Neil Lathen specializes in personal injury and wrongful death matters. He has handled thousands of personal injury cases. The cases have ranged from soft-tissue injuries to extreme injury and death. The majority of his practice centers around automobile collision cases.
Mr. Lathen also represents clients on medical malpractice claims, product liability claims and injuries incurred by any means. He handles these cases personally. He has three legal assistants who are all professional and are well-versed in personal injury litigation. Mr. Lathen has settled thousands and thousands of injury cases. He also has arbitrated hundreds of cases and has had hundreds of jury trials.
Mr. Lathen spent his early years in Lewiston, Idaho. His father was a basketball coach and won the state championship in Idaho. The family then moved to Hood River, Oregon, where they lived in Odell for three years, during Mr. Lathen’s junior high school years. The family then moved to Eugene, Oregon, where Mr. Lathen’s father again was the high school basketball coach. He has five brothers and all six of them played basketball for his father’s varsity basketball teams. Mr. Lathen participated in Student Government and played varsity football, basketball and track while in high school.
After high school, Mr. Lathen attended Lewis & Clark College from1966-1970. He played four years of varsity basketball at Lewis & Clark College. He also was the Student Body Treasurer, worked as a Resident Assistant in the dorms and was part of the Business Fraternity.
Mr. Lathen enlisted in the Army Reserves in 1970. He completed his basic training at Ft. Jackson in Columbia, South Carolina, and then spent a total of six years in the Reserves and received the rank of sergeant before being honorably discharged.
From 1971-74, Mr. Lathen attended Willamette University College of Law, during which time he worked as a law clerk for Brown & Burt, which later became the firm it is today, Swanson, Lathen, Alexander, McCann & Prestwich, P.C.
Mr. Lathen has practiced law for more than 35 years, since 1974, in downtown Salem. His career has been spent in litigation and trial work. Mr. Lathen and his staff have a friendly approach to his clients. He enjoys vigorously representing those who have been injured and are struggling against insurance companies.