Blakeslee Employment Lawyers

Kristen M. Kraus has extensive experience in handling civil jury trials in both state and federal court. She has litigated cases in nearly every county in Northeast Ohio, as well as the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Ohio.

Kristen joined Dworken & Bernstein upon graduation from law school in 2001. Since joining the firm, she has been representing victims of personal injury, as well as those injured in workplace accidents. A significant portion of her current practice is devoted to representing injured workers in workers’ compensation matters both at the Industrial Commission of Ohio and at the...

Jason has successfully represented individuals in cases against multi-national corporations represented by some of this nation’s largest law firms. Jason is admitted to practice law in the State of Ohio, the United States District Court for the Northern District of Ohio, and the United States District Court for the Southern Districts of Ohio. He has litigated employment cases in the Ohio Court of Claims, the Common Pleas Courts of Montgomery, Greene, Clark, Warren, Butler, Trumbull, and Miami counties, and in the United States District Courts for the Northern and Southern Districts of Ohio. He has also represented...

Bob DeRose is the Managing Partner and practices in the Complex Litigation Division of Barkan Meizlish DeRose Wentz McInerney Peifer, LLP and handles wage & hour/overtime issues, consumer protection issues, election/political issues and union side labor matters. Mr. DeRose is a native of Western Pennsylvania and a 1988 graduate of Washington and Jefferson College with a degree in Economics. He is a 1991 graduate of the University of Dayton School of Law, where he was active in workers’ rights issues. Mr. DeRose is the former president of the Workers Injury Law and Advocacy Group (WILG), a national...

Representative Engagements

Lead counsel in six-week jury trial for local development company, its principal, and condominium buyers in litigation against regional bank arising from bank’s breach of contract to provide construction financing for developer’s project to convert historic apartment building to condominiums. Obtained dismissal or jury verdict for plaintiffs on $6 million counterclaim brought by bank. Obtained jury verdict of approximately $14.0 million against bank on breach of contract and tortious interference claims brought by developer and additional verdicts totaling $5.6 million for condominium buyers. The net result was a $25 million judgment for clients.

Lead trial counsel in four-week trial advancing...

We represent the rights of consumers in all forms of consumer rights litigation, including lemon law, breach of warranty, debt collection violations, credit reporting issues, unauthorized robocalls and telemarketing calls, consumer fraud and related issues. We also handle employment litigation, including wage and hour cases, overtime pay issues, wrongful termination, discrimination and sexual harassment. Many of the firm's cases are brought as class actions and we handle personal injury cases as well.

When Jami Oliver launched her own firm in 2000, she did so with one simple idea in mind: to seek justice for those who have been hurt, injured, or wronged due to the negligence of others. While she’s won numerous awards and accolades in the years since, her philosophy hasn’t changed. If you need an attorney who can advocate for you after an accident, product recall, or other tragedy, the Oliver Law Office should be your first choice. As one of Ohio’s premier lawyers, Jami has been featured in local and national media. She has also been recognized by her peers...

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. ...

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...

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.

Alan is a securities attorney, adjunct professor of Securities Regulation, and speaker and author on Ponzi schemes, investment fraud, cryptocurrencies, and securities regulation. He is often interviewed in the media on topics ranging from fraudulent investments to bank regulation and professional liability.

Alan focuses his legal practice primarily on complex litigation and arbitration arising out of disputes related to investment or securities fraud, market manipulation, corporate governance, and antitrust. Alan has represented thousands of investors across the country and in over 60 countries around the world, in cases against entities accused of securities fraud as well as financial industry members...

Anthony B. Holman is an attorney at the Philips Law Firm. From the firm's offices in Cincinnati, he focuses his practice on complex civil litigation, representing businesses and individuals throughout the greater metropolitan area. Admitted to practice in Ohio since 2008, Mr. Holman is also admitted to practice before the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Ohio.

Raised in Cincinnati, Mr. Holman has extensive experience in representing clients who are involved in contract disputes and other types of business issues. His background also encompasses intellectual property and commercial real estate matters, and a portion of his practice includes personal...

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...

David Harman focuses his practice on personal injury, mass tort, and class action litigation. David has considerable experience representing individuals in complex products liability cases against some of the largest pharmaceutical and medical device manufacturers in the world. For example, David was significantly involved in the Yaz/Yasmin (Drospirenone) Products Liability Litigation (MDL 2100), representing women who suffered injuries as a result of their use of Bayer’s oral contraceptives. David also helped represent hundreds of children that suffered birth defects caused by the drug Depakote. David has also worked on the Testosterone Replacement Therapy (TRT) Products Liability Litigation (MDL 2545), Fosamax...

Steve Tigges is a Partner of Zeiger, Tigges & Little LLP. Mr. Tigges is a seasoned trial attorney who has practiced extensively in the areas of employment, health care, commercial contract, securities, construction, antitrust, and trademark litigation.

