About Rob Milesnick

Three vantage points. One practice.

Rob has represented employees, prosecuted fraud for the federal government, defended employers, and mediated hundreds of disputes. That's not a resume — it's a way of seeing cases that most attorneys never develop.

Background

Rob Milesnick

Rob is a Portland, Oregon attorney with more than fifteen years of experience across the full spectrum of employment litigation. He has represented approximately 1,200 clients as a plaintiff's employment lawyer, litigated on behalf of employers as a defense attorney, served as an Assistant U.S. Attorney for the District of Oregon, and participated in roughly 200 mediations — around 50 as the neutral. He taught criminology and criminal justice at Portland State University.

That range of experience is not incidental to this practice — it is the practice. Understanding how employers build and defend discrimination cases makes him a better advocate for the people challenging them. Understanding how DOJ evaluates False Claims Act cases makes him a better advisor to the whistleblowers bringing them. Understanding how cases actually resolve makes him a more honest counselor about when to fight and when to settle.

He has negotiated approximately 400 settlements, participated in advanced DOJ mediation training at the National Advocacy Center, and completed the Harvard Program on Negotiation. He is a former member of the Oregon State Bar Board of Governors and has held civic leadership roles with the Portland Business Alliance and the Oregon Judicial Department.

Rob Milesnick — Portland, Oregon attorney
Credentials
Assistant U.S. Attorney
District of Oregon · Federal prosecution and civil enforcement
Executive Office of U.S. Attorneys Mediator
Executive Office of U.S. Attorneys · Federal mediator program
Plaintiff Employment Lawyer
~1,200 clients represented · Oregon and Washington
Defense Litigator
Employer-side litigation · Discrimination and wage claims
Adjunct Professor
Portland State University · Criminology and criminal justice
Oregon State Bar Board of Governors
Former member · Bar leadership and ethics
Education
J.D. · Syracuse University College of Law
B.A. · Virginia Commonwealth University
Harvard Program on Negotiation
DOJ National Advocacy Center · Conflict Resolution and Mediation
The Three-Sided View

Why having been on every side changes everything.

As a Plaintiff's Lawyer

Rob spent years representing workers in discrimination, retaliation, and wage cases. He understands what employees go through — the fear of losing their income, the uncertainty about whether anyone will believe them, and the power imbalance they face. That perspective never leaves.

As a Federal Prosecutor

As an AUSA, Rob evaluated cases through the lens of evidence, law, and institutional resources. He knows what the government finds compelling, how DOJ makes intervention decisions, and what separates a case that moves forward from one that doesn't. That institutional knowledge is rare in the private bar.

As a Defense Litigator

Rob has also defended employers. He knows every argument they make, every document they pull, and every strategy they use to minimize or defeat discrimination and whistleblower claims. That knowledge makes him a sharper advocate — because he has seen how the other side thinks.

Craft Mediation Northwest

Rob also mediates complex employment disputes.

In addition to this litigation practice, Rob is the founder of Craft Mediation Northwest, a mediation practice serving attorneys and their clients in complex employment, civil rights, and government employee matters. He has participated in approximately 200 mediations, including around 50 as the neutral.

That mediation experience directly informs how he evaluates and values cases as a litigator — he has seen how similar disputes resolve across hundreds of matters, and he brings that settlement intelligence to every representation.

Visit Craft Mediation Northwest →
~1,200
Clients represented as a plaintiff's employment lawyer
~200
Mediations participated in, including ~50 as the neutral
~400
Settlements negotiated across plaintiff, defense, and government work
15+
Years of litigation experience across all sides of employment disputes

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