Brian C. Dretke

Brian C. Dretke was admitted to the Oregon State Bar in 1993 (OSB 931414), after earlier service with the Tulsa Police Department (patrol, SWAT, narcotics; Chief's Award 1990) and graduation from the University of Tulsa College of Law in 1992. He served as Deputy District Attorney in Union County (1993-1996) and Lane County (~1996-1997) before entering private practice at Mautz Baum & O'Hanlon in La Grande from approximately 1997 to 2000 -- working alongside David Baum Jr. and Ray Baum.

Dretke then partnered with W. Eugene Hallman as Hallman & Dretke from 2000 to 2012. In January 2012 Governor John Kitzhaber appointed him to Position 1 of the Union County Circuit Court, filling the seat vacated by retiring Judge Phillip Mendiguren; other applicants were Wes Williams and John Schilling. Dretke served until his resignation on March 1, 2017, citing a desire to return to civil litigation. Governor Kate Brown appointed Thomas B. Powers to the seat in April 2017.

After leaving the bench, Dretke moved to Bend and now operates The Dretke Law Firm (oregonnursinghomelawyer.com) focused on nursing-home abuse, elder abuse, personal injury, and medical malpractice. On June 30, 2023 he presented a CLE class for the Oregon Professional Liability Fund ('Handling Personal Injury Cases: Malpractice Traps and Ethical Concerns for Lawyers') -- the mandatory malpractice insurance program for all Oregon attorneys. In the 2024 Union County Circuit Court race, a letter from retired Senior Judge Russ West stated that Dretke and all other former 10th District judges endorsed Jared Boyd over Wes Williams. No public disciplinary action is associated with his judgeship departure.