As the new year beings, the Ohio State Bar Foundation (OSBF) Immediate Past President, Andrew C. Storar, reflects on his year of service and offers encouraging words. “I want to thank our great staff, trustees and Fellows for all that they have contributed to an excellent year for the Foundation. We started the year with a search for a new executive director and in Lori L. Keating we found the perfect one! We have done much this year – entering the world of strategic grantmaking and providing more than $730,000 to nonprofit programs that further our mission. I look forward to next year when under President Carol Seubert Marx we will engage in strategic planning to continue this great momentum.”
Beginning her one-year term as the OSBF board president, Marx will lead 20 accomplished legal professionals who are committed to promoting public understanding of the rule of law and improvements in the justice system. Marx, a Distinguished Life Fellow Associate, shared her enthusiasm to begin her tenure, “I am excited about the Foundation’s 2018 year. We are going into it with solid financials, a strong board and an energetic and innovative staff including our new Executive Director, Lori L. Keating. We have ambitious plans: including our first foray into strategic grantmaking which will kick-off our new year.”
Marx, a sole practitioner in Lancaster with more 35 years of experience, has a law practice that emphasizes the areas of workers’ compensation, social security disability and SSI, estate planning and probate.
Serving on the OSBF board of trustees since 2013, Marx has a long history of giving back to her community. She served as a member and past chair of the Fairfield Medical Center board of trustees, a trustee and past president of Meals on Wheels Older Adult Alternatives of Fairfield County Inc. and trustee and past president of a local mental health agency.
Marx is a former member of the Ohio State Bar Association (OSBA) board of governors as well as past president of the OSBA. She recently received the James K. Larson Distinguished Achievement Award from the Jesup Scott Honors College of the University of Toledo for her community and professional service, and won the 2012 George R. Martin Professionalism Award given by the Fairfield County Bar Association.
Marx earned her B.A. from The University of Toledo and her J.D. from The Ohio State University Moritz College of Law.
In her role as president of the OSBF, Marx will lead the board of trustees whose members include President-elect Robert F. Ware (Cleveland),Immediate Past President Andrew C. Storar (Dayton), Mary Amos Augsburger (Columbus), Thomas J. Bonasera (Columbus), Jeffrey A. Brauer (Cleveland), J. Kristin Burkett (Newark), Randall M. Comer (Springfield), Kevin Wm. Donovan (Elyria), Janet Green Marbley (Columbus), Judge David A. Hejmanowski (Delaware), Velda K. Hofacker (Columbus), Tabitha D. Justice (Dayton), Mark M. Kitrick (Columbus), Martin E. Mohler (Toledo), Drew Odum (Akron), John S. Stith (Cincinnati), Kathleen A. Stoneman (Carrollton), Nirakar Thakur (Toledo), Robin G. Weaver (Cleveland) and William K. Weisenberg (Columbus).
Robert F. Ware
Robert F. Ware, a Distinguished Life Fellow Associate and president-elect for the 2018 calendar year, serves as chair of the OSBF’s Grants and Strategic Grantmaking Committees and as a member of the Executive Committee.
Ware, a partner at Thompson Hine, has more than 25 years of experience litigating contract, trade secret, unfair competition, copyright infringement, civil antitrust, false advertising and other complex business cases throughout the United States. While much of his litigation experience involves supply chain and distribution issues, he also has represented financial institutions, construction companies, nonprofits and design professionals in a variety of competition-related matters. Apart from litigation, Ware has assisted manufacturers and other clients regarding domestic and international product distribution and logistics arrangements, competitive issues arising from joint ventures and other collaborations and licensing and transfers of intellectual property.
Ware served on Thompson Hine’s Executive Committee since 2012, president of the OSBA and had contributed to many other professional and charitable activities.
Ware obtained his B.A. from the University of Virginia and his J.D. from the University of Michigan Law School.
New to the OSBF board of trustees for 2018 are Kevin Wm. Donovan of Elyria, Janet Green Marbley of Columbus, Tabitha D. Justice of Dayton and Robin G. Weaver of Cleveland.
Kevin Wm. Donovan
Life Fellow Kevin Wm. Donovan, will start the year as a new OSBF trustee and will serve as a member on the Development, Membership and Policy Review Committees.
Donovan, a shareholder at Fauver Keyse-Walker & Donovan, devotes his practice to business acquisitions, succession planning, business organizations and tax-exempt organization law. Donovan is licensed to practice law in Massachusetts, Ohio, Colorado and before the United States District Court for the Northern District of Ohio, U.S. Court of Military Appeals and U.S. Tax Court. He is also a former Air Force Judge Advocate and Assistant Professor, Department of Law, U.S. Air Force Academy.
As part of his community and charitable activities, Donovan serves on the board of the Lorain County Community Foundation, as the vice president of Kids in Flight, Inc., as a member of the Admissions and Certified Grievance Committees of the Lorain County Bar Association and as a volunteer attorney for Operation Legal Help Ohio, a recent grant recipient of the OSBF. He is the past president of the Lorain County Bar Association and recently completed a three-year term on the OSBA’s board of governors.
