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Columbus (Sept. 9, 2009) - Ohio State Bar Association (OSBA) President Barbara J. Howard has appointed 23 Columbus-area lawyers to be chairpersons of OSBA committees and sections for 2009-2010.  The OSBA maintains 41 standing committees and 11 sections, each of which monitors a particular area of law.  Committees and sections work to improve the justice system by keeping Ohio lawyers informed about the latest court decisions and regulatory changes.  In addition, they comment on bills before the Ohio General Assembly and draft their own legislative proposals to improve existing laws.

J. Randolph Balch, of Balch Law in Columbus, has been re-appointed to chair the Health Care Law Committee. He is a 1975 graduate of Wittenberg University, and a 1984 graduate of The Ohio State University’s Moritz College of Law. He also received masters’ degrees from the University of Toledo and the University of Michigan School of Public Health. Prior to his current position, Balch served as president and CEO of Medical Management Group, Inc., and is a former adjunct professor for The Ohio State University Moritz College of Law. In his community, he is the evangelism chairman for Bethany Lutheran Church and the church liaison to Lutheran Social Services of Central Ohio. Balch currently resides with wife, Jacintha Kraft, and his two sons, James and Christopher.

Amelia A. Bower has been re-appointed to chair the Legal Ethics and Professional Conduct Committee. Bower, who received her undergraduate degree from Miami University in Oxford and her law degree from Cleveland State University College of Law in 1984, currently serves as managing partner for the Ohio office of Plunkett Cooney. She is a past chair of the Cleveland Bar Association’s Certified Grievance Committee, and was a member of the Joint Bar Admissions Committee of the Cleveland and Cuyahoga bar associations. Currently, Bower is a member of the Real Property Section of the Columbus and Ohio State bar associations, and the Ohio Land Title Association. Bower is licensed to practice in the United States Supreme Court, Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals, United States District Court for the Northern and Southern Districts of Ohio, and the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Northern and Southern Districts of Ohio.

Lisa M. Burleson, a Columbus attorney in private practice, has been named to chair the Education Law Committee. After having received her undergraduate degree from Ohio Wesleyan University, Burleson earned her law degree from Capital University Law School. She has served as an associate with the Columbus firm of Means, Bichimer, Burkholder & Baker and as deputy director of labor relations for the Ohio School Boards Association. In addition to being an active OSBA member, she serves on the Labor and Employment Committee of the Columbus Bar Association and is a member of the Ohio Council of School Board Attorneys. Within her community, she serves as vice-president for the Upper Arlington City Civil Service Commission and as a volunteer for the Vineyard Columbus Pro-Bono Legal Clinic. Burleson and her husband, Christopher, have one son, Gunnar.

Stephen E. Chappelear has been re-appointed to chair the Litigation Section. He is the partner in charge of the Columbus office of Hahn, Loeser + Parks LLP. Chappelear served as president of the OSBA from 2002-2003 and has served on its Council of Delegates since 2003. He is currently the president of the Ohio State Bar Foundation. Chappelear earned both his bachelor of arts and his law degrees from The Ohio State University.

Lloyd D. Cohen, a Columbus attorney, has been re-appointed to chair the Solo, Small Firms & General Practice Section.  He received his bachelor’s degree from The Ohio State University in 1975 and his law degree from Capital University in 1979. Cohen’s practice is concentrated in bankruptcy law, but he also handles estate planning, probate, business and animal law matters. He is certified in consumer bankruptcy law by the American Board of Certification and was recognized as a 2007 Ohio Super Lawyer. Cohen is also a “Best of Sections” editor for the American Bar Association’s Solo, General Practice & Small Firms Division, through which he has recently published a book entitled, Being Prepared: A Lawyer’s Guide for Dealing with Disability and Unexpected Events. In the community, he belongs to the Columbus All-Breed Training Club and shows AKC champion Schipperke dogs. Cohen and his wife, Debra, have four adult children.

Paul A. Colbert has been re-appointed to chair the Public Utilities Committee. Colbert graduated from The Ohio State University in 1986 with an economics major and a political science minor.  He graduated cum laude from Capital University Law School in 1991. While in law school, he was a member of the Capital University Law Review and completed an externship with the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals under Justice Alan Norris. Colbert was subsequently hired by Ohio Attorney General’s Office, where he was responsible for public utilities cases until 1998, when he joined the Duke Energy Corporation. He recently joined the Energy Practice at Jones Day, and his practice includes the representation of regulated utilities before the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio. He cites among his greatest accomplishments participation in the negotiation and drafting of competitive gas legislation; competitive retail electric service legislation to help the state maintain reliable, cost-effective service while offering consumers a choice of providers; and the current law that permits utilities to recover the costs associated with right-of-way occupancy. In 1997, Colbert was awarded the U.S. Supreme Court Best Brief Award from the National Association of Attorneys General.

