Value List behavior in a Portal

[aalrr1]

I have 5 tables, all related 1 to 1. I want to display a conditional Value List for Practice Groups filtered by Dept category. If I use an Edit box for the Practice Group, it works.

However, the attorney may be a member of more than 1 Practice Group. As soon as I use a Portal (instead of an Edit box), the Value List no longer displays for New records. Records that already have a Practice Group(s) assigned display (and can change) the Value List correctly.

I have attached a sample with junk data. What am I doing wrong? Thank you in advance.

ConditionalValues2.zip

[aalrr1]

As a "temporary" fix, I created a + button on the portal. When pressed, it goes to the last row and adds an "acceptable" default value based on the Dept. Once the Practice Group has a default value, the conditional value list displays correctly and allows user to change the value.