Donovan received his undergraduate degree from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst and his J.D. from Boston University School of Law.
Janet Green Marbley
In addition to her trustee term, Fellow Janet Green Marbley will serve as a member of the Grants and Membership Committee.
Green Marbley is the Administrator of the Supreme Court of Ohio’s Lawyers’ Fund for Client Protection (Fund), where she oversees operations and policies and procedures related to the Fund. She also manages its fiscal and legal affairs. A significant portion of her responsibilities includes interacting with disciplinary agencies and educating the public and the legal community about the Fund’s mission and goals.
Green Marbley is licensed to practice law in Ohio and Illinois and is a member of the American Bar Association (ABA) and the OSBA. She is a past president of the National Client Protection Organization and past chair of the ABA’s Standing Committee on Client Protection.
In 2010, Green Marbley received the Silver Star Award from the Franklin County Child Development Council. In 2012, she was honored by the African American Law Alumni Association at Capital University Law School for her contributions to and involvement in the Columbus Community and was also the recipient of the Isaac Hecht Law Client Protection Award the same year.
Having earned her B.S. from the University of Cincinnati, she went on to earn her J.D. from Capital University Law School.
Tabitha D. Justice
Life Fellow Tabitha D. Justice will finish Robert Ware’s term through 2018 on the board of trustees as Ware takes on the role of OSBF president-elect. She will continue her committee service by joining the Audit & Finance and Awards Committees in the new year.
Justice, a shareholder at Subashi & Wildermuth, has a broad range of experience in civil litigation matters in both state and federal courts. She returned to the firm after a successful period with the United States Department of Justice, litigating a wide spectrum of cases. Her practice primarily emphasizes representation of schools, municipalities and insurance entities.
Justice served with the Ohio Army National Guard for eight years and interned with the Ohio Civil Rights Commission while still in college. She is a member of the ABA, the OSBA, the Dayton Bar Association, the Ohio Council of School Board Attorneys and the Ohio Association of Civil Trial Lawyers (OACTA). Currently, Justice is a commissioner on the Ohio Supreme Court’s CLE Commission, chair of the Federal Practice Committee for the Ohio State Bar Association and vice-chair of the Dayton Bar Association’s Grievance Committee. She has been a 40-under-40 winner for the Dayton Business Journal and received both OACTA and the OSBF’s 2015 Community Service Awards for Attorneys 40 & Under in OSBA District 2.
Justice obtained her B.A. from Ohio University and her J.D. from the University of Dayton School of Law.
Robin G. Weaver
Fellow Robin G. Weaver, president-elect of the OSBA, will serve his two-year term on the OSBF board of trustee’s ex-officio.
Prior to becoming president-elect, Weaver was a ligation partner at Squire Patton Boggs. He represented clients in federal and state courts in numerous jurisdictions throughout the United States. His practice has included extensive appellate work in the United States Courts of Appeals for the Second, Third, Sixth, Seventh and Eleventh Circuits, as well as several state supreme courts and a multitude of state courts of appeal.
Weaver is a Fellow of both the American College of Trial Lawyers and the International Society of Barristers. He was named Lawyer of the Year by Ohio Lawyers Weekly and is listed in Benchmark: Litigation, Chambers USA and Ohio Super Lawyers. He has been listed in The Best Lawyers in America since 2006. He is past president of the Cleveland Metropolitan Bar Association and is a master commissioner and past chair of the Supreme Court of Ohio Board of Commissioners on Grievances and Discipline. Weaver was a member of the Supreme Court of Ohio’s Task Force on Rules of Professional Conduct, and the Court’s Task Force on Racial and Ethnic Fairness. He is a life member of the Sixth Circuit Judicial Conference and the Eighth District Judicial Conference. Weaver is also a master bencher in the John M. Manos Inn of Court.
In 2010 he served as foreperson of the Cuyahoga County grand jury. Weaver is a longtime faculty member of the National Institute of Trial Advocacy and currently serves on its board.
Weaver received his B.A. from The Ohio State University and his J.D. from the University of Michigan.
A Message from the Executive Director
New to the OSBF as Executive Director and Fellow, Lori Keating has had the opportunity to get well acquainted with the organization, board of trustees, staff and Fellows throughout her tenure. Her leadership has been essential in guiding the organization down a bright path for the future. Here is her insight by about the new year, “The OSBF recently issued grants to a variety of nonprofits across Ohio. Whether it is Equality Ohio’s LGBTQ Legal Clinic, Catholic Charities’ legal assistance to immigrants, the Law & Leadership Institute’s programming for high school students from underserved communities, or Operation Legal Help Ohio’s veteran outreach, these programs, which our grants support, will do vitally important work in 2018. We are also launching a strategic grantmaking initiative that will promote adult civics education because we believe our democracy works best when our citizens understand how their government works and how they may participate. It’s an exciting time at the OSBF.”