E. Bruce Hadden, of Hadden Co., LPA in Columbus, has been re-appointed to chair the Aviation Law Committee.

Peggy Kirk Hall has been re-appointed as chair of the Agricultural Law Committee. She is a graduate of The Ohio State University (OSU) and the University of Wyoming College of Law. Hall is currently the director of Agricultural and Resource Law for OSU. She has been a member of the OSBA since 1997 and has served as the OSBA Agricultural Law Committee’s vice-chair and secretary. Hall is also an OSBA legal education instructor and editorial contributor. She was recently elected to the American Agricultural Law Association Board of Trustees. Hall and her family reside near Richwood.

Cleve M. Johnson has been appointed to chair the Traffic Law Committee. Johnson is a criminal defense attorney who has practiced law in Columbus since 1979. He is admitted to practice before the Supreme Court of Ohio, The U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Ohio, The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit, and the U.S. Supreme Court. In addition to being an active OSBA member, he is also a member of the National College for DUI Defense, the Columbus Bar Association, the Ohio Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, and the Central Ohio Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers. He lectures statewide and nationally to other attorneys on topics relating to OMVI and traffic law, and to patients at the Parkside and Maryhaven alcohol treatment centers on the subject of drunk driving law. Johnson also has served on the Governor’s Task Force on Impaired Driving, the Joint Special Jury Instructions Committee on Senate Bill 123, and the Traffic Subcommittee of the Ohio Criminal Sentencing Commission, which drafted legislation to revise and streamline the misdemeanor, traffic, and driver’s license code. He has also testifies periodically before committees of the Ohio Legislature regarding drunk driving and other traffic laws, and has written several articles on the topic of drunk driving for the OSBA’s “Law You Can Use” column. 

William J. Kelly, an attorney with Porter Wright Morris & Arthur LLP in Columbus, has been appointed to chair the Construction Law Committee. Kelly’s practice focuses on entrepreneurial business in the software, information technology, biotech and medical device industries.  He received his undergraduate degree, cum laude, as well as his law degree, summa cum laude, from The Ohio State University. Kelly is a member of the American Bar association and the Columbus Bar Association. A frequent speaker on corporate and security topics, he has been recognized in The Best Lawyers in America in the areas of corporate, mergers & acquisitions and securities law, and by the publishers of Law and Politics and Cincinnati Magazine as an “Ohio Super Lawyer.”  In his community, he serves on the board of the Dublin Arts Council and is a past board member and secretary of the Ohio Public Expenditure Council.

Michael Kirkman has been re-appointed to chair the Disability Law Committee.  Kirkman, who is the executive director for Ohio Legal Rights Services, attended The Ohio State University and the University of the Dayton School of Law.  He is the co-author of Ohio Mental Health Law, 2d Ed., 1990.  Kirkman is a charter member of the OSBA’s Disability Law Committee. He is also a fellow of the Ohio State Bar Foundation, has worked on the Legal Committee of the National Disability Rights Network, participated in the Governor’s Task Force on MR/DD Victims of Crime Advisory Committee, and has represented clients with disabilities in state and federal courts, including the Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit, the Supreme Court of Ohio, and the U.S. Supreme Court. In the community, Kirkman has served on the advisory board of COMPASS, a homelessness prevention program. Kirkman lives with his wife, Dr. Jean Atwood, in Bexley.

John B. Kopf III, of Thompson Hine LLP’s Columbus office, has been re-appointed to chair the Construction Law Committee. Kopf earned his undergraduate degree from The Ohio State University and graduated summa cum laude from Capital University Law School. Kopf focuses on construction litigation, representing contractors and suppliers in project disputes throughout Ohio and across the country. He is also an active member of the Columbus Bar Association and the Builders Exchange of Central Ohio. Kopf and his wife, Erin, have three children and live in New Albany.

