Bend attorney talks about why Rhoam Summer’s parents hired 3-firm legal team, and their goals

BEND, Ore. – A Bend attorney whose law firm is one of three retained by the parents of slain Silver Rail Elementary School shooting victim Rhoam Summer explained Monday why they became involved so quickly, and what they are hoping to achieve.

Tim Williams said it's not, as some might surmise, to quickly prepare a lawsuit and seek monetary damages, but to both help the couple with the crush of media requests - and to ensure the right questions are asked and any school security issues are addressed - so that such a tragedy won't happen again.

Here is that interview, edited for length and clarity:

Why did the parents retain three law firms?

Well, we each have an area of expertise, our strengths, and so together it's just a really strong team.

Jeffrey (Simon's) firm has the experience and expertise in hardening issues, meaning security issues around schools and other public facilities. And then Roger (Worthington) is here locally, even though his firm's out of LA. He lives in Bend. He's the owner of Worthy Brewing, and just a brilliant lawyer, hard worker.

And I have the knowledge of Oregon's tort system, tort law, and everything just incumbent upon that. So the case came our way, and the clients decided they'd like to hire the three of us, because we know we're already a sort of - for lack of a better word, a powerhouse group or trio, as we showed in climate litigation.

Given the expertise in this area, it just seemed like a natural fit, rather than just splitting it off to one or two firms.

What would you say to people who feel like this is happening too soon?

Well, there's no lawsuit filed. This is just an investigation, so -  I mean, there is always a potential. So I want to make it clear what we're doing. We're looking to see if - we're not sure if anyone or any entity is liable, but we're looking to see if that's the case, and if so, the family can then make a decision what they want to do about it.

But, you know, I would think - I would hope that any parent that had to suffer the great misfortune of having their child killed would look deeply into who's responsible for that.

With the suspect dead, no criminal charges are likely?

Maybe a criminal case involving the mother, depending on what she knew or - (if you) give a firearm to a minor, which is illegal in Oregon. But there is a carve-out for gifts, and so it's a little complicated area of law.

And I'm not an expert in that, because it's all criminal, and I'm not a criminal attorney. So there is a potential, I would think, that the mom might be charged in some capacity. But again, I'm not, I've not been in contact with law enforcement or the DA's office, so I have no idea what their thinking is on that.

So are one or more lawsuits inevitable?

No, absolutely not. If the public only knew how many cases we investigate and don't file on. I mean,  all they hear about is the ones we actually do file on. But you know, there's a lot of times we look, and if nobody's liable, we'll be upfront with the client about that.

Isn't it unusual to do a news release on the parents hiring lawyers?

So here's the precipitating factor why they hired a lawyer.

So it started at 5 a.m. the morning following the shooting. They were getting phone calls and knocks at the door by reporters, and they're obviously distraught, and they don't know what to do. They don't know how to handle it.

So they thought, "Well, we need to reach out to a firm we're aware of locally," which was us, right? To ward that off, and act as their spokesperson for the media. And so that's how that precipitated.

(What we're) hired to do is deal with the media and act as the spokesperson for media and the conduit there. And get their statement out which they wrote, which is why we added that (to the announcement).

I mean, they did want word to get out, because Rhoam was his own person. ... so they're really, really protective of his name, his legacy. And they didn't know how to get that out without going through an interview process. So that's why we just did that, on their behalf.

If in your independent investigation, you find things police or the school district need to know, I presume they'll be notified?

Yeah - I mean, that's the plan. Obviously, our dedication to the community and the protection of children is first and foremost. And so, if there's a failure we reveal or discover, I would like to think we'd have permission to share that with the school district and/or law enforcement.

So it's not like holding (that info) back, to put in a wrongful death lawsuit?

No, no - there's no gotchas in this game. I mean, it's all about, what was the condition and circumstances and knowledge at the time it happened. So they can make whatever changes they want to, and we encourage them to do so, if they feel it's necessary to help better protect the children.

Now, it doesn't have any bearing on any claim that may or may not come down the pike later on. In fact, such changes are inadmissible at a trial. The theory there is the Legislature who created the rules of civil procedure and the evidence code want to encourage good behavior and better protections moving forward.

There's also the old saying that hindsight's always 20/20.

Oh, absolutely.

What can you say to the people in public who say, "Oh, they're eyeing a big payoff"? I mean, does that dignify a response or not?

Well, it's the only recourse the family has, sadly. I mean, it's the way our justice system is set up. So, you know, to get justice for somebody in this civil context is to determine one, whether someone's at fault, and then two, if they are at fault, hold them accountable. And the only way to do that is financially.

So as it turns out, with these lawsuits and the recoveries at the end, if you're successful, there's specific deterrence to the party involved. They're not going to do that again. They're going to change their behavior.

Then there's a general deterrence. Other communities may be paying attention and say, "Well, shoot, if that's happened to them, we're going to make some changes in our community, make these kids safer, and prevent a tragedy happening like that here in our town."

So it's not about financial gain for the family. I've had many families donate money to nonprofits.

People are opening their hearts and wallets at the same time.

That shows just the deep support that the community has for their fellow man and woman and child. And its really, really appreciated by the family, I can tell you that, certainly.

But getting back to your point, for better or worse, that's the only way an individual can affect change is, if there is a wrong and it's judiciable, then their only option is to either get a resolution through settlement or to file a lawsuit and see where the cards fall.

It's certainly surreal - it's like, I never wished in my wildest dreams to have to live through something like this.