The Internet and Consumer Protection in Oregon

Kroger is charting a different course for the AG's office than did his predecessor.

Keith Dubanevich Courtesy: LinkedIn.com

(SALEM, Ore.) - The consumer protection chief in the Oregon attorney general's office spent years defending companies against consumer claims before pursuing nefarious businesses.

Keith Dubanevich leads the Oregon Department of Justice's consumer protection division, Legal Newsline reported Monday.

In an interview with the legal news service, Dubanevich said his range of legal background gives him added insight for resolving consumer issues.

"I've always had a tremendous interest in consumer affairs," he was quoted as saying. "The average businessman is also a consumer," he added, noting that it was something of a switch for him to go from one side of the bar to the other. "This is not consumers versus us."

"What's a good, safe product is good for everyone. The rules out there are good for everyone - for businesses and the consumer," he said. "So, if everybody simply follows the rules then we're all better off."

He also said the attorney general's office has sought to make it easier for consumers to file complaints against companies for alleged wrongdoing.

So far this year, he said the AG’s office has seen an increase in the number of consumer complaints directed at debt collectors and credit card companies.

Attorney General Jon Kroger's office is considering posting consumer complaints on the Internet, following a very limited number of other states that post the information, Dubanevich said.

"While most of the information is the public record it's not generally available online," Dubanevich said. "Our goal is to have more information available about the complaints we do receive, and our goal is to have it available early next year."

Dubanevich is a former partner at the Garvey Schubert Barer law firm in Portland.

Kroger was elected in November to succeed fellow Democrat Hardy Myers, who retired after serving three terms.

Oregon State University political science Professor Bill Lunch said it is "a bit unusual" for a former corporate defense lawyer to serve as an attorney general's consumer protection chief, according to Legal Newsline.

Lunch said Kroger is charting a different course for the AG's office than did his predecessor.

"The prior attorney general was very much a low-key, low-profile political figure who thought that the affairs of the office were best handled among other lawyers and judges and sometimes he filed cases that would get some level of public attention but he did not see the necessity for the office to be as public as the current attorney general does," Lunch said.