PARTNERS OF FIRM
Phillip Allyn Ranney (Partner) born Cleveland, Ohio, June 22, 1936; admitted to bar, 1961, Ohio. Education: Dartmouth College (B.A., 1958); Case Western Reserve University (LL.B., 1961). Member, Case Western Reserve Law Review, 1960-1961. Member: Greater Cleveland, Ohio State and American Bar Associations. Practice Areas: Charitable Organizations; Trusts and Estates.Email: Phillip Allyn Ranney
Thomas J. LaFond (Partner) born Chicago, Illinois, February 25, 1941; admitted to bar, 1966, Ohio. Education: John Carroll University (B.S., B.A., 1963); Case Western Reserve University (J.D., 1966). Delta Theta Phi. Member: Greater Cleveland (President, 1991-1992); Cuyahoga County; Ohio State and American Bar Associations. Practice Areas: Domestic Relations Law.Email: Thomas J. LaFond
James D. Vail (Partner) born Cleveland, Ohio, May 26, 1953; admitted to bar, 1979, Ohio. Education: Kenyon College; Case Western Reserve University (B.A., 1975; J.D., 1979). Member: Greater Cleveland, Ohio State and American Bar Associations. Reported Cases: Spectrum Sports v. McQuillan 506 U.S. 447 (1993). Practice Areas: Corporate Law; Employment Law; Health Care Law; Succession Planning; Litigation.Email: James D. Vail
Janice Edgehouse Rieth (Partner) born Martins Ferry, Ohio, June 9, 1953; admitted to bar, 1978, Ohio. Education: Ohio University (B.A., 1975); Case Western Reserve University (J.D., 1978). Phi Beta Kappa. Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Court Domestic Relations Division, Legal Department and Referee, 1980-1987. Member, Judicial Candidates Ratings Coalition (JCRC). Member: Cleveland Metropolitan Bar Association (Family Law Section); Ohio State (Member, Section on Family Law) and American Bar Associations; Ohio Association for Justice; Ohio Women's Bar Association (Member, Judicial Selection Committee); Center for Principled Family Advocacy. Practice Areas: Domestic Relations Law; Divorce; Post Divorce; Separation Agreements; Premarital Agreements.Email: Janice Edgehouse Rieth
James P. Farmer, Jr. (Partner) born Cleveland, Ohio, March 24, 1951; admitted to bar, 1981, Ohio. Education: Ohio University (B.S., 1975); Cleveland Marshall College of Law (J.D., 1981). Member: Greater Cleveland (Member, Section on Real Estate Law); Ohio State (Member, Section on: Real Property; Corporate Counsel, Probate and Trust Law) and American Bar Associations. Practice Areas: Real Estate; Business Law; Estate Planning; Probate.Email: James P. Farmer, Jr.
Charles F. Adler (Partner) born Indianapolis, Indiana, October 4, 1957; admitted to bar, 1983, Ohio and U.S. Tax Court; 1985, Florida. Education: Miami University (B.S., 1979); Cleveland-Marshall College of Law, Cleveland State University (J.D., 1983). Certified Public Accountant (inactive), Ohio, 1986. Author: "Creditor Claims Against Non-Private Property," Probate Law Journal of Ohio, Vol. 14, Issue; Ohio Super Lawyer (2004, 2005, 2006). Member: Greater Cleveland (Member, Estate Planning Council of Cleveland), Ohio State and American Bar Associations. Fellow: American College of Trust and Estate Counsel. (Certified Specialist in Estate Planning, Trust and Probate Law, Ohio State Bar Association). Practice Areas: Estate Planning Law(35%); Probate Law(35%); Taxation Law(30%).Email: Charles F. Adler
Kenneth J. Laino (Partner) born Amityville, New York, February 6, 1953; admitted to bar, 1979, New York; 1981, Ohio and Florida. Education: John Carroll University (A.B., summa cum laude, 1975); University of Michigan (J.D., 1978). Member, Board of Trustees, Lakewood Hospital. Adjunct Faculty, Business Administration, Baldwin-Wallace College, 1985-2002. Member: Greater Cleveland, Ohio State and American Bar Associations. Practice Areas: Business Law; Nonprofit Corporations; Real Estate; Estate Planning.Email: Kenneth J. Laino
J. Paul Fidler (Partner) born Frankfurt, Germany, March 10, 1971; admitted to bar, 1996, Ohio. Education: Pennsylvania State University (B.S., 1993); Ohio State University (J.D., 1996). Order of the Coif. Member: Greater Cleveland, Ohio State and American Bar Associations. Practice Areas: Estate Planning; Probate; Taxation Law; Litigation.Email: J. Paul Fidler
Joseph P. Gibbons (Partner) born Lakewood, Ohio, July 22, 1954; admitted to bar, 1979, Ohio. Education: John Carroll University (B.A., cum laude, 1976); Cleveland-Marshall College of Law (J.D., 1979). Member: Greater Cleveland (Member, Sections on: Probate and Estate Planning Law; Real Estate Law; Business/Corporate Law), Ohio State and American Bar Associations. Practice Areas: Business Law; Estate Planning; Real Estate.Email: Joseph P. Gibbons
Sandra C. Lucas (Partner) born Parma, Ohio, May 4, 1975; admitted to bar, 2000, Ohio. Education: John Carroll University (B.A., summa cum laude, 1997); Case Western Reserve University (J.D., magna cum laude, 2000). Member: Greater Cleveland, Ohio State and American Bar Associations; Ohio Women's Bar Association. Practice Areas: Estate Planning; Probate.Email: Sandra C. Lucas
Sonja C. Rajki (Partner) born Cleveland, Ohio, 1976; admitted to bar, 2002, Iowa; 2005, Ohio. Education: Lawrence University (B.A., 1998); Case Western Reserve University (J.D., 2002). Member: Greater Cleveland and Ohio State Bar Associations. Practice Areas: Business Law; Health Care; Real Estate; Nonprofit and Charitable Organizations; Trusts and Estates.Email: Sonja C. Rajki
OF COUNSEL
Robert A. Poklar (Of Counsel) born Cleveland, Ohio; admitted to bar, 1978, Ohio; 1982, U.S. District Court, Northern and Southern Districts of Ohio and U.S. Court of Appeals, Sixth Circuit. Education: University of Notre Dame (B.B.A., Marketing, 1975); Cleveland-Marshall College of Law (J.D., 1977). Alternative Dispute Resolution Mediation Certification, Institute for Conflict Management, May 2008. National Automobile Dealer Counsel, 2005. Member: Cleveland, Ohio State and Federal Bar Associations; Defense Research Institute. Practice Areas: Civil Litigation(49%); Business Defense; Business Transactions(51%); Business Formation; Mergers and Acquisitions; Employment Law; Real Estate; Franchise Law; Consumer Litigation; Consumer Law; Breach of Contract; Commercial Contracts; Contract Litigation; Contract Fraud; Buy-Sell Agreements; Buying and Selling of Businesses; Business Valuation; Corporate Formation; Complex and Multi-District Litigation.
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Ryan P. Nowlin (Associate) born Cleveland, Ohio, March 26, 1980; admitted to bar, 2005, Ohio. Education: Loyola College, Maryland (B.A., cum laude, 2002); University of Maryland (J.D., 2005). Phi Delta Phi. Member: Greater Cleveland, Ohio State and American Bar Associations. Practice Areas: Domestic Relations; Litigation.Email: Ryan P. Nowlin
David M. Lenz (Associate) born Euclid, Ohio, 1981; admitted to bar, 2006, Ohio. Education: The Ohio State University (B.S.B.A., summa cum laude, 2003; J.D., magna cum laude, 2006). Managing Editor, Ohio State Law Journal, 2005-2006. Member: Greater Cleveland, Ohio State and American Bar Associations. Practice Areas: Taxation; Probate; Estate Planning.Email: David M. Lenz
Todd Masuda (Associate) born Kyoto, Japan, 1963; admitted to bar, 2007, Ohio. Education: City College of the City University of New York (B.A., 1996); Case Western Reserve University (J.D., 2007).Email: Todd Masuda
Tina Y. Rhodes (Associate) born Cleveland, Ohio; admitted to bar, 1986, Ohio; U.S. District Court, Northern and Southern Districts of Ohio. Education: Cleveland State University (B.A., 1983); North Carolina Central University (J.D., 1986). Practice Areas: Consumer Litigation; Appellate Practice; Administrative Hearings and Appeals; Automotive Franchises and Dealerships; Franchise Litigation; Franchise Termination; Civil Appeals; Contract Litigation.