Since beginning my legal career in Akron Ohio, over 28 years ago, I have dedicated my practice to representing individuals and families that have been victimized by wrongful conduct, including auto accidents, malpractice, dangerous products and discrimination or other wrongful conduct in the workplace. I have represented clients in the trial and appellate courts throughout the State of Ohio and Florida. My goal is to place my clients in a position to allow them to make informed decisions on their legal matters, which in some cases will have a major impact on their lives. I aggressively pursue litigation on...

A U.S. Navy veteran, Jonathan Stender represents individuals and management in a wide spectrum of labor, employment and workers’ compensation matters. He has been recognized as a Super Lawyer Rising Star. Jonathan is strong proponent of Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR). In 2014, he was selected to join the Mediation and Arbitration Panel of NAM (National Arbitration and Mediation), one of the country’s most highly regarded providers of ADR services.

Jonathan graduated cum laude with Bachelor of Arts degrees in Russian Language and Literature and Political Science/International Relations from the University of Washington in 1994. He received a Juris Doctor degree from...

Kris Banvard represents clients in a wide variety of litigation matters, including commercial contract disputes, tort and agency-law actions, securities law, employment law, media law, First Amendment issues, and attorneys' professional liability.

Before coming to Zeiger, Tigges & Little LLP, Mr. Banvard had a long career in newspaper journalism as a reporter, writer, and editor. Most recently, he was an editorial writer for The Columbus Dispatch. He previously held positions as assistant city editor of the Roanoke (Va.) Times & World-News and reporter with The Sacramento Union.

Mr. Banvard attended Capital University Law School, where he graduated Summa Cum Laude and was...

Stuart Parsell is a Partner of Zeiger, Tigges & Little LLP. Mr. Parsell’s practice focuses on complex commercial litigation with a concentration on professional malpractice defense, commercial contract disputes, corporate governance and fiduciary duties, trust law, class action defense, major insurance disputes and employment issues.

Mr. Langendorf, Jim to almost everyone, has 23 plus years of experience in corporate and business advising and employment law. While his employment law practice is broad based, he is concentrated on claims for unpaid overtime and minimum wage. At Hurley Law, he is the employment law leader. He has resolved all kinds of employment claims in state and in federal courts across Ohio. He has been co-lead counsel in multi-million dollar class actions, and he has litigated many FMLA and Title VII actions. He has helped corporate and business clients navigate employment and contractor relationships with employees, vendors, partners,...

Jessica Doogan is an Associate in the Labor and Employment practice area concentrating primarily on Wage and Hour/Overtime violations under the Federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) and applicable Ohio law, Employment Law, and violations of the Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA).

Beverly J. Farlow is the founding and principal attorney of Farlow & Associates. Since 1985, she and her skilled team of attorneys in Dublin have been protecting the rights of their clients. Their decades of in-depth legal experience has equipped them with the tools and knowledge they need to fight for you. Whether you are going through a divorce, need legal assistance as a school employee, or have been accused of a crime, they can handle all that and more. They are exceedingly proficient in a vast range of practice areas and have a long track record of success that...

Richard Selby heads our Commercial Litigation Department. He has extensive trial experience with Dworken & Bernstein in both state and federal court. In addition to his litigation experience, Ric regularly consults with clients on employment related issues and is called in to assist at trial with the Class Action department when those matters go to trial. He has been recognized as a Super Lawyer Rising Star and was selected to be included in the 2019 edition of Best Lawyers in America. In addition, he is a Contributing Editor to Attorney At Law Magazine featuring articles on Employment Law.

Ric joined Dworken...

Jill O’Shea specializes in employment law and complex litigation. Jill previously served as Associate General Counsel with Duke Energy Corporation and its predecessor company, Cinergy Corporation. While there, she served as the Head of the Employment/HR/Labor Group from 2003 to 2006. Her areas of practice included employment litigation, preventative law work, advisory work on employment issues, policies and procedures, labor work, and training presentations. From 1999 to 2003, Jill worked as Senior Counsel in Cinergy’s Litigation Section. There, her areas of practice included employment litigation, complex personal injury, property damage, and other litigation, as well as preventative law work. ...

Drew is an experienced transactional attorney who is passionate about advising his clients with a “business-first” mentality. Drew’s practice focuses on holistic business and legal advising for his client’s various needs, including: franchising, licensing and distribution; small business and independent contractor representation; contract drafting, negotiation and review, intellectual property registration, management and enforcement, real estate transactions; mergers and acquisitions; and pre-litigation dispute resolution and counseling. Drew has advised numerous businesses inside and outside of the franchising sector by providing support to all facets of the business lifecycle from inception to private equity exit.

Drew co-founded Roda & Chalfant, LLC in...

My focus is on problem solving and I've been doing it for 25 years now. By this, I mean getting results by doing whatever it takes, whether by negotiation, settlement, jury trial, or appeal all the way up to the Supreme Court.

Jason Cox is an Associate Attorney in the Litigation Department, concentrating his practice in the areas of personal injury, medical malpractice, product liability and premises liability. Mr. Cox also practices employment law, primarily focusing on Wage and Hour/Overtime violations under the Federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) and applicable Ohio laws.