Pamela S. Krivda, of Krivda Law Offices LLC, has been reappointed to chair the Labor and Employment Committee. Krivda received her undergraduate degree from The Ohio State University and her law degree from Capital University Law School. During the time between undergraduate and law school, Krivda was a human resources manager for The Columbus Dispatch. Since becoming a lawyer, she has practiced in the areas of management-side employment and labor law, and litigation. Krivda was named an “Ohio Super Lawyer” in 2007, 2008 and 2009 and is a board-certified labor and employment specialist. She resides in Columbus with her husband, Patrick.

Shawn A. Little, a Columbus attorney in private practice, has been re-appointed to chair the Negligence Law Committee. 

Amy Mass has been re-appointed to chair the Insurance Staff Counsel Committee. Mass graduated cum laude and with distinction in government and political science from Connecticut College in 1992, and earned her law degree from The Ohio State University Moritz College of Law in 1995.  Having begun her legal career as a judicial clerk for the Superior Court of New Hampshire, she then served on the Michigan Court of Appeals before moving back to Columbus to embark on a litigation practice at Schottenstein, Zox, & Dunn. She is currently the managing attorney of the Ohio and Indiana staff counsel offices of The Hanover Insurance Group. She is also a member of the board of directors for Citizens Insurance Company, a subsidiary of The Hanover Insurance Group. Mass serves as trustee for the Ohio Association of Civil Trial Attorneys (OACTA), chairs the group’s ADR Committee, and previously chaired the 2008 OACTA conference program and its Commercial Litigation Committee. She is an active member of the Defense Research Institute and the American Bar Association. Since January 2005, Mass has been an adjunct professor of law at Capital University Law School in the field of dispute resolution.  

James McGovern, of Graff & Associates LPA in Columbus, has been re-appointed to chair the Administrative Law Committee. McGovern received his undergraduate degree from Miami University in Oxford and his law degree from The Ohio State University Moritz College of Law. McGovern’s law practice is focused on administrative law, primarily defending the interests of professionals in their dealings with professional regulatory boards, employers and other entities. McGovern began his legal career in 1993 as an assistant Ohio attorney general, and then served three years as counsel for the Ohio Department of Human Services and three years as counsel for the State Medical Board of Ohio. McGovern then spent nine years with Hammond, Sewards & Williams in Columbus, where his practice was focused on defending the interests of professionals in their dealings with professional regulatory boards, and defending physicians, hospitals and nursing homes against malpractice claims. He lives in Upper Arlington with his wife, Laurie, and sons, Michael and Kevin. He spends much of his free time coaching youth athletic teams. 

J. Donald Mottley, of Taft Stettinius & Hollister LLP in Columbus, has been re-appointed to chair the Taxation Committee. Mottley received both his bachelor’s degree and master’s degree from Wright State University, and went on to earn his law degree from Northern Kentucky University’s Chase College of Law, graduating at the top of his class. In 1992, Mottley was elected to the Ohio House of Representatives. As a representative, he served on the House Ways & Means Committee, and later became its chair. Mottley also serves on the tax committees of the Ohio Chamber of Commerce and the Ohio Manufacturers’ Association. In the past, Mottley was a West Carrollton Ohio Board of Education member. He also served as the chief deputy for the Montgomery County Auditor, as an NCR Corporation financial manager, and as an assistant to the Montgomery County Commissioner. Mottley is active in the Ohio League of Women Voters, and chairs a study committee to update policies on Ohio state and local taxation for that organization. After having lived in the Dayton area for more than 50 years, Mottley now resides in Columbus with his wife, Marianne. 

Joseph M. Reidy, a partner at Schottenstein Zox & Dunn, has been appointed to the chair of the Environmental Law Committee. Reidy is a member of his firm’s Environmental Practice Group and heads its Brownfield Practice Group. He has extensive experience in securing state, federal and private funding for the remediation of air and water pollution and hazardous materials, including brownfield and greenspace grants from the Clean Ohio Fund. He received his B.S. degree in biology from the University of Cincinnati, his M.A. degree in Zoology from DePauw University and his J.D. degree from Capital University Law School. As a former aquatic biologist for the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency, Reidy gained extensive experience in wetlands and other water-related permit issues. He has spoken before many organizations, including the OSBA, the American Bar Association, the Columbus Bar Association, the National Brownfield Association, the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio and the Ohio Society of Certified Public Accountants on environmental law, brownfield development, as well as toxic tort and other litigation. Reidy belongs to the National Brownfield Association, the Urban Land Institute, the Ohio Chamber of Commerce, and the environmental law committees of the American, Ohio State, and Columbus bar associations. He has been recognized by Best Lawyers in America and Chambers USA as one of America’s leading environmental lawyers and was designated a “Super Lawyer” by Law and Politics Magazine.  

