Meagan Aileen Flynn (born July 28, 1967) is an American judge who is the chief justice of the

Oregon Supreme Court The Oregon Supreme Court (OSC) is the highest State court (United States), state court in the U.S. state of Oregon. The only court that may reverse or modify a decision of the Oregon Supreme Court is the Supreme Court of the United States.

. She previously served as a judge on the

Oregon Court of Appeals The Oregon Court of Appeals is the state intermediate appellate court in the US state of Oregon. Part of the Oregon Judicial Department, it has thirteen judges and is located in Salem. Except for death penalty cases, which are reserved to the O ...

from 2014 to 2017. Flynn was appointed to the state’s supreme court by the Governor

Kate Brown Katherine Brown (born June 21, 1960) is an American politician and attorney who served as the 38th governor of Oregon from 2015 to 2023. A member of the Democratic Party, she served three terms as the state representative from the 13th distr ...

in March 2017.

Education

Flynn graduated high school from the

Holy Names Academy Holy Names Academy is a Catholic private all-girls college-preparatory high school, founded by the Sisters of the Holy Names of Jesus and Mary in 1880 and located on the east slope of Seattle's Capitol Hill. It is the oldest continually operati ...

Seattle Seattle ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the 18th-most populous city in the United States. The city is the cou ...

in 1985. She completed a bachelor's degree at

Willamette University Willamette University is a Private university, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college with locations in Salem, Oregon, Salem and Portland, Oregon. Founded in 1842, it is the oldest college in the Western United ...

in 1989, and a J.D. degree at

Gonzaga University School of Law The Gonzaga University School of Law (also known as Gonzaga Law or GU Law) is the professional school for the study of law at Gonzaga University. Established in 1912, the Jesuit-affiliated law school has been fully accredited by the American Ba ...

in 1992. Flynn clerked for the

in 1992–1994, for judges Robert D. Durham and

Rick Haselton Rick T. Haselton (1953 – May 17, 2023) is a former Judge of the Oregon Court of Appeals. He served from 1994–2015. From 2012–2015, he served as Chief Judge of the Court. Early life and career Born in Oregon, Haselton received a high schoo ...

Legal career

Flynn worked as an attorney in private practice in

Portland, Oregon Portland ( ) is the List of cities in Oregon, most populous city in the U.S. state of Oregon, located in the Pacific Northwest region. Situated close to northwest Oregon at the confluence of the Willamette River, Willamette and Columbia River, ...

, specializing in

torts A tort is a civil wrong, other than breach of contract, that causes a claimant to suffer loss or harm, resulting in legal liability for the person who commits the tortious act. Tort law can be contrasted with criminal law, which deals with c ...

, employment, and

insurance law Insurance law is the practice of law surrounding insurance, including insurance policies and claims. It can be broadly broken into three categories - regulation of the business of insurance; regulation of the content of insurance policies, especia ...

. She was an associate at Pozzi Wilson Atchison from 1994 to 1999, and was a partner at Preston Bunnell & Flynn from 1999 to 2014. Flynn specialized in appellate advocacy before Oregon’s appellate courts and the

U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit The United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit (in case citations, 9th Cir.) is the U.S. federal court of appeals that has appellate jurisdiction over the U.S. district courts for the following federal judicial districts: * District ...

. She also served on the executive committee of the Oregon Law Institute and chaired the

Oregon State Bar The Oregon State Bar (OSB) is a public corporation and instrumentality of the Oregon Judicial Department in the U.S. state of Oregon. Founded in 1890 as the private Oregon Bar Association, it became a public entity in 1935 that regulates the lega ...

Appellate Practice Section.

Judicial career

Governor

John Kitzhaber John Albert Kitzhaber (born March 5, 1947) is an American former politician and physician who served as the 35th and 37th governor of Oregon from 1995 to 2003 and again from 2011 to 2015. In February 2015, shortly after beginning his fourth term, ...

announced the appointment of Flynn as a state judge on the

, Position 7, on September 25, 2014. She succeeded Robert Wollheim, who retired from the court on October 31, 2014. Flynn was re-elected to the appeals court in November 2016. Governor

appointed Flynn to the

in 2017, to replace justice

Richard C. Baldwin Richard C. Baldwin (born March 24, 1947) is a former American judge, who served as a justice of the Oregon Supreme Court from 2013 to 2017. A native of California, he was a legal aide attorney prior to joining the Oregon Supreme Court and returne ...

, who retired on March 31, 2017. Flynn became chief justice on December 31, 2022, after

Martha Lee Walters Martha Lee Walters (born October 23, 1950) is an American labor attorney and who served as the 43rd Supreme Court of Oregon, chief justice of Oregon from 2018 to 2022; she was a member of the court from 2006 to 2022. She became the first female ju ...

retired.

References

, - {{DEFAULTSORT:Flynn, Meagan 1967 births 21st-century American judges 21st-century American women judges Chief justices of the Oregon Supreme Court Gonzaga University School of Law alumni Justices of the Oregon Supreme Court Living people Oregon Court of Appeals judges Oregon lawyers Politicians from Seattle Willamette University alumni Women chief justices of state supreme courts in the United States