Joe Hobson has been practicing business and organization law, helping design and develop small business and public and private institutions and associations for 40 years. He concentrates his practice in business and property law with special emphasis on private, nonprofit and quasi-public entities.  The majority of his clients are individual farms or forest owners, or entities that represent the interests of farms or forest owners. Joe has helped organize and represent several special districts and some notable businesses involved in processing and marketing agricultural products nationally and internationally.  He began representing private nonprofit associations and public charities when he started working with the Oregon Farm Bureau in 1987.

Joe’s work with the Oregon Farm Bureau grew until he left private practice to become the first general counsel of the Oregon Farm Bureau Federation in 1995.  Joe helped develop the structure and function of the Oregon Farm Bureau over the years, including development of a nationally recognized legal advocacy program.  He created the Oregon Agricultural Education Foundation and the Oregon Agricultural Legal Foundation.

Joe began his career in the title insurance industry and helped form new title insurance and escrow operations in Portland for a large national title insurance company. His early experience included a litigation practice involving business and property law, including title insurance defense.

Joe has experience with:

• Business Law
• Agricultural Law
• Organizing and maintaining small business organizations, including succession planning
• Organizing and maintaining public and quasi-public Special Districts with an agricultural purpose such as Irrigation and Drainage Districts and ORS Chapter 554 Corporations
• Organizing and maintaining charitable and other non-profit organizations

Experience

• Helped form the City of Keizer, Oregon.
• Helped create and shared the office of first Keizer City Attorney.
• Served as first General Counsel, Oregon Farm Bureau Federation.
• Helped create and develop the Oregon Agricultural Education Foundation.
• Helped create and develop the Oregon Agricultural Legal Foundation and served as its initial Director.
• Director, National Agricultural Law Center.

Memberships

• Helped organize and served as chair of the Agricultural Law Section, Oregon State Bar Association

Awards

• Outstanding service to Oregon’s agricultural industry, Oregon Department of Agriculture, 1999
• President’s Award, Oregon Farm Bureau Federation, 2003

News

Seminars & Speaking Engagements

Publications

Community Activities

• Trustee, Abbey Foundation of Oregon, Mount Angel Abbey, 2010 - 2015

Services