Nellie Q. Barnard

Nellie Q. Barnard is a litigation attorney in Holland & Knight's Portland office. She focuses her practice on commercial litigation with a particular focus on legal ethics, risk management and disciplinary defense.

In her legal ethics practice, Ms. Barnard defends Oregon and Washington lawyers in attorney discipline matters, including on appeal, and assists lawyers and law firms at any point at which legal ethics issues intersect with litigation, such as sanctions, conflicts analyses, withdrawal, disqualification motions, privilege disputes and fee disputes. Ms. Barnard also represents students, lawyers and other professionals in front of regulatory authorities and bar associations on licensing, admissions, reciprocity, character and fitness reviews, unauthorized practice of law and disciplinary matters.

Ms. Barnard's commercial litigation experience includes representing clients in complex business disputes, consumer financial services litigation and employment matters. Along with being an experienced appellate advocate for her clients, Ms. Barnard has successfully represented business clients in numerous state and federal courts in cases involving contract disputes, trade secrets, unfair trade practices claims and business torts. In her consumer financial services practice, Ms. Barnard represents financial institutions such as national and state banks, auto finance companies, mortgage lenders and servicers, as well as other consumer financial service providers in litigation and arbitration. She has significant experience defending claims arising under the Truth in Lending Act (TILA), Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act (RESPA), Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), and Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA), among other state and federal consumer protection laws.

Ms. Barnard is also active in her community. She serves on the Multnomah Bar Association Board of Directors and is a member of the Associates Committee for the Campaign for Equal Justice.

Prior to joining Holland & Knight, Ms. Barnard clerked for the Honorable Virginia L. Linder on the Oregon Supreme Court. During law school, Ms. Barnard clerked for both the Oregon Department of Justice and the Clackamas County District Attorney's Office.