Karsten H. Rasmussen has been a judge with the Lane County Circuit Court since 1999 and Presiding Judge since 2012. Previously, Judge Rasmussen was the Court’s Civil Motions Judge, hearing hundreds of civil motions including dispositive motions for summary judgment and motions filed pursuant to ORCP 21. Currently Judge Rasmussen chairs the Chief Justice’s Work Group on Statewide Commercial Courts, as well as the Chief Justice’s Court Re-Engineering and Efficiencies Workgroup. He is a member of the statewide managing panel for the Oregon Complex Litigation Court and co-creator and member of the 2nd Judicial District Commercial Court. Judge Rasmussen has adjudicated complex commercial matters in; personal injury, medical malpractice, land use, Indian gaming, mold, business, employment, and construction cases. He has held over 750 formal mediations where parties reached a successful resolution, including multi-million dollar settlements in major neonatal medical malpractice claims, products liability cases, and personal injury claims. Prior to joining the Circuit Court, he practiced civil litigation for 16 years throughout Oregon. Judge Rasmussen graduated with a B.A. from the University of Oregon in 1978, Phi Beta Kappa, MA University of Chicago with honors 1980, and a J.D. from the University of Oregon School of Law in 1983.
Karsten H. Rasmussen, J. Aaron Landau, and Maurice Holland, Oregon Practice and Procedure (University of Oregon Press 3d Ed. 2016) (2010).
Karsten H. Rasmussen ed., Richard A. Lee ed., and Heather Bowman ed., 1 and 2 Damages (Oregon State Bar 2016) (1998).
Karsten H. Rasmussen, 20 Tips From An Experienced Mediator, Oregon Trial Lawyer, Spring 2016.
Karsten H. Rasmussen, The Gift of Finality: One PJ’s Perspective, Oregon State Bar Litigation Section, February 2015.
Karsten H. Rasmussen, What Do Judges Want In Order to Grant Your Motions?, Oregon Association of Defense Counsel, Sunriver, June 2013.
Karsten H. Rasmussen, What Civil Court Judges Want You to Know, National Business Institute, October 2011.
Karsten H. Rasmussen, How Do Judges Decide Cases?, Oregon Association of Defense Counsel, Sunriver, June 2010.
Karsten H. Rasmussen, Make or Break Medical Issues in Litigation, Medical Malpractice Dockets: The Ins and Outs, Part B: The Lane County Approach, Oregon State Bar, 2008.
Karsten H. Rasmussen and Lyle C. Velure, Medical Negligence Mediation, Oregon Law Institute, 2005.
Karsten H. Rasmussen, Good Court System and Good Judges Good for Your Business, Associated Business Viewpoint, March/April 2005.
Karsten H. Rasmussen and Rohn Roberts, Effective Discovery, Oregon State Bar, 2003.
Karsten H. Rasmussen, Sex, Murder, and Civil Litigation, Oregon Trial Lawyer, Winter 2002.
Karsten H. Rasmussen and Mustafa T. Kasubhai, Compensatory Damages, 1 Damages, Chapter 1, Oregon State Bar, 1998.
Karsten H. Rasmussen and Lyle C. Velure, The Standard Automobile Policy, Insurance Law, Chapter 4, Oregon State Bar, 1992.
Oregon Civil Procedure, Insurance Law, Economic Analysis of the Law
Oregon Practice & Procedure, Insurance Law, and Law and Development in the American West