Latest Legal Insights

If you’ve been served with a lawsuit, it’s natural to feel overwhelmed or unsure of your next steps. But acting quickly and deliberately can make a significant difference in protecting your rights and minimizing potential consequences. Here’s a step-by-step guide on what to do if you face a lawsuit.   Don’t Ignore the Lawsuit The worst thing you can do is ignore the summons or complaint. Ohio law gives you a limited time to file a response with the court, typically 28 days f

“I don’t know.”   How often do you hear an attorney utter those words? When you see attorneys on TV and in movies, you rarely hear it. Yet, the reality is, knowing what we know, and knowing what we don’t know, is one of the most important parts of advising our client. Without knowing what we don’t know, an attorney will walk their client into disaster.   Over my career, I’ve encountered many times when I don’t know something. Sometimes, I need to do some research or ask f

In 2020, I had the privilege of sitting second chair during two jury trials in the Holmes County Court of Common Pleas. One was a civil jury trial involving a business dispute and the other was a criminal jury trial involving several charges. Sitting “second chair” during a jury trial essentially means:   a lawyer who helps the lead attorney in court. The services of the second chair may include examining some of the witnesses, arguing some of the points of law, handling part

One of the most common questions that I am asked during a divorce consultation is “How long will my divorce take to complete?”  This is a very difficult question to answer given that everyone’s marriage is unique and may have different circumstances that drive the overall amount of time one may have to invest in said divorce. I have litigated divorces that take a few months to complete, whereas I have litigated very complex divorces that take over 12 months to complete. There

In criminal law, there are two basic ways that a person is informed of the charges against him or her and is brought to court to answer those charges - either via Summons or Warrant. The first way is one that is familiar to anyone who has received a traffic ticket. Few people receiving a minor traffic ticket are physically arrested. Instead of arrest, the police officer issues a ticket or citation that informs the person what they are charged with and when they must appear in

If you are a business owner, how do you know if the person in charge of the books is not skimming off the top? What checks and balances do you have in place to ensure more than one person is looking at the financials? To prevent embezzlement, it should be an area that business owners review regularly but often it's easy to get caught up in the day-to-day operations of the business. Things like bank reconciliation statements and cash flow statements get put on the back burner

Welcome to Part Two of my series of observations on the high anxiety of giving testimony. In this part, the number one mistake made by witnesses. Giving testimony is really a fairly simple procedure. Attorneys ask questions and witnesses give answers. Most questions are about something the witness has experienced. So, a good pattern of questions is similar to a journalist conducting an interview: who, what, when, where, how and why? Simple, right? Not so much. Especially with