Ohio Civil Rights Lawyers

Warner represents brave whistleblowers who expose the misuse of federal dollars in local government grant programs, military contracting, Medicare and Medicaid programs, and at for-profit proprietary or career schools. These actions, brought under the Federal False Claims Act, empower citizens to act on behalf of the Federal Government to recover misspent and wasted funds. To date, Warner’s clients have helped return almost $20,000,000.00 to the United States Treasury.

I have been in private practice for 45 years on an uninterrupted basis. I focus primarily in Employment Law and Civil Rights and also handle Domestic Relations and Custody Cases as well as Commercial Litigation. I have extensive experience in litigation and in appellate cases. I have appeared before the United States Supreme Court and was able to obtain a successful reversal in the case of Breininger v. Sheet Metal Workers Union, 493 U.S. 67 (1989). I work very hard for my clients and devote long hours on each client's behalf in complex cases. I am a native of Toledo and...

Elizabeth Abdnour is an attorney and partner at Abdnour Weiker LLP fighting for fair and equitable treatment at school and in the workplace. Liz is an experienced, compassionate, and client-centered attorney and advocate who has committed her career to working towards justice and equality for all people. Liz's legal expertise includes special education, school discipline, Title IX, civil rights, disability, employment, and sexual and domestic violence. ? For the first eight years of her career, Liz worked as a legal services attorney, representing low-income individuals in a variety of civil legal matters. Liz spent two years as the supervising attorney of a...

Patrick J. Perotti is recognized for outstanding achievements in consumer class actions and employment discrimination, locally and nationally. He is the architect of the firm’s Ohio Lawyers Give Back initiative to distribute unclaimed class action funds to charities. As an award-winning national leader in the fields of consumer class actions, employment discrimination, and wage and hour litigation; with verdicts and settlements exceeding $1 billion dollars, he is regularly selected to lead class suits in Ohio and around the country. His reputation developed from a demand for outcomes which not only offered compensation to class members but also stopped unlawful government...

“Owen is very professional and understanding, he goes above and beyond for his clients. Keep up the amazing work and thank you so much again. Hopefully I have no need in the future, but if I do I will be calling Owen!” Collin A. February 2021 Owen Kalis began his college education playing collegiate soccer at the University of Memphis before transferring to The Ohio State University where he graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science and Psychology. Owen Kalis received his Juris Doctorate from Capital University Law School. Upon graduating, Owen Kalis worked for prominent defense firms throughout Ohio before...

In addition to my law degree from Ohio State, I hold an M.B.A. from the Case Western Reserve University, Weatherhead School of Management and a Masters in Education from Ashland University. I am double board certified from the NBTA in Truck Accident Law and Civil Trial Practice and I have a certificate in dispute resolution. I am active with the Ohio Association for Justice (OAJ) as Past Chair of the Trucking Safety Section and current Board of Trustees member; and a Board of Governors member to the American Association for Justice (AAJ) Past Civil Rights and Railroad Section...

Possessing extensive experience in both business transactions and counseling as well as a variety of civil litigation matters, Ryan J. McGraw is an attorney at Rittgers & Rittgers, Attorneys at Law. Located in Lebanon, Ohio, he provides representation to companies and individuals throughout the state where he was born and raised, and he is admitted to practice before all Ohio state courts.

Part of Ryan's business practice involves his representation of entrepreneurs who are starting a new venture. In this regard, he advises them as to the most appropriate form of legal entity that the business should operate under, and he...

When experience counts...Call me to help you navigate your way through your situation! I was born in Cleveland, Ohio. When I was young my passion has always been to bring fairness to our justice system. I have been chasing this objective ever since. I earned my Bachelors Degree from the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences at Clarion University in Political Science. While at Clarion University, I played football on a full athletic scholarship, was a 4 year starter and the team Captain. I earned a Masters Degree in Public Administration at the University of Akron. ...

David is a premier civil trial and employment attorney in Cleveland, Ohio with 38 years' experience. He has been representing individuals in employment disputes nearly his entire career. For four decades, the preeminent Legal Directory, Martindale-Hubbell, has given David its highest rating, AV. Martindale Hubbell assigns the AV certification mark only to those attorneys who have been ranked by their peers at the highest level of professional excellence. David has successfully tried and settled a vast number of cases involving all types of employment discrimination, wrongful termination, retaliation, and wage and hour cases. David is an adjunct Professor...

