerships and has drafted numerous charter provisions, ballot measures, ordinances and regulations.  As an instructor for the Oregon Local Leadership Institute, he provided training seminars to cities and counties as well as to various government organizations and is a frequent speaker at statewide conferences.  In addition to his work with BEH, Chad serves as an adjunct professor at Lewis and Clark law school, where he teaches local government law to second and third year law students. Chad has been honored by his peers with a Martindale-Hubbell AV-Preeminent Rating and a listing with Best Lawyers® in the practice area of municipal law and municipal litigation.  Chad was named lawyer of the year by Best Lawyers® in 2021 for municipal litigation and 2022 for municipal law.

In his spare time, Chad spends as much time as possible outdoors enjoying Oregon’s open spaces. He enjoys the outdoors with his wife, and their two children, along with their dog. When not outdoors or spending time with his family, Chad can often be found cheering for sports teams from his native state of Ohio including the Cleveland Guardians, Browns and Cavaliers as well as the Ohio State Buckeyes.

Oregon State Bar, 2008

California State Bar, 2000 (Inactive)

University of California, Hastings College of Law, J.D., 2000

American University, B.A., 1994

Oregon City Attorneys Association, Member 2009-present, Coordinator, Secretary/Treasurer, 2012-2016

Oregon State Bar, Government Law Section, Member 2008-present, Executive Committee, 2013-2020, Chair 2017

Oregon State Bar, Constitutional Law Section, Member 2018-present

League of Oregon Cities, Legal Advocacy Committee, 2011-present, Chair 2017-present

Oregon State Bar, Bar/Press/Broadcasters Council, 2011-2016