On the Pulse…Our Ohio Offices

Defense Digest, Vol. 22, No. 4, December 2016

 

By Leslie M. Jenny, Esq. & Samuel G. Casolari Jr., Esq.*

From Public Square in Cleveland to Fountain Square in Cincinnati, our Ohio lawyers represent clients and insureds throughout the state in almost all practice groups. From casualty to health care liability, to coverage and bad faith, in all the major state and federal courts, our Cleveland and Cincinnati lawyers carry on the vision and values of the firm.

Exploring Our Cincinnati Office

By Samuel G. Casolari, Jr.

From our office in Cincinnati, we handle cases throughout all of southern and western Ohio, as well as through the Commonwealth of Kentucky. Indeed, we defend cases all the way down to the Tennessee border.

There are five attorneys in the this office, two of whom are licensed in both Ohio and Kentucky. I am the managing attorney of this office and am joined by Ray C. Freudiger and Timothy B. Schenkel as shareholders.

Ray Freudiger is an accomplished attorney who, since joining Marshall Dennehey, has had a string of defense verdicts in a wide variety of cases, including admitted liability, wrongful death and casualty cases. Complimenting his successes is a winning dispositive motion practice in a wide variety of premises liability, bad faith and coverage cases. Whether it is a car accident, slip and fall, bad faith or breach of contract case, Ray places the utmost premium on detail and dedication, and he keeps his cases in a trial-ready posture.

Tim Schenkel concentrates his practice in casualty work and has many cases both north and south of the Ohio River. Tim travels as far south as the Tennessee border to represent clients and insureds in matters pending in Kentucky. With a wealth of experience in litigating cases, he keeps a keen eye on bringing matters to conclusion as soon as practical and at the least possible cost. Tim keeps his cases moving, making sure that he gets from one point to another as efficiently and effectively as possible so that cases can be resolved and concluded in a sure and swift manner.

David J. Oberly has a wide-ranging practice, including casualty, coverage, motion practice and appellate practice. David’s work has not only been recognized in the courts, but also by numerous publications in Ohio and elsewhere. Indeed, some of David’s many articles have received front-page credits in the Cincinnati Bar Association magazine and the Ohio State Bar Association magazine. He has been invited to speak on panels and in front of local associations.

Stephen M. Wagner is the newest member of the Cincinnati office. Stephen is admitted in both Ohio and Kentucky and handles casualty, health care liability and other matters.

Though I serve the Cincinnati office as managing attorney, my practice includes a broad spectrum of casualty work, including premises liability and correction cases (primarily in the federal courts), Section 1983 claims and matters on behalf of non-profits. In addition, I serve on the Executive Committee, Finance & Audit Committee and am Chair of the Governance Committee of the Grove City College Board of Trustees, where I have developed a varied background in the fiduciary duties and obligations of officers and directors, including those of non-profit organizations.

Since our opening, we are most proud of our dispositive motion practice. In many state and federal courts, we have achieved early and significant dispositive victories, which not only ended the litigation for the client, but also saved considerable expense. Indeed, Tim Schenkel received a significant and rare victory in northern Kentucky on summary judgment that eliminated ongoing exposure to the client.

Our Cincinnati lawyers are active alumni in their high schools, colleges and law schools. In addition, we are active in local and state bar association activities, and we are participating members of such organizations as the Defense Research Institute.

Exploring Our Cleveland Office

By Leslie M. Jenny

Cleveland is a city on the RISE! It has great historical significance. It has musical impact in the form of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. It can claim political connections by way of the 2016 Republican National Convention. It is home to the NBA Champion Cavaliers. Cleveland is also home to one of our two Ohio offices.

The Cleveland office opened in 2012 and is located on historic, revitalized Public Square, overlooking Lake Erie. For the past two years, I have had the honor of being its managing attorney. When I joined Marshall Dennehey, there were four attorneys in this office who were primarily focused on casualty litigation. Today, we have eight attorneys handling health care, professional liability and casualty defense litigation.

This office handles cases in state and federal courts, and our Cleveland attorneys service clients in all manner of civil defense litigation. Our practices range from retail liability, premises liability, health care liability, employment practices litigation and other complex defense litigation matters.

We are fortunate to have sophisticated and knowledgeable lawyers in our Health Care Department. Stacy Delgros, Jason Ferrante and I have extensive trial experience in both federal and state courts. Our group is skilled in defending physician, hospital and nursing home matters, and we have achieved a number of arbitration and defense verdicts. We have successfully argued and attained the first positive opinion applying the Affordable Care Act to reduce future damages.

Our Casualty Department is staffed by highly skilled and experienced attorneys, Andrew Wargo, David Fagnilli and Amelia Leonard, who have more than 50 years combined experience in defending all manner of casualty litigation. They have obtained a number of defense verdicts and summary judgment victories on behalf of their clients. Our casualty lawyers are also involved in initial accident investigations in catastrophic loss cases.

We have grown and expanded the Cleveland office since I joined the firm, and we now have a Professional Liability Department staffed by Keith Hansbrough and Kenneth McCain. Keith and Ken bring special experience in representing public entities in civil rights matters, defending employers in employment practice matters, and in handling complex appellate cases in federal and state courts.

Making our office complete is our outstanding staff of secretaries, paralegals, office support and management. These individuals are the heart of our office, and it is a pleasure to be part of such a remarkable team.

Come visit with us, and experience our city and office – on the RISE!

From Fountain Square in Cincinnati to Public Square in Cleveland, our Ohio lawyers seek to effectively and efficiently represent clients and insureds in all the major courts of Ohio and increasingly in Kentucky.

*Leslie is a shareholder and the managing attorney of our Cleveland, Ohio office who can be reached at 216.912.3805 or lmjenny@mdwcg.com. Sam, a shareholder, is the managing attorney of our Cincinnati, Ohio office who can be reached at 513.372.6802 or sgcasolari@mdwcg.com.

¤

 

Defense Digest, Vol. 22, No. 4, December 2016. Defense Digest is prepared by Marshall Dennehey Warner Coleman & Goggin to provide information on recent legal developments of interest to our readers. This publication is not intended to provide legal advice for a specific situation or to create an attorney-client relationship. ATTORNEY ADVERTISING pursuant to New York RPC 7.1. © 2016 Marshall Dennehey Warner Coleman & Goggin. All Rights Reserved. This article may not be reprinted without the express written permission of our firm. For reprints, contact tamontemuro@mdwcg.com.