Preview of Ohio’s Legal Scene
Ohio is one of states in the nation with a diverse and complex legal landscape that includes federal and state courts, administrative review boards, and arbitration panels. These entities handle a wide range of legal business for the state’s more than 11 million residents. The court system in Ohio includes specialized courts such as municipal courts (courts of record in larger cities), county courts (courts of record to hear limited cases in smaller counties), and mayor’s courts (courts in some cities that hear limited civil and criminal matters). Specialized community courts promote treatment for offenders suffering from mental illness or drug addiction. And the newly created 11th District Court of Appeals handles appellate cases from an eight-county region in Northeast Ohio (a portion of the state is currently served temporarily by the Ninth District Court of Appeals based in Akron) .
An estimated 153,000 individuals work as lawyers in the state of Ohio, according to 2019 statistics from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. In addition to traditional law firms, Ohio has hundreds of smaller law practices as well as corporate statutory offices and virtually every level of government and the judiciary.
The state bar requires attorneys to complete CLE requirements over three years in order to maintain their licenses to practice law in Ohio. Keeping up with the latest legal developments is important for the millions of residents and thousands of businesses that rely on the legal expertise of Ohio lawyers and law firms.
Ohio has made headlines for a number of recent legal issues, including a high-profile labor strike at the university in Columbus and statewide news about how sexual assault cases are handled in courts.
Established Legal Affairs in the Buckeye State
Stay updated with Ohio’s legal news with The Ohio Daily for breaking news and attorney reviews, case updates, court decisions and judicial opinions, verdicts and settlements, client reviews, new attorney hires and promotions, personnel changes, and legal publications and articles.
Ohio Legal News Impact
The impact of all this legal news and these legal changes is significant for Ohio residents. For the average Ohio citizen, they may feel that it is a lot to keep up with, but this is essential.
TO begin with, how these changes and the law in general affect your day to day life is really important. You don’t want to be caught unawares having done something your are permitted or that is legal, and finding out that actually it isn’t or isn’t any longer.
For example, take a medical marijuana case like the case of the Glen Mills school, the child was allowed to have some medical marijuana to treat seizures after multiple doctors authorized its use. When the medical marijuana was found, the officials would know it’s legal for medical use and knowing that, the child had a prescription for medical marijuana and legally received it for a condition, you wouldn’t expect their response to be to take the child away into protective custody.
Having access to this news would have let someone know that hey, that is illegal for them to do, and they will stop it. It’s not a hard concept to understand, so having access to this all makes it all a lot easier for someone.
It isn’t just the extremely terrible stuff happening in Ohio. It does affect people in a lot of ways. For example, if you are an employer, you need to know these regulations apply to your practices at work. If you have an employee and you put them on a new salary wage for 2080 hours, and try to deduct pay for days sick, you can face a class action lawsuit. It would help to know that stuff.
Like your license is suspended for a DUI, you