Aruna Masih, a Portland lawyer who specializes in civil rights, labor and employment law, will become the first South Asian to sit on the Oregon Supreme Court.

She is the first justice to be named by Gov. Tina Kotek, who has been in office just seven months. She will fill the vacancy created by the Feb. 24 resignation of Adrienne Nelson, the first Black member of the court, after the U.S. Senate confirmed Nelson for a U.S. District Court judgeship. Like the six other justices, Nelson had been appointed by Gov. Kate Brown, who left office back on Jan. 9. (The full Senate failed to act on Nelson’s nomination before Brown left office.)

As a lawyer in Portland for more than 25 years, Masih has taken part in all the major litigation between public employee unions and the Oregon Public Employees Retirement System — lawsuits prompted by legislative overhauls to the system in 2003, 2013 and 2019. In the latter case, Masih represented unions in their challenge to the 2019 legislative changes, which Kotek — then speaker of the Oregon House — helped pushed through the Legislature. She argued their case in 2020 before the Oregon Supreme Court, which upheld the changes — largely based on the fact that they were not retroactive, unlike some parts of the 2003 and 2013 laws that the justices overturned.

Kotek acknowledged her background in an announcement Wednesday, Aug. 16:

“Aruna Masih is a decorated civil rights attorney who has worked on behalf of Oregonians for over 25 years in both her career and community service.

“As a practicing attorney, Aruna will bring direct and recent experience working for people — an invaluable perspective that will strengthen the current Oregon Supreme Court. Aruna’s dedication to public service and passion for equal access to justice is also evident from her long-time leadership in advancing equity and diversity in the legal field. I look forward to seeing her continued service to Oregonians as a Supreme Court justice.”

Not a judge

Masih will be the only one of the seven justices who has not been a trial or appellate judge first. Five sat on the Court of Appeals previously, and Stephen Bushong was a Multnomah County circuit judge.

Her investiture (swearing-in ceremony) will be announced by the Oregon Judicial Department later.

She will be up for a full six-year term in the primary election of May 21, 2024. All judicial positions are nonpartisan.

She was born in New York to a Punjabi Indian father and a British mother. When she was six months old, they returned to India, where they were medical missionaries and she and her brothers lived for 15 years, attending school there. They returned to the United States when she was in high school.

She earned a bachelor’s degree in international relations and French in 1994 from Wellesley College, and her law degree in 1997 from Tulane and Creighton universities.

She has practiced in Oregon since 1997, most of those years with the Portland firm known today as Bennett Hartman. From 2001 to 2003, she was at the Portland firm of McKanna Bishop Joffe.

She has extensive involvement in professional and community organizations.

She has led the Oregon State Bar’s advisory committee for diversity and inclusion and its labor and employment section. She is a founding member and vice president of the South Asian Bar Association of Oregon and has sat on the boards of the Multnomah Bar Association and the Oregon Women Lawyers Foundation. She is also a former board member of the Oregon Women Lawyers and the Oregon Minority Lawyers Association.

Masih is also an advisory board member for the Roseway Recovery Cafe, which serves community members in Northeast Portland who have experienced trauma and the results of trauma, such as homelessness, substance use disorder, and addiction. She has received the Multnomah Bar Association’s Diversity Award and an award of recognition from the Oregon Minority Lawyers Association.

She also is a coach for the Constitution Team at McDaniel High School, formerly known as Madison High School.

Her statement

In a statement that was part of the governor’s announcement, Masih said:

“Equal access to the courts is an issue of civil rights. To meet the challenges of our society that the pandemic has undeniably made apparent, we must renew our purpose and redouble our efforts to create a justice system that is recognized by those who interact with it and are impacted by it to be respectful, accessible, and just.

“Over the last 25 years, I’ve represented the interests of hundreds of Oregonians, and I look forward to bringing my unique perspective to the Oregon Supreme Court. I am committed to being a fair and thoughtful Justice and to continue being a steward of equal access under the law.”