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Information for New Court-Appointed Attorneys


 Frequently Asked Questions

  1. ​Look at the Qualification Standards to see what case level you may qualify to take. 

  2. You will need to fill out and submit an Attorney Certification form. Complete the following steps to access and submit the form: 

    1. Go to the OPDC Forms page. 

    2. Click on the Attorney Certification tab and chose the appropriate form to fill out for submission to OPDC. Make sure the entire form is complete before submitting the form. Click the button at the end of the form to submit to OPDC.

  1. ​If you are interested in joining a law practice you should look at our job posting page or fill out our job interest form. 

  2. If you are interested in taking cases for hourly pay, you may wish to check the Oregon Judicial Department’s Unrepresented Individuals dashboard to see where there is a need.   

  3. When you are ready to take cases, you should email: 

    4. OPDS.Unrepresented.Persons@opds.state.or.us  and put in the subject “Interest in hourly cases” and please let us know in the body of the email which counties you would take cases in so we can direct you to the correct people. ​

  1. ​Before requesting any Pre-Authorized Expenses, please review the Pre-Authorized E​xpense Policy​
  2. You will need to fill out and submit a PAE Request Form. Complete the following steps to access and submit the form:​
    ​​
    1. ​​​​​Go to the OPDC Forms & Information Page
    2. Click on the Pre-Authorized Expenses Tab and download the form needed. There are short forms for initial Investigation hours, Psycho-Sexual Evaluation and Aid and Assist.  All other requests should be submitted on the long form.​
    3. All forms must be downloaded and saved to your computer.  They must be opened that way, through Adobe.  If attempting to fill them out online, they will not work properly.​
    4. Open the form in Adobe – Pro or Reader both work – answer the questions, and when complete, click the “Click here to email this request to OPDC" button at the end of the form. 
    5. ​Clicking the button prompts the default email of your computer system to open, create a new email, and attach the form. Make sure the attachment is there, then click “send". An automatic reply message confirms your email was received. 
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  3. Once the PAE Request form is received by PAE staff, it will be processed, and you will be notified of the result.  ​​​​

  1. ​New Vendor: 

    1. Before you submit an invoice to OPDC using this online process, send an email to accountspayable@opds.state.or.us  to request becoming a new vendor before submitting an invoice. 

    2. Please include NEW VENDOR in the subject line of the email request. The body of the email must include the following: 

      1. Vendor name (individuals first and last name and business name if applicable). 

      2. Vendor mailing address 

      3. Vendor email address 

      4. Vendor phone number  

      5. Copy of W-9 

    3. Once this information is received by AP staff, the vendor profile can be set-up.  AP staff will email the vendor number as soon as it has been established by the Department of Administrative Services (DAS). This process can take up to three (3) days. 

  2. Established Vendor whose information has changed: 

    1. Follow the process outlined above but also add your vendor number in the body of the email.

  1. ​Use the Invoice Submission webpage to answer many of the basics. 

  2. Review the OPDC Payment Policy for more details on the process and guidelines.

  1. ​After you have received your vendor number, complete the ACH form

  2. Mail (yes, paper mail) the ACH form to:

    3. 1225 Ferry St SE, FL 2 

    Salem, OR 97301-4278 

  3. Once the ACH form is processed, DAS will send you an email instructing you how to access the Payment Information Center.

  4. Once a direct deposit payment is released, you will receive an automated email confirmation from DAS. You can then log into the Payment Information Center and see the payment information.