About Carolyn Bys
I’m Carolyn Bys, and Welcome to Goodwill & Trust Estate Planning Law, where I practice life and and legacy planning with your goals at the center of what we do. Sometimes, that means helping you unpack some sticky issues– like family dynamics and talking about money, assets and your core values that are the true foundation of your wealth. That’s where my practice gets its double meaning– we build goodwill and trust while also meeting your legal planning needs.
My goal is to be your trusted advisor who helps you make the very best personal, financial, and legal decisions for you and your family throughout your lifetime. I want to help you not just now, but also when you can’t be there so that I can help guide your loved ones through a difficult process.
I founded Goodwill & Trust – Estate Planning Law to make a shift in how I practice law to return to serving my local community in a way that empowers them to take control and to head off unnecessary stress and crisis through proper planning.
My Background
I have been an attorney for more than 15 years, with a diverse career always focused on using my legal skills to help people.
My experience has included:
- practicing as an appellate criminal defense attorney in Oregon;
- working for an intergovernmental organization as an anti-bias trainer and training prosecutors and law enforcement on investigating hate crime;
- leading the global ethics and investigations unit of an international non-profit in the humanitarian and development sector with offices in 40+countries
- running an independent workplace investigations consultancy practice, specifically working with international and local NGOs
While my career has allowed me the opportunity to live, work and travel all over the world, it was grounded in a reactive mode, trying the help people once they were already facing great difficulties. It was a world grounded in stress and crisis– for both me and my clients.
Legal Experience & Education
Member of Oregon State Bar (OSB) since 2007
Oregon Appellate Deputy Public Defender, at Oregon Public Defense Services (OPDS)
Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) in their Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR)
Mercy Corps; General Counsel’s office
Pro bono work with the Oregon Innocence Project at the Oregon Justice Resource Center
BA, Communications
CalPoly – Humboldt; Arcata, California
Juris Doctor (J.D.)
Lewis & Clark Law; Portland, Oregon