Mr. Cox is an Ohio native and attended law school in Columbus, Ohio. While in law school, Mr. Cox worked full time as a law clerk for Barkan Meizlish in their Litigation Department, as well as the Social Security and Workers’ Compensation departments.

Mr. Cox graduated from The Ohio State University...

Steve Voudris is an Ohio State Bar Association Certified Specialist in Labor & Employment Law who focuses his practice on representing employees who have been wrongfully terminated, suffered discrimination in the workplace, or have not been paid their overtime wages, tips or any wages for any unpaid time (such as for training or for working through lunch). He is a graduate of the University of Texas at Austin Law School and Miami University. He spent the first six years of his legal career at the Cleveland office of Jones Day, one of the largest law firms in the world, and...

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.

“An eye for an eye only ends up making the whole world blind.” – M. Gandhi

I was 23, uninsured, and injured on my stagehand job. To fight for getting my hospital bills paid, I hired a lawyer. He inspired me, and for the next seven years, I worked and saved for law school.

When I graduated, a big law firm hired me to fight for businesses in court. But I wanted to fight for employees, and eight years later, I opened my own firm and became a small business owner myself. I learned, however, that lawsuits rarely have real “winners.” Real...

Bridget tirelessly advocates for her clients, ensuring that the law is accessible to them. Hailing from Hudson, Ohio, she focuses her practice in the areas of family law, real estate, and employment law. She has a passion for juvenile custody disputes and regularly litigates cases in juvenile court. When she isn't litigating, she spends her time with her golden retrievers, Finn and Stella.

Gary Eby has more than 45 years of experience representing private and public sector labor unions and Taft-Hartley employee benefit plans. Mr. Eby focuses his practice on the general representation of labor unions, including collective bargaining, grievance and arbitration representation, and representing labor unions before courts, state and federal governmental and administrative agencies, such as the National Labor Relations Board and the U.S. Department of Labor, among others. Mr. Eby’s representative clients include labor unions in the building and construction trades and printing, manufacturing and retail industries, as well as state and federal public employees. Prior to joining Branstetter, Stranch &...

Jonathan T. Hyman is a partner and litigation attorney at Kohrman Jackson & Krantz P.L.L. in Cleveland, Ohio. Jon concentrates his practice in the representation of businesses in employment and labor disputes and counseling companies on various employment issues. He has written and lectured extensively on myriad employment law issues, including the FMLA, sexual harassment, discrimination, wage and hour issues, and background checks. Jon has been regularly interviewed and quoted by the local and national media on employment matters, including the National Law Journal, Business Insurance Magazine, Crain’s Cleveland Business, Inside Counsel, and Lawyer’s USA. He is also a member...

In 24 years of appellate practice, I have succeeded in securing reversal of the trial court's decision in 45.0% of all direct appeal cases, compared to the national federal appellate court average of 7.3% for all cases in 2014.

While many attorneys will state that they practice law throughout the State of Ohio, Attorney Hux is likely part of a much smaller amount of attorneys who have actually lived in the Cincinnati, Columbus, and Cleveland areas. This means that Attorney Hux actually knows the people of Southwestern Ohio, Central Ohio, and Northeast Ohio, in addition to the unique challenges each region brings.

Attorney Hux’s desire to help those in need has always been a cornerstone of his identity. That desire to help people, coupled with an innate ability to connect with people from all walks of life, has led...

Larry S. Hayman is a Principal and Founder of Hayman Law, LLC and is admitted to practice law before all state courts and agencies in the State of Ohio as well as before the United States District Court for the Southern District of Ohio. He has significant litigation experience in a wide variety of forums across the state. Indeed, Mr. Hayman has successfully tried cases in court, presented cases on appeal, and represented clients in numerous adminstrative proceedings before, among others, the Ohio Elections Commission, the Ohio Department of Education, State Employment Relations Board, and the U.S. Equal...

I have been an employment attorney for my entire career, and I have a passion for this area of the law. This passion has led me to achieve a deep knowledge of various employment laws including various forms of wrongful termination, employment discrimination, medical leave issues, and wage and hour violations.

At Nilges Draher LLC, we will often attempt to resolve issues outside of court. But if that is not possible, we are not afraid to litigate in court. In that regard, my firm and I are very experienced. For example, I have litigated over 200 overtime and minimum wage cases...

Experience handling general practice litigation in the areas of employment, criminal defense, OVI, construction, domestic relations, and other types of civil litigation. Prior to my legal career, I served in front line management for nine years. This broad experience gives me unique perspectives on both the business and employment perspectives of the law that allows me to provide, not only legal advice, but practical advice to clients in a way that is easily understood.

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...

Scott focuses on Wage & Hour litigation, ERISA claims, personal injury, and medical malpractice. His pragmatic, attentive, and aggressive approach to all cases has helped build his successful reputation, being selected to the Rising Stars list 2012-2017 and Super Lawyers 2019-2022. Scott was awarded the Best Lawyer Award in 2023. Scott is a lifelong Clevelander who loves this city and treasures his ability to represent people across the Greater Cleveland Area. His mother’s parents were Holocaust survivors and his parents instilled in him the value and need to fight for the little guy. He does this every day in his work....