Nicholas A. DiCello joined Spangenberg Shibley & Liber after graduating from the Cleveland Marshall College of Law in 2002. Mr. DiCello has been selected to the list of Super Lawyers® Rising Stars? on numerous occasions, as well as on the list of Super Lawyers®. In 2012, he joined the Judge John M. Manos Inn of Court. He’s also been named as one of the “Top 40 Under 40 Trial Lawyers” by The National Trial Lawyers Association. Mr. DiCello handles a wide range of litigation matters involving medical malpractice and professional misconduct including insurance claims, accounting malpractice, and misconduct by...

John Marshall received his B.A., Denison University; J.D., The Ohio State University College of Law. Since he began his practice in 1983, Mr. Marshall has devoted his career to representing individuals in employment and civil rights litigation, including discrimination, retaliation, wrongful discharge, sexual harassment, and employment contracts. He has also litigated police misconduct and First Amendment cases.

As an Ohio Employment Attorney, Kyle focuses his practice in a wide range of areas. Kyle has assisted dozens of clients in wrongful termination, workplace discrimination (based on race, age, sex, gender, sexual orientation, national origin, military veterans, or pregnancy), Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), hostile work environment, sexual harassment, retaliation, unpaid overtime and minimum wage, non-solicitation, severance negotiations, and many more cases. Kyle represents clients in jury trials, arbitrations, unemployment hearings, disciplinary hearings, mediations, and hearings in front of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). If you are looking for a Columbus...

Ben Cooper helps people use the law to deal with life-changing harms. His practice focuses on wrongful death, civil rights, medical malpractice, legal malpractice, and business cases.

Ben is known as a thorough, well-prepared trial lawyer who aggressively and ethically pursues his clients' cases. He is also a skilled appellate advocate. Ben strongly believes in holding powerful companies, people, and governments accountable, and he works hard to help his clients find meaning through their cases.

Andrew Biller's law practice focuses on wage and hour litigation. Mr. Biller has experience with a variety of wage disputes including overtime exempt/nonexempt misclassification, illegal tip pools, improper paycheck deductions, unpaid minimum wage and overtime, and unpaid off-the-clock work. Mr. Biller handles both individual wage and hour claims as well as representative (collective and class) actions to collect wages on behalf of groups of workers. Mr. Biller was selected as a 2015 - 2020 Ohio Super Lawyers "Rising Star" and Columbus CEO magazine's list of "Top Lawyers" for 2015. Mr. Biller has been at the forefront of litigating...

Icove Legal Group Ltd. Is a public interest law firm which handles cases primarily in the areas of social security disability law, consumer law, civil rights law, ADA and housing discrimination law. We do not charge for consultation and many cases can be handled on a contingency fee basis.

Welcome to the Law Offices of Owen Dunn Jr., Bankruptcy Attorney. We are a full-service bankruptcy law firm providing legal assistance to individuals and families in Northwest Ohio and Southeast Michigan, including Toledo, Bowling Green, Findlay, Monroe, Detroit and the surrounding communities. As a distinguished member of the National Association of Consumer Bankruptcy Attorneys, I along with my staff, have the legal knowledge, resources and experience to help you. We have helped thousands of clients get a fresh start. If you are in need of an experienced, professional and compassionate Ohio or Michigan bankruptcy attorney, please contact...

Engel began his career as a prosecutor in 2001 by serving as an Assistant District Attorney in Middlesex County, Massachusetts. In 2002, he moved to Ohio and took a position as an Assistant Prosecuting Attorney working for Judge Rachel Hutzel in Warren County, Ohio. In Warren County, he handled some of the office’s most challenging and high-profile cases, including death penalty cases and cases featured on national news programs like 48 Hours. Engel rose to lead the office’s appellate division, where he not only handled appeals for the office, but was also called upon by state and national law enforcement...

Neal E. Shapero is the managing shareholder of the law firm of Shapero | Roloff Co., L.P.A. and has over 30 years of experience representing injured persons and their families throughout Ohio and across the country. Neal is an experienced litigator and has conducted numerous trials with a high rate of success. His reputation and experience have led to frequent requests by colleagues, throughout the country, to serve as co-counsel in complex and sophisticated matters such as medical malpractice, nursing home abuse and neglect, railroad injury cases, products liability, wrongful death, civil rights violations and commercial litigation. ...

Matt Besser is a discrimination lawyer in Cleveland, representing employees in employment discrimination, harassment, whistleblower, and wrongful termination cases. In addition to his work at Bolek Besser Glesius LLC, Matt is the General Counsel of the ACLU of Ohio. Matt holds the prestigious “AV Preeminent”® rating from attorney rating service Martindale-Hubbell. U.S. News' Best Lawyers Magazine has repeatedly named him one of the “Best Lawyers” in Cleveland for employment law, and named him the 2022 Cleveland Employment "Lawyer of the Year" for his work representing employees in discrimination cases. For its part, Super Lawyers Magazine has named him to its Cleveland...

