Marc Friedman

After high school on Long Island and a year at Brooklyn College, Marc Friedman hitchhiked west in 1971. “When I was in Banff,” he says, “I was recruited to fight forest fires.” Inspired by the experience, Friedman left New York for Alaska the following summer. He worked at many jobs, from building log houses to the construction of the Alaska Pipeline. He also returned to school at University of Alaska Fairbanks, completed a degree in geography and regional development in 1978 and worked in land management for the university. “I realized that I was doing legal-type work, contracting for land,” says Friedman, who decided on law school and chose the UO. “When I was hitchhiking, I visited Eugene and went to the Oregon Country Fair.” He graduated in 1989, clerked for a year and then worked in criminal defense. “I opened my own practice in 1993,” he says. Friedman administered an indigent defense panel of 32 lawyers for the state from 2000 until the panel was disbanded seven years later, and afterwards set up a nonprofit, Access the Law, to provide low-cost legal services. “We started seeing clients in January 2010,” he says. “We’re focused on helping people in difficult situations.” A year ago, ATL launched a free Veterans Legal Clinic, staffed by volunteer lawyers and held on the last Wednesday of the month. Call 242-0445 for appointments.

A Note From the Publisher

Dear Readers,

The last two years have been some of the hardest in Eugene Weekly’s 43 years. There were moments when keeping the paper alive felt uncertain. And yet, here we are — still publishing, still investigating, still showing up every week.

That’s because of you!

Not just because of financial support (though that matters enormously), but because of the emails, notes, conversations, encouragement and ideas you shared along the way. You reminded us why this paper exists and who it’s for.

Listening to readers has always been at the heart of Eugene Weekly. This year, that meant launching our popular weekly Activist Alert column, after many of you told us there was no single, reliable place to find information about rallies, meetings and ways to get involved. You asked. We responded.

We’ve also continued to deepen the coverage that sets Eugene Weekly apart, including our in-depth reporting on local real estate development through Bricks & Mortar — digging into what’s being built, who’s behind it and how those decisions shape our community.

And, of course, we’ve continued to bring you the stories and features many of you depend on: investigations and local government reporting, arts and culture coverage, sudoku and crossword puzzles, Savage Love, and our extensive community events calendar. We feature award-winning stories by University of Oregon student reporters getting real world journalism experience. All free. In print and online.

None of this happens by accident. It happens because readers step up and say: this matters.

As we head into a new year, please consider supporting Eugene Weekly if you’re able. Every dollar helps keep us digging, questioning, celebrating — and yes, occasionally annoying exactly the right people. We consider that a public service.

Thank you for standing with us!