Ivan Abrams

I've practiced law since 1975 and still do. I was an Assistant District Attorney in Allegheny County, then in private practice for a short time in Pittsburgh. In 1983, I became a prosecutor for the US Dept of Justice and went to Fresno California, then Washington DC, and after that to Phoenix, Arizona. I left the Dept of Justice in 1991, and opened a private practice in southeastern Arizona, which is where I worked full-time until 2006.

Along the way, I commissioned as a Navy JAG, attended the Reserve Officers Course at Naval Justice School, and served for 8 years in a variety of reserve assignments. Many years later, I joined the US Coast Guard Auxiliary and have been a member as of this writing, for 19+years.

In 2006, I took what I thought would be a short break from private practice. I began work abroad directing rule-of-law, good governance, and anti-corruption programs funded by the US through USAID, and by other governments. These years were the most fulfilling of my career, and allowed me to live in some fantastic locations among wonderful people. I lived and worked in Bulgaria, Kosovo, Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, Kyrgyzstan, Mongolia, and Afghanistan.

I lived and worked full-time overseas for 7 years, a bit more than the short break that I'd originally intended! Terry was able to spend a great deal of time with me in most but not all of the nations in which I worked.

In late 2012, I came back to Tucson, worked about a year as a Deputy County Attorney for Pinal County, then as a partner in a law firm, and in 2016 re-opened my own firm with a partner, Nick Brereton. Abrams and Brereton, PLC, focused on criminal defense in state and federal courts.

After a lot of thought, in 2021, Terry and I decided to try to relocate to Northern California or Oregon. In July, I accepted an offer from the Mendocino County District Attorney's Office and worked as a Deputy DA in Ukiah, California, for two years.

We were able to fulfill our dream of living on the seacoast, and moved to Depoe Bay, Oregon, in November, 2023. I work in Newport, 12 miles south and the County Seat of Lincoln County. I opened a law office, Abrams Oregon Law, and am on contract to the State of Oregon to do indigent criminal defense cases.

Davis School, Pittsburgh, 1953-54
Fanny Edel Falk Laboratory School, Pittsburgh, 1954-1959
Taylor Allderdice High School, Pittsburgh, 1959-1965
University of Pittsburgh, 1965-1969 B.A
University of Pittsburgh School of Law, 1972-1975 J.D.
University of Arizona College of Law, Tucson, AZ, LL.M.