Subodh (rhymes with “abode”) Chandra (rhymes with “tundra”) is the founding and managing partner of The Chandra Law Firm LLC. Chandra’s practice focuses on high-profile civil and appellate litigation, including civil-rights, employment, and business litigation; and on internal investigations and white-collar-criminal law, in both federal and state courts. The litigation that Chandra handles often has a crisis-communications, public-policy dimension.

Before founding the firm, Chandra served as Director of Law of the City of Cleveland, a billion-dollar corporation. Chandra led the work of an 82-lawyer department with both criminal and civil divisions. He also sometimes served as the City’s acting...

More than 20 years experience finding solutions to legal problems.

Rhiannon is an employment lawyer in Columbus, Ohio. Rhiannon represents employees in claims for wrongful termination, retaliation, discrimination, unpaid wages, and other issues.

Rhiannon believes early and frequent communication with her clients is essential to effective representation, and she regularly makes herself available by phone, text, or email, including outside normal business hours.

If you want serious representation from an employment attorney Columbus Ohio, contact Rhiannon at Rhiannon@MansellLawLLC.com.

Mansell Law
1457 S High St
Columbus, OH 43207
(614) 610-4134

Chip Cooper's professional career has been devoted to helping people weather life-changing harm. He has been a trial lawyer for more than 30 years and has assisted thousands of individuals and families in their search for answers and quest for justice.

Chip's practice is focused on serious injury and wrongful death cases, regardless of whether the harm occurs as a result of medical malpractice, civil rights violations, or vehicle crashes. He takes pride in being good listener, an empathetic counselor and a skilled and tenacious courtroom lawyer.

John Colan has a profound appreciation for the concepts of fairness and equity. His passion for ethics and doing right by clients helps him effectively advocate for plaintiffs who have been wronged by another person or business’s actions. (John even taught Ethics and Legal Issues at a technical college from 2014 to 2016.) One of his early positions was in the Cuyahoga County Prosecutor’s office, where he aggressively sought to hold criminals accountable for the suffering they inflicted on their victims (he maintained a 99.8 percent conviction rate on more than 1,000 crimes as an Assistant Prosecutor in the General Felony...

I started my legal career in Columbus by clerking for a prominent firm in 1996. Shortly thereafter, while working my way through undergraduate studies, I attended Capital University Law School where I graduated in the top 10% of my class. I worked for two large firms in Columbus until I settled in with a practice located in Dublin for numerous years. After wanting more freedom to handle cases the way I felt best for my clients, I decided to start my own firm. I know have the freedom to spend the time necessary to make sure...

Megan Mersch Fields has a general litigation practice that includes representing businesses and individuals in employment law, business law, civil rights, products liability, criminal law, and general commercial practice. Her experience as an ex-prosecutor make her well suited for litigation and case resolution through both negotiation and trial. Megan practices in state and federal courts in both Kentucky and Ohio.

Cathleen is an accomplished civil trial attorney and a principal in the firm Bolek Besser Glesius LLC. She has been representing individuals in employment disputes for more than twenty years. Cathleen is listed in the 2014, 2013 and 2012 publications "Best Lawyers," her firm has been listed those same years in "Best Law Firms," and she has been included in Ohio Super Lawyers and Ohio Rising Stars Magazines multiple times. Since 2005, the Legal Directory, Martindale Hubbell, has given Cathleen its highest rating, AV®. Martindale Hubbell assigns the AV® certification mark only to those attorneys who have been ranked...

My passion is offering each client personal service in aggressively defending and protecting their rights. I provide the highest quality legal services that gives my clients reliable and effective representation in legal matters that arise everyday in the business context. I have the skill and experience to negotiate or go to trial as needed.

David L. Engler has litigated highly complex civil rights, domestic relations, probate and criminal matters. His reputation is as a skilled courtroom litigator that fights for his clients. He is a former County Commissioner, City Councilman and current long-time County School Board member. He is admitted into the federal courts in Ohio, Pennsylvania and Kentucky. He is currently litigating both civil rights matters in Kentucky and a complex custody case in North Carolina. He has represented clients in European civil disputes, negotiated a record deal for a top R&B group and once represented the...

Since he began his practice in 2003, Mr. Forman has devoted his career to representing individuals in employment and civil rights litigation, including discrimination, retaliation, wrongful discharge, sexual harassment, and employment contracts. He also litigates police misconduct and First Amendment cases, as well as criminal cases.

Born and raised in the Youngstown area, Sonia Walker moved to Southern Ohio to earn her Bachelor’s degree from Ohio University. After graduating with honors from Capital University Law School, she decided to make her home in the Columbus area and is proud to raise her three children as Buckeye fans.
As an assistant prosecutor, Sonia gained valuable trial experience during her time with the Franklin County Prosecutor’s Office. After moving to private practice, she broadened her litigation experience to include insurance defense, discrimination, personal injury, appellate, and social security disability cases. In addition to her current Bankruptcy practice,...

Michael’s practice is wide ranging. He handles both criminal and civil matters and can help most individuals with just about any legal problem they encounter. Mike has represented clients facing a variety of felony and misdemeanor criminal charges including DUI, theft, assault, fraud, and drug possession/abuse. In civil matters, he has successfully represented clients in both state and federal courts in legal disputes arising from contracts, land use, foreclosures, automobile accidents, collections, Lemon Laws, and other consumer protection statutes. As a former Guardian ad Litem for the Franklin County Courts, Mike is well versed in juvenile and family law. He...

Rob is a trained mediator and this training, along with his extensive litigation background, has helped him successfully mediate many civil cases in an alternative dispute resolution setting, rather than the more formal and, at times, more intimidating, judicial forum. He is licensed to practice in all federal and state courts; in Ohio and West Virginia, and he has extensive experience representing creditors in the areas of consumer and commercial collections in both states. Rob’s area of concentration also includes the representation of businesses; in general and commercial litigation matters, throughout Ohio and West Virginia. Additionally, Rob is an active...

Neal Barkan joined Barkan Meizlish as a Senior Partner in January 2014 when his firm, Barkan & Barkan Co., LPA, which he founded with his father, Irving Barkan, merged with Barkan Meizlish Handelman Goodin DeRose Wentz, LLP. Neal is a partner and practices in the areas of Personal Injury, Trial Practice, and Negligence Law.

Mr. Barkan graduated from Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri in 1975 with the summa cum laude distinction. He received his law degree from the George Washington University, National Law Center, in 1978, where he was active in the legal “street” clinic which served those who could...

I obtained my law degree in 1989 from University of Cincinnati. Prior to that I received a Masters from American University and a Bachelors and Associates degree from Thomas More College. After getting my law degree, I worked for a small firm handling all types of civil litigation including family law. After ten years, getting married and having two children, I opened my own practice. Originally I had my office on Court Street in Cincinnati Ohio. In 2008 I moved my practice just outside of downtown Cincinnati. My office is now conveniently located on...

Alex has represented private and publicly- traded companies and non-profit organizations of all sizes, as well as their owners, in litigation along the entire spectrum of business disputes: commercial and contract, real estate, shareholder and partnership, broker-dealer, employment, unfair competition, and many others.

Jacqueline Greene joined Friedman & Gilbert in February 2014. Jacqueline’s civil rights practice focuses primarily on police and prison/jail misconduct, wrongful convictions and wrongful imprisonment, and other government misconduct.

Jacqueline also provides criminal defense representation in federal, state, and municipal criminal cases.

In addition, Jacqueline serves as Co-Coordinator for the Ohio Chapter of the National Lawyers Guild. In this capacity, Jacqueline recruits and organizes pro bono criminal defense attorneys for political criminal cases in the Greater Cleveland area, defends protesters herself, and represents the NLG in civil litigation. Jacqueline also trains and organizes NLG Legal Observers (who observe law enforcement conduct at...

John Folkerth manages the Labor and Employment Law Group at Folkerth + Routh, LLC. Mr. Folkerth is certified by the Ohio State Bar Association as an employment law specialist, and has been listed by Super Lawyers as a top rated Ohio employment law attorney. Mr. Folkerth represents businesses and individuals in the private sector, public sector, and federal sector involving employment related matters. Mr. Folkerth’s practice areas include general business and employment litigation, employment contracts, employee compensation, non-disclosure/non-compete and separation agreements, employment policies and handbooks, wrongful termination, FMLA, whistleblowing, employee benefits, non-disclosure/non-compete, discrimination, retaliation, sexual harassment and...

Matthew Zeiger represents clients in a wide variety of litigation matters. Mr. Zeiger counsels clients in many areas including media law, ethics law, professional liability, deceptive trade practices, public records, discrimination defense and a variety of contract disputes. His practice includes representation of both public and private companies, and he has counseled both for-profit and non-profit organizations.

Mr. Zeiger is a graduate of St. John's University School of Law in Queens, New York. He is also a graduate of Rhodes College in Memphis, Tennessee where he received a B.A. in Political Science.