John Wittwer

John Wittwer is Senior Counsel with Morley Thomas Law Firm in Lebanon, Oregon. His practice has included real estate, estate planning, probate, general business matters, and adoption law. Over the course of his career, he has represented local businesses and individuals while developing a major focus on adoption matters. His work reflects decades of experience helping clients address property, estate, family, and business issues that require careful application of Oregon law and procedure.

Wittwer earned a B.A. with honors in political science from Willamette University and completed a postgraduate fellowship in political history and ethics at the University of Helsinki in Finland. He later attended Willamette University College of Law. During law school, he worked as a legal extern for the Oregon Mental Health Division. His academic and public-sector experience provided a foundation for legal analysis, public law, and the varied client matters that later defined his practice.

Wittwer has represented adoption agencies, adoptive parents, birth parents, putative fathers, children, and extended family members in hundreds of adoption cases throughout Oregon. He also served for nearly 20 years as Municipal Judge for the City of Lebanon. His broader private practice has included real estate, estate planning, probate, and general business matters, giving him experience across both transactional work and legal proceedings affecting families, property owners, and local organizations.

John Wittwer has held leadership and committee roles within the Oregon State Bar, including work related to adoption and assisted reproductive technology law, lawyer referral service, and professional responsibility. He has also taught continuing legal education programs on adoption and real estate subjects and contributed adoption-related forms to an Oregon State Bar deskbook. His career combines client representation, judicial service, professional education, and long-standing involvement in Oregon legal and civic institutions.

Law Office Affiliations

• Attorney, Morley Thomas Law Firm
• Member, Oregon State Bar
• Past Chair, Oregon State Bar Lawyer Referral Service Committee
• Member, Oregon Law Commission’s Adoption Law Work Group
• Member, Oregon State Bar Continuing Education (taught continuing education courses on adoption and real estate subjects)
• Member, Local Professional Responsibility Committee, Oregon State Bar (served two terms)
• Municipal Judge, City of Lebanon, Oregon
• Past President, Sweet Home Rotary Club
• Past President, Board of Directors, Sweet Home Economic Development Group, Inc.
• Past Member, Sweet Home Community Foundation board

Licensed State

• Oregon

Education

• Willamette University
  Bachelor of Arts (BA) in Political Science
• University of Helsinki
  Post-graduate Fellowship in Political History and Ethics

Awards & Badges