Sophia von Bergen
About Sophie
Sophie von Bergen represents businesses and individuals in all phases of litigation, with a particular focus on complex commercial disputes and insurance recovery for policyholders. She practices in state and federal courts throughout Oregon and regularly handles matters involving substantial damages and significant public scrutiny, including high-profile plaintiff-side cases and the defense of putative class actions. Drawing on her experience representing both plaintiffs and defendants, Sophie approaches each matter with a balanced perspective, anticipating opposing arguments and advocating strategically and effectively for her clients.
During law school, Sophie was a judicial extern to the Honorable Magistrate Judge Stacie F. Beckerman at the U.S. District Court for the District of Oregon where she researched and drafted opinions in civil cases. She also advised businesses at the Small Business Legal Clinic on transactional matters, including on intellectual property issues. Sophie has also co-authored a chapter on issues of gender and politics in developing countries and Lewis & Clark Law Review published her Note on causes of action against companies engaged in “greenwashing.”
Representative Experience
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Business & Corporate Plus
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Defended financial services organization against claims from creditor of educational institution.
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Represent financial institutions against claims under consumer protection statutes.
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Class Actions Plus
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Defended large retail company in putative class action with claims of alleged violations of the unlawful trade practices act.
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Represent and advise businesses in class action settlement and administration.
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Defending businesses in class actions.
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Insurance Recovery Plus
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Major builder’s risk insurance recovery for new Oregon data center. Successful litigation and mediated resolution of a project owner’s $8 million claim against its builder’s risk insurance carriers following two explosions and fires during the construction of a 250,000 sq. ft. data center in Washington County, Oregon. The builder’s risk insurers’ untimely and unreasonable claims adjustment resulted in zero payment to the project owner prior to Miller Nash’s involvement. Litigation involved extensive discovery of electronically stored information and depositions, in addition to summary judgment briefing and other motions. With the assistance of a mediator, the vast majority of the owner’s losses were recovered.
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Represented Portland-area businesses seeking coverage for business interruption losses sustained from COVID-19, including in the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals.
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Activities
- Federal Bar Association, Member
- Gus J. Solomon Inn of Court, Member, 2024-present
- Multnomah Bar Association, Member
- Young Lawyers Section
- President-Elect, 2025-present
- Board of Directors, 2024-present
- CLE Committee, 2021-present
- Young Lawyers Section
- Oregon State Bar, Member
- Oregon Women Lawyers, Member
- Washington State Bar, Member
- Campaign for Equal Justice, Associate Committee, Co-Chair, 2023-present
- Occidental College, Portland Alumni Representative, 2017
- Forward Stride, Volunteer, 2016-2017
- ACLU of Oregon, Intake Volunteer, 2016
Recognition
- Pro Bono Challenge Winner, “Individual-at-a-Firm” and “Oregon New Lawyers Division (ONLD) Member,” Oregon State Bar, 2025
- Recipient of the 2024 Clifford N. Carlsen, Jr. Pro Bono Award
- Selected for inclusion in Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch® (Portland, OR)
- Litigation—Banking and Finance, 2024-present
- Litigation—Environmental, 2024-present
- Litigation—Securities, 2024-present
- Mass Tort Litigation/Class Actions—Plaintiffs, 2024-present
- Commercial Litigation, 2022-present
- Selected for inclusion as an Oregon Super Lawyer—Rising Star, 2023-present
Insights from Sophie
- “Chapter 10: Business Litigation,” Oregon Statutory Time Limitations, 2022 Revision (June 2022)
- “2 Calif. Insurance Decisions Question Boundaries Of Fortuity,” Law360, coauthor (May 2022)
- “Using a Kanban Board to Manage Workflow,” Multnomah Bar Association, Multnomah Lawyer, January 2022
- “Holding Oregon Benefit Companies Accountable for Greenwashing and Faux CSR,” 24 Lewis & Clark L. Rev. 1097 (2020)
- “Women in Politics in Latin America,” Women, Policy, and Political Leadership: Regional Perspectives in Today’s World, 35-54 Wilhelm Hofmeister, Mega Sarmah & Dispreet Kaur (eds., 2015) (with Mala Htun & Jennifer Piscopo)
- “Applying to & Navigating Law School and How to Use Law for Social Justice. An Oxy Alumni Panel,” Occidental College, The Matrix: Conversations & Transformations, panelist (Sept. 2021)
- “Women’s Gains and Men’s Losses: Zero-Sum Approaches to Gender Policy in the Anglophone Caribbean,” Fourth Annual European Conference on Politics & Gender, Uppsala, Sweden (June 2016) (with Jennifer Piscopo)
Outside the Office
Born and raised in Portland, Sophie enjoys riding horses and training for Hunter/Jumper competitions in the Pacific Northwest. She also plays tennis, is an avid crossword puzzler, and attempts to train her cats.