Justin Ristau, the vice chair of Bricker & Eckler LLP’s Creditor Rights & Bankruptcy Group, has been appointed to chair Banking, Commercial and Bankruptcy Law Committee. Ristau received his bachelor’s degree from Hobart College and went on to earn his law degree from University of Cincinnati College of Law. He currently represents financial institutions in matters involving the full range of complex federal, state, and common law issues that arise in the context of consumer financing and residential mortgage lending. He also defends residential mortgage lenders and servicers against affirmative claims brought in state court, bankruptcy court, district court, and on appeal. In addition, Ristau represents clients in cases involving bankruptcy, bankruptcy litigation, commercial foreclosure, workout and reorganization, usually representing secured and unsecured creditors in bankruptcy cases, adversary proceedings, and bankruptcy appellate proceedings, as well as in pre-litigation workout and state court commercial foreclosure and receivership proceedings. Ristau lives with his wife, Dr. Margaret Sawyer, and their three children:  Alexander, Thomas and Nicholas. 

Gregory D. Russell, of Vorys, Sater, Seymour and Pease LLP in Columbus, has been re-appointed to chair the Natural Resource Law Committee. Russell received his undergraduate degree in mathematics from Washington & Lee University, summa cum laude, and his law degree from Harvard Law School. His practice focuses on business and litigation matters related to the exploration, production, transportation, and marketing of natural resources, including crude oil and natural gas. Active in the industry and his community, Russell is a member of the Energy and Mineral Law Foundation Board of Trustees and chairs the Environmental and Safety Committee for the Ohio Oil and Gas Association.  He also serves on the board of trustees for Congregation Beth Tikvah. In 2005-2006, he was recognized by Ohio Super Lawyers as a “Rising Star” in the field of energy and natural resources. Russell lives in Clintonville with his wife, Anne, and two children, Hannah and Joseph.

Kevin T. Shook, of Frost Brown Todd LLC’s Columbus office, has been named to chair the Media Law Committee. Shook earned his bachelor’s degree from Denison University and his law degree from The Ohio State University. He concentrates his practice in the areas of complex commercial litigation, media law, advertising law and banking law. Recently named a “Rising Star’ in the 2009 edition of Ohio Super Lawyers magazine, Shook regularly represents corporations, real estate investment firms and banks in a wide variety of complex litigation. He also represents media clients in all aspects of First Amendment and newsroom-related matters, including defense of defamation and privacy claims, and public records matters. He regularly defends deceptive advertising and intellectual property infringement cases, including claims brought under the federal Lanham Act and the Ohio Consumer Sales Practices Act. He also counsels on prepublication review of advertisements. Shook serves on the boards of directors for the American Red Cross of Greater Columbus and the Ohio Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.  He is also the pro bono coordinator for Frost Brown Todd.

Kerstin Sjoberg-Witt, legal director of the Ohio Legal Rights Service (OLRS) since January 2009, has been appointed to the chair of Access to Justice Committee. She manages the legal advocacy on behalf of OLRS clients with an emphasis on active litigation matters. She also works with OLRS attorneys and advocates to formulate legal strategies, coordinate complex impact litigation, and contribute to policy work on behalf of OLRS and its clients. Previously, Sjoberg-Witt was an associate in the Trial Practice Group at Jones Day, where she represented business and other organizational clients in a wide variety of civil issues, and also participated in pro bono matters, including a significant fair housing action that resulted in a jury verdict of $10.8 million for a group of residents outside Zanesville. Between 2006 and 2008, Sjoberg-Witt served as the chair of the Pro Bono Committee of the Columbus Bar Association. 

Paul Skendelas, Assistant Franklin County Public Defender, has been named to chair the Juvenile Law Committee. Skendelas received his law degree from The Ohio State University Moritz College of Law. He has served as president and amicus chair of the Ohio Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers and as president of the Youth Advocate Services Board. He was also a founding board member of the Court-Appointed Special Advocates Program of Franklin County and the Children’s Hospital CARES Program, which evaluates juvenile substance abusers. Skendelas is married to Katherine Hunt Federle, a professor at The Ohio State University Moritz College of Law, and has two children, John and Katie, and one step-son, John Paul. 

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