Top Rated Business & Corporate Attorney in Cleveland, OH

Honors/Awards:

• America's Top 100 Attorneys - Nominated, America's Top 100 LLC, 2016
• People of Vision Award - An annual award recognizing and honoring visionary leadership and outstanding philanthropic work in Northeast Ohio, Recipient, Prevent Blindness Ohio, 2012
• The Best Lawyers in America - LITIGATION: BANKING & FINANCE (2012-Present), Woodward/White, Inc.
• The Best Lawyers in America - CORPORATE LAW (2011-Present), Woodward/White, Inc.
• Nation's Top Attorneys for High-Stakes Litigation, Legal Who's Who, Corporate Responsibility Magazine
• America's Most Honored Professionals - Awarded for continuous professional recognition; an accomplishment realized by the top 5% of American professionals, The American Registry
• Leading Lawyers, Corporate Law, Inside Business Magazine
• Top-Rated Lawyers in Georgia, ALM
• The Top Legal Minds in Northeast Ohio, Inside Business Magazine
• Top-Rated Lawyers in Commercial Litigation, ALM
• AV Preeminent Rated, Martindale-Hubbell Peer Review

Special Licenses/Certifications:

• U.S. District Court - Southern District of Ohio
• U.S. District Court - Northern District of Ohio
• U.S. District Court - Middle District of Georgia
• Georgia - Admitted to Practice
• Ohio - Admitted to Practice
• U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit
• U.S. Supreme Court

Bar/Professional Activity:

• Cleveland Metropolitan Bar Association - Chair, Business, Banking & Corporate Counsel Section (2012-Present); Board of Trustees (2011-2014, 2016-Present); Executive Committee
• Ohio Association of Civil Trial Attorneys
• Ohio State Bar Association
• Defense Research Institute
• American Bar Association
• Judicial Conference of the Eighth Judicial District - Life Member
• Judge John M. Manos Inn of Court

Pro bono/Community Service:

• CLEVELAND BALLET - Board of Directors (2018-Present)
• CLEVELAND STATE UNIVERSITY CLEVELAND-MARSHALL COLLEGE OF LAW - Chair, Board of Visitors (2017-Present), Vice Chair (2010); Search Committee for New Law School Dean (2016-2017)
• ST. VINCENT CHARITY MEDICAL CENTER - Secretary, Board of Directors; Executive Committee; Governance Committee; Finance Committee (2010-Present)
• AMERICAN HEART ASSOCIATION | AMERICAN STROKE ASSOCIATION - Chair, Attorneys With Heart Campaign (2016-Present)
• GREATER CLEVELAND FILM COMMISSION - Vice Chair, Board of Directors; Chair, Governance Committee; Executive Committee (2015-Present)
• UNITED WAY OF LAKE COUNTY - Board of Directors (2014-2016); Chair, Annual Fundraising Campaign (2015-2016)
• COLLEGE NOW GREATER CLEVELAND - Secretary, Board of Directors; Executive Committee; Governance Committee, Past Chair (2010-Present)
• CLEVELAND INSTITUTE OF MUSIC - Vice Chair, Board of Trustees; Chair, Governance Committee
• THE LAKELAND FOUNDATION - Board of Directors; Capital Campaign Committee (2016-Present)  
• LAKE ERIE COLLEGE - Board of Directors (2015-2017)
• FIRST TEE . CLEVELAND - Board of Directors; Governance Committee (2014-Present)
• GREATER CLEVELAND SPORTS COMMISSION - Board of Trustees (2014-2017)

Scholarly Lectures/Writings:

• U.S. Department of State-sponsored delegation of prosecutors from Serbia, Presenter, Judicial and Prosecutorial Efficiency in the U.S., Cleveland Council on World Affairs, 2018
• U.S. Department of State-sponsored delegation of civic leaders from Pakistan, Presenter, Coalition Building for NGOs, Cleveland Council on World Affairs, 2017
• Contributing Author, Ohio Insurance Litigation, LexisNexis Practice Guide, 2017
• Presenter, Managing Risk: Tools for Building an Effective Risk and Crisis Program, Cleveland Metropolitan Bar Association, 2017
• Program Chair/Moderator, Corporate Political Activity: Are You and Your Company-Or Your Clients-RNC Ready?, Cleveland Metropolitan Bar Association, 2016
• A Standard Clause stating the parties' intention to provide for equitable remedies for breach of contract in addition to or instead of monetary relief under Ohio law. If the parties intend that certain express remedies like liquidated damages constitute the exclusive or sole remedy for a particular breach, the parties can include the optional exclusive remedy carve-out. This Standard Clause contains both a unilateral and a mutual version and has integrated notes with important explanations and drafting tips., Contributing Author, General Contract Clauses: Equitable Remedies in Ohio, Practical Law Commercial Transactions, 2016
• With banks making fewer commercial and ADC loans, “alternative lenders” (including governmental agencies and nonprofits) are filling the void with a variety of alternative financing, incentive and economic programs providing financing options for businesses and developers., Co-Author, Financing Options: Well, You Do Have Alternatives!, Properties Magazine, 2015
• Directors and officers have a duty to protect corporate assets, and those of company business partners. This includes protecting confidential information, reputation and goodwill. And it requires oversight of management to develop systems that identify, mitigate and manage risks, including cybersecurity, Author, Information Governance: What Every, Crain's Cleveland Business, 2014
• In its latest annual study, the Ponemon Institute reports that 43% of companies have experienced a data breach in the past year.  This alarming percentage, up 10% from last year, is all the more reason for company directors and officers to focus efforts on privacy and data security measures. , Author, Corporate Responsibility of Data Privacy, Protection, Properties Magazine, 2014
• Association of Corporate Counsel, Northeast Ohio Chapter, Presenter, Navigating the D&O Coverage Maze in an Era of Increased Scrutiny, 2013
• The Presidents' Forum of Cleveland: Profitable Growth ... Doing it Better, Presenter, M&A Strategies: 10 Ways to Enhance Value for the Day you Sell, 2013
• Author, Independent Advice is Critical Anytime Internal Roles are Unclear, Counsel to Counsel, 2012

Verdicts/Settlements:

• Represented/defended directors and officers of closely-held and publicly-traded companies, attorneys, law firms, and top-tier accounting firms in matters involving corporate conduct, competition, derivative actions, business judgment, tort claims and white collar crimes.
• Obtained defense verdict for one of the world's largest insurance companies in action against insurance companies, closely-held corporation, and shareholder/family members for millions of dollars involving split-dollar agreements.
• Defended mass tort involving thousands of plaintiffs, physician practices, endoscopy products and allegations of Hepatitis C.
• Defended one of the country's top universities in state and federal courts in high-risk litigation including wrongful deaths, confidential circumstances, hazing incidents, tenure, demotion and discrimination matters.
• Represent clients in class actions and MDL, most recently represented a multi-national bank victimized in alleged Ponzi scheme involving twenty banks across the country, financing securitized transactions with actual losses of almost $500 million.
• Represented successor to FDIC as Receiver in multi-million dollar proceeding against guarantor of commercial loan, including non-judicial foreclosure in Arizona and environmental damage and remediation of 300+ acre property securing loan.
• Represented medical device manufacturer in context of multi-front matters arising from spinal implant devices, eventually resulting in major insurance litigation, FDA review and MDL.
• Represent national bank in a four-state pilot program to resolve, restructure, enforce or collect non-performing commercial/business loans in a significant commercial portfolio.
• Defended a carburetor manufacturer implicated in boat explosion at a nationally-known restaurant which caused severe injuries and killed four family members, leaving an infant as the sole survivor.
• Defended one of the world's largest insurance companies in corporate and criminal investigations, successfully resolved 60 lawsuits, involving the largest embezzlement/defalcation in company history (at that time).
• Represented multi-national banks in investigations and litigation involving white collar international scam operations by crime syndicates reaching across the U.S. and other countries, and involving terrorist funding, with wrongdoers being extradited to the United States.
• Successfully defended, in trial and appellate courts, bank and mezzanine lender against multi-million dollar allegations of fraud, breach of fiduciary duties, civil conspiracy and fraudulent transfer.
• Represented banks and businesses in coordination with Federal law enforcement and secret federal grand juries involving money laundering, white collar crimes, embezzlement, fraud, SARs, Patriot Act, RICO, wire fraud, Financial Anti-Terrorist Act, FinCEN, and BSA matters.
• Represented large and regional banks in corporate investigations and matters of first impression including banking crimes, lender liability, lender misconduct claims, business torts, claims of wrongdoing involving directors, officers and employees, and UCC matters.

Transactions:

• Management-led buyout of subsidiary of an international company in multi-million dollar acquisition and complex financing.
• Represented lender in the restructuring of a $50 million syndicated credit facility, including municipal bonds and letters of credit to not-for-profit entity providing senior living facilities.
• Represented lender in structuring a $16 million credit facility to a corporation and its affiliates (including B2B company and a subsidiary in Asia) engaged in the design, custom manufacturing and worldwide distribution of products used in footwear, military equipment, medical applications and sporting goods, secured by assets, including aircraft, real estate and intellectual property.
• Represented lender in structuring a $22 million credit facility to a corporation and its subsidiaries engaged in the manufacturing and distribution of colorants.
• Represented national bank in series of loan portfolio sales aggregating hundreds of millions of dollars.

Other Outstanding Achievements:

• Leadership Cleveland - Class of 2000

Educational Background:

• Case Western Reserve University, B.A./B.A.