Marilyn A. Heiken - Eugene, OR
Attorney at Johnson Johnson Lucas & Middleton
Medical Malpractice Lawyers in Eugene, OR
975 Oak Street Suite 1050 Eugene, OR 97401
- 1 Super Lawyers®
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34
Years
Experience
Eugene Medical Malpractice Lawyer
Updated: 03/02/2026
Areas of Practice
- Medical Malpractice
- Industrial and Workplace Accidents
- Vehicle and Truck Accidents
- Defective Products
- Catastrophic Incidents
Litigation: 100%
Attorney Information
Overview
Attorney Marilyn Heiken is a champion for injured people and their families. She represents those harmed by medical errors, defective products, negligent driving, unsafe boating, and other dangerous conduct. Marilyn maintains the highest ethical and professional standards, and she is careful and thorough in her work. She is driven by a desire to get the best possible result for her clients, and to hold wrongdoers accountable. Heiken is part of the trial team that originally obtained an $89,000,000 verdict in 2023 against PacifiCorp in a class action arising out of the Oregon labor day fires of 2020. All told, since 2023 the team has obtained more than $250,000,000 in judgments against PacifiCorp in ongoing damages trials in this case. The litigation is ongoing.
Marilyn graduated from the University of Oregon with an English Literature degree in 1987, summa cum laude, and the University of Oregon School of Law in 1992. From 1991-1992, Marilyn served as the director of the Women's Law Forum, where she earned the Anna E. Wood award for leadership of women. Anna E. Wood was the first woman to graduate from the University of Oregon law school in 1896.
Marilyn began her legal career as an intern for the St. Andrew Legal Clinic in Portland, where she worked with low-income people in need of criminal and civil legal services. After law school, Marilyn clerked for the Honorable Pierre Van Rysselberghe, before beginning work with Johnson Johnson Lucas & Middleton in 1995.
Marilyn dedicates her entire practice to representing plaintiffs in civil litigation. She has worked on a wide variety of personal injury cases, from complex environmental cases with multiple deaths, medical malpractice cases against hospitals, traumatic brain injuries from boating incidents, dangerous construction sites, to more straightforward motor vehicle collisions. No matter what kind of case it is, Marilyn works closely with a team of lawyers and legal professionals to do everything they can to help clients fight for justice, get the compensation they deserve, and have their voices heard.
She has served as a volunteer for numerous professional associations and volunteer boards, including Womenspace and the Oregon League of Conservation Voters. She is a long time member of the Oregon Trial Lawyers Association and the American Association for Justice. She has also been appointed by the Oregon Supreme Court to the Oregon State Bar Disciplinary Board for Region 2 (Lane County), beginning January 1, 2024. One of her favorite projects is her work as an editor and author for the Oregon State Bar and the Professional Liability Fund. She has been an editor of the influential OSB Torts Handbook since 1996, and she recently became an editor of the Professional Liability Fund's volume entitled "Oregon Statutory Time Limitations."
Raised in the Ozarks in Southern Missouri, Marilyn moved to Jacksonville, Oregon with her family when she was nine. She loves to be outside with her dog near the water -- at the river, the lake, or the beach. She also likes making things with her hands; she knits, paints, quilts, and is a silver smith. She reads voraciously, with a particular interest in adventures, mysteries, detective stories, space aliens, and dragons. Her husband, Doug, is an environmental advocate for Oregon Wild, and her daughter, Emma, is a legislative analyst for the City and County of San Francisco.
Awards and Honors
Other Sources of Feedback About Marilyn A. Heiken
Included on the 2026 Oregon Super Lawyers list
Past Lists
- 2025 Oregon Super Lawyers list
Education
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Legal Education
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University of Oregon School of Law,
Eugene,
Oregon, 1992
J.D.
Honors: Anna E. Wood Award for Leadership of Women
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University of Oregon School of Law,
Eugene,
Oregon, 1992
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Non Legal Education
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University of Oregon,
Eugene,
Oregon
BA, English Literature, summa cum laude, 1987 -
Reed College, Portland, Oregon, 1980-1983
Major: Classics
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University of Oregon,
Eugene,
Oregon
Current Employment Position(s)
-
Attorney
Pro Bono Activities
- Hope and Safety Alliance, Board Member, 2024 - present
- Friends of Buford Park Mt. Pisgah, Member, 1992 - present
- Cascadia Wildlands, Member, 2015 - present
Published Works
Articles
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Who/How You Gonna Blame? Strategies for Damages Only Trials, Lessons from Oregon’s 2020 Labor Day Fires, Oregon Trial Lawyers Association, May 22, 2024. Presenters: Marilyn Heiken, Derek Johnson, Cody Berne, Emily Johnson.
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“Records Do Not Lie: How an Audit Trail Can Lead to Truth,” OTLA Trial Lawyer, Summer 2023
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“Workers’ Compensation Liens in Third Party Claims,” OTLA Trial Lawyer, Summer 2019
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“Potential Malpractice Trap in the OTCA,” PLF in Brief, January 2019
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Co-Author, “Characters Who Shaped Our Character,” OTLA Trial Lawyer, Summer 2017
- “Landslide,” OTLA Trial Lawyer, Winter 2016
- Co-Author, “Wrongful Death and Survival of Personal Injury Actions,” 2 TORTS (OSB Legal Pubs, 2012)
- Co-Author, “Medical Malpractice,” Chapter 11, 1 TORTS (OSB Legal Pubs, 2006)
- "Professional Negligence", (Co-Authored), Chapter 11, 2 TORTS, Oregon State Bar CLE, 2006
- 1 & 2 TORTS, (Co-Editor), Oregon State Bar CLE, 2000, 2006
- "Elder Abuse and the Civil Justice System", (Co-Authored), Oregon State Bar, Elder Law Section Newsletter, Winter, 2006
- "Pleasure Boating";, Trial Magazine, Oregon Trial Lawyers Association, Winter, 2005
- “The Law and Pleasure Boating,” OTLA Trial Lawyer, Winter 2005
- “Nursing Homes and Unsafe Premises,” OTLA Trial Lawyer, Spring 2003
- "Litigation Websites", (Co-Authored), Oregon State Bar, Products Liability Newsletter, Volume VIII, Number 2, Spring, 1998
- Editorial Board, Oregon Torts CLE, Oregon State Bar Publication (1996 to present)
Bar Admissions
- Oregon
- U.S. District Court District of Oregon
Other Affiliations
- Oregon State Bar Disciplinary Board, 2024 - present
- Oregon State Bar Uniform Civil Jury Instruction Committee, 2024 - present
- Oregon State Bar, Editor, Torts Handbook, 1996 - present
- Oregon Trial Lawyers, Publications Committee, 2015 - present
- Oregon Trial Lawyers, Education Committee, 2023 - present
- Oregon State Bar, member, 1992 - present
- Lane County Bar Association, member, 1992 - present
- Oregon Trial Lawyers Association, member, 1995 - present
- American Association for Justice, member, 1995 - present
Photo
Contact
975 Oak Street
Suite 1050
Eugene, OR 97401
Phone: 541-837-1977
Fax: 541-484-0882
Email: Send a message
Website: https://www.justicelawyers.com
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