“Fairness has always been my driving force—knowing that no one ever deserves or wants to be in a situation where they need an attorney. I believe that one of the greatest joys in life is interacting with and helping other people, and it’s this knowledge that I take with me to my practice every day.”
Areas of Practice
- Boating Injuries
- Bad Faith Insurance
- Car, Motorcycle and Pedestrian Crashes
- Railroad Injuries
- Traumatic Brain Injuries
- Trucking Wrecks
- Wrongful Deaths
About
I’ve known I wanted to be a lawyer since I was a young girl, listening to my father talk about cases and trials at the dinner table. Fairness has always been my driving force—knowing that no one ever deserves or wants to be in a situation where they need an attorney. I believe that one of the greatest joys in life is interacting with and helping other people, and it’s this knowledge that I take with me to my practice every day. We want our clients to know that we are in this battle together.
“You do what you think is right and let the law catch up.” – Thurgood Marshall
Certification/Specialties
- National Board of Trial Advocacy, Board Certified Truck Accident Law, 2023 – present
- National Board of Trial Advocacy, Board Certified Civil Trial Advocate, 2021 – present
- American Board of Trial Advocates, Associate Member, 2021 – present
Bar Admissions
- Ohio, 2006
- U.S. District Court Northern District of Ohio, 2011
- 6th District Court of Appeals, 2013
Education
- Ohio State University, Michael E. Moritz College of Law, Columbus, Ohio, 2005
- J.D., Alternative Dispute Resolution Certificate
- Scholarships: James F. Flynn Memorial, Wilbert G. and Hilma R. Schwer, and Women Lawyers of Franklin County
- Honors: Community Service Award
- Case Western Reserve University, Weatherhead School of Management, Cleveland, Ohio, 1998
- M.B.A.
- Scholarships: Dean’s Academic Scholarship, Ewing Marion Kauffman Scholar
- Honors: Community Service Award
- Ashland University, School of Education, Ashland, Ohio
- M.Ed.
- Saint Ignatius of Loyola University, Baltimore, Maryland, 1991
- B.A.
- Honors: Dean’s List, Alpha Sigma Nu – National Jesuit Honor Society
Honors & Awards
- Martindale Hubbell® AV® Rated, 2014 – 2026
- Ohio Super Lawyers®, 2016 – 2026
- National Trial Lawyers Top 100 Trial Lawyers, 2015-2026
- AAJ Richard D. Hailey Distinguished Service Award, 2025
- AAJ Board of Governors Outstanding Achievement Award, 2023
- AAJ Distinguished Service Award, 2021
- Fortune Women Leaders in the Law, 2015
- Ohio Super Lawyers® Rising Stars, 2014 – 2016
Professional Associations & Memberships
- Brain Injury Association of America, Board of Directors, 2025 – 2028
- American Association for Justice (AAJ) Public Education Committee, Member (term end 7/31/2026); Membership Oversight Committee, Member (term end 7/31/2026); Diversity, Equity, Inclusion & Accessibility Committee, Member (term end 7/31/2027)
- Bad Faith Insurance Litigation Group – Co-Chair
- Traumatic Brain Injury Litigation Group – Secretary
- Insurance Section – Vice Chair
- Litigation Group Leaders Council – Chair
- Past Chair – Civil Rights Section
- Past Chair – State Delegates
- Past Chair – Railroad Section
- Past Chair – Section Leaders Council
- Board of Governors, At Large Delegate, 2022-2025
- Leadership Academy 2017 Graduate
- Ohio Association for Justice, Board Member; Trucking Safety Committee- Past Chair, current Board Member
- Melvin Belli Society, Board Member
- Cleveland Academy of Trial Attorneys, member
- Disability Rights Bar Association, member
- Education Law Association, member
- National Police Accountability Project, member
- National Lawyers Guild, member
- Federal Bar Association, member
- Erie County Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA), Treasurer
- Ohio State University Erie County Alumni Association, Board Member
- Melvin Belli Society, 2024 – 2026 Board Member
- American Board of Trial Advocates, associate member
- Cleveland Academy of Trial Attorneys, member
- Disability Rights Bar Association, member
- Toledo Bar Association, member
- Erie County Bar Association, member
- Ohio Association for Justice, Board Member; Trucking Safety Committee- Past Chair, current board member
- Ohio State Bar Association, member
- National Civil Justice Institute, fellow
- Public Justice Foundation, member
- The National Trial Lawyers, member
- Academy of Truck Accident Attorneys (ATAA), Board Member 2023 – 2025, member
Community Involvement
- Erie County Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA) for children, Treasurer
- OSU Alumni Club of Erie County, Board Member
- Democratic Women of Erie County, Treasurer
- STAC Judge for Law School Competition
- Volunteer with the Toledo Bar Association, the Rendell Center, the Constitutional Law Center and ABOTA
Presentations
- Semi-Truck Air Brake Primer, OAJ Trucking CLE, 2015
- Civil Rights & Tort Claims in School Bullying Cases, OAJ Winter Convention, 2016
- Section 504 Plans & Civil Rights Claims, SCCS 2017
- AAJ Annual Convention, 2017
- Dealing with Difficult Judges, AAJ Trucking Litigation Group Members Only, 2017
- Blockchain- How Technology is Changing the Way Business is Conducted & the Discovery Trail, OAJ Annual Convention, 2019
- How to Get Other Records on Truck Drivers and Trucking Companies, OAJ Annual Convention, 2020
- Basics of Bad Faith Insurance Claims, OAJ Annual Convention, 2020
- Methods for Establishing and Proving Damages in FELA Claims, AAJ Annual Convention, 2020
- Defeating the Unauthorized Driver Defense, ATAA Webinar, 2020
- Identifying and Using Industry Standards Outside of the FMCSR, AAJ Trucking CLE, 2021
- Maintenance Issues that Affect your Case: Mechanical & Brake Issues, NJAJ Boardwalk, 2021
- The Gift of the Sudden Medical Emergency in Truck Wrecks, ATAA Webinar, 2021
- Left Turn/U-Turn Cases: Establishing the Negligence of Both the Driver and the Company, ATAA Conference, 2021
- Those Warts are Beauty Marks: Personality Changes with TBIs, AAJ Atlanta TBI Seminar, 2022
- The Injured Brain – Proving the Invisible Injury, AAJ Annual Convention, 2022
- Horn Blasts & Brain Injuries in Train Workers, AAJ Annual Convention, 2022
- The Injured Brain: The Building Blocks to Permanency in Ohio, OAJ Annual Convention, 2023
- Ethics of Representing TBI Survivors, Wyoming Trials Lawyers, 2023
- Winning the Concussion Case, FJA’s John Romano Workhorse Seminar, 2024
- Ethical Issues That Arise in TBI Cases, AAJ Annual Convention, 2024
- Bad Faith Insurance- Getting the Most Out of 30(b)(5) and 30(b)(6) Depositions, AAJ Annual Convention, 2024
- Proving the TBI and Permanency Without Advanced Imaging, Indiana Trial Lawyers Association Annual Convention, 2024
- Voir Dire: Discussing Non-Economic Damages and “Millions and Millions of Dollars”, Florida Justice Association Christian D. Searcy Voir Dire and Al J. Cone Trial Advocacy Institutes, 2024
- Corporate Obstruction: Obtaining Difficult Discovery from Difficult Defendants, AAJ Annual Convention, 2025
