Recently, U.S. Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia stated that only graduates from schools he considered to be prestigious were worthy of Supreme Court clerkships, calling into question the credentials of all other lawyers and judges. "By and large," Scalia said, "I'm going to be picking from the law schools that, basically, are the hardest to get into. They admit the best and the brightest, and they may not teach very well, but you can't make a sow's ear out of a silk purse. If they come in the best and the brightest, they're probably going to leave the best and the brightest, OK?"

With all due respect to Justice Scalia, that seems like shaky ground for making such important decisions, and it is an insult to other law schools and their graduates. The public needs to have trust and confidence in our legal system. They need to know that lawyers and judges are of the highest character, come with excellent legal training, and have gained appropriate experience throughout their careers. Intellect, skill and fundamental integrity are not measured by the school someone attends. Birthright, money, LSAT scores and magazine rankings of law schools are not the standards by which this profession judges itself. These are not the standards by which we judge public service, professionalism and legal acumen. These are not the standards by which we measure courtesy, civility or judicial temperament.

Ohio is home to nine excellent law schools, each boasting a host of distinguished graduates who have gone on to careers as lawyers, judges and as business or community leaders in this state, around the nation and, indeed, across the globe.

On behalf of all the graduates and the faculty of all of the fine law schools in Ohio, let us dispel Justice Scalia’s misconceptions. Here are but a few examples of lawyers coming from Ohio law schools who are leaders in the legal profession, in business and in community service:

The University of Akron School of Law

• The Honorable John R. Adams, U.S. District Judge, Northern District of Ohio
• United States Representative Betty Sutton
• Alex Shumate, Managing Partner, Squire, Sanders & Dempsey, Columbus Office
• Anthony J. Alexander, President and Chief Executive Officer, FirstEnergy Corp.

Capital University Law School

• Ohio Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner
• Former U.S. Congresswoman Deborah Pryce
• The Honorable Michael H. Watson, Judge on the U.S. District Court, Southern District of Ohio
• Retired Marine Lt. Gen. Dennis McCarthy, President Barack Obama’s nomination for Assistant Secretary of Defense for Reserve Affairs

Case Western Reserve University School of Law

• The Honorable Kathleen McDonald O’Malley, U.S. District Judge, Northern District of Ohio
• The Honorable Edmund A. Sargus, Jr., U.S. District Court Judge, Southern District of Ohio
• Former Ohio Attorney General Jim Petro

University of Cincinnati College of Law

• The Honorable Mark Painter, recently elected to the United Nations Appeals Tribunal
• Ann Taylor, prosecutor of Bosnian war crimes
• Linda S. Murnane, senior legal officer for the Trial Chamber III at the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia in The Hague
• Barbara J. Howard, Ohio State Bar Association president-elect

Cleveland-Marshall College of Law

• Timothy J. Russert, former NBC Senior Vice President, Washington Bureau Chief and Moderator of Meet the Press
• The Honorable Louis Stokes, former U. S. Congressman
• Elizabeth A. Pugh, General Counsel, Library of Congress

University of Dayton School of Law

• Columbus Mayor Michael Coleman
• Elizabeth A. McClanahan, Judge, Court of Appeals of Virginia
• Nancy Michaud, Vice President, General Counsel & Secretary - Huffy Corporation
• Timothy Young, Ohio Public Defender

Ohio Northern University Claude W. Pettit College of Law

• Former U.S. Senator Mike DeWine
• Brigadier General David P. Carey, USA (Ret.), Executive Director for the American Inns of Court Foundation
• Anthony J. Celebrezze Sr., five-term mayor of Cleveland, Former Secretary of Health, Education and Welfare, Federal Judge for the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals

The Ohio State University Moritz College of Law

• United States Senator George V. Voinovich
• Supreme Court of Ohio Chief Justice Thomas J. Moyer
• Jeffrey S. Sutton, U.S. Court of Appeals Judge for the Sixth Circuit and former clerk for Justice Antonin Scalia
• Steve Jemison, General Counsel for Proctor & Gamble

University of Toledo College of Law

• Former Ohio Attorney General Betty Montgomery
• Supreme Court of Ohio Justice Judith Lanzinger
• The Honorable Jack Zouhary, U.S. District Court

The Ohio State Bar Association is proud and grateful that these fine members of the legal profession coming from Ohio law schools, and many others like them, have taken on such important positions and have performed with honor, dignity and distinction. We think the citizens of Ohio share in that pride. By Justice Scalia’s measuring stick, they may not have been selected solely by virtue of the law schools they attended. It is important to recognize that excellent lawyers, judges and leaders come from law schools all over this great nation and that law school name alone is not a legitimate criterion for making important decisions about a lawyer’s potential. We recommend looking at the whole package – education, experience and integrity. Those are the true measure of quality. 

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The Ohio State Bar Association, founded in 1880, is a voluntary association representing approximately 25,000 members of the bench and bar of Ohio as well as nearly 4,000 legal assistants and law students. Through its activities and the activities of its related organizations, the OSBA serves both its members and the public by promoting the highest standards in the practice of law and the administration of justice.

To authenticate this statement, please contact Ken Brown, OSBA Director of Public & Media Relations, 800-282-6556 (toll free), 614-487-4426 (office), or 614/746-2457 (mobile).