After obtaining my law degree from Case Western Reserve University Law School, I began my legal career as a public defender, first in Cleveland and later in New Hampshire. My early experiences included civil litigation and serving as a supervisor of the Buffalo New York District Attorney’s Office. In 1997, I was appointed to a four-year term as the Disciplinary Counsel of the Supreme Court of Ohio. I was re-appointed to that position three times and served a total of sixteen years—the longest tenure in the history of the office.
As Disciplinary Counsel, I managed an active case load, supervised the attorneys in the office and was responsible for training bar counsel and members who served on statewide grievance committees. I was appointed to numerous Supreme Courts Task Forces, including the Rules Task Force that was instrumental in recommending an Ohio version of the ABA Model Rules, which were ultimately adopted by the Ohio Supreme Court in 2007.
In 2014, I re-entered private practice with the Kegler Brown law firm in Columbus, Ohio. I represented attorneys and judges facing disciplinary issues; served as an ethics expert in a variety of different contexts; provided ethics consultations to lawyers and law firms; and represented prospective bar applicants. During the last two years of my work at Kegler Brown, I served as the Director of the ethics practice for the firm.
In July 2018, I opened my own practice continuing my focus on professional responsibility issues for lawyers, judges, and bar applicants.
Education
- Case Western Reserve University School of Law (J.D., 1978)
- Hobart College (B.A., 1975)
Bar Admissions
- New Hampshire
- New York
- Ohio
- S. District Court for the District of New Hampshire
- S. District Court for the Southern District of Ohio
- Supreme Court of the United States
Professional Affiliations
- Editorial Board, American Bar Association/Bloomberg BNA Lawyer’s Manual on Professional Responsibility, 2014-2017
- Association of Professional Responsibility Lawyers, member
- Columbus Bar Association, member
- Ohio State Bar Association, CLE Institute, lecturer
- Judicial College of the Supreme Court of Ohio, faculty
- The Ohio State University Moritz College of Law, adjunct faculty, 2005 to present
- Association of Judicial Disciplinary Counsel, former president and board member, 2002-2013
- National Organization of Bar Counsel, 1998-2013
- Supreme Court Task Force to Review the Ohio Disciplinary Process, 2009-2010
- Supreme Court Task Force on Ohio Judicial Canons, 2007-2009
- Supreme Court Task Force on the Ohio Rules of Professional Conduct, 2003-2006
- National District Attorneys Advocacy Center, South Carolina, faculty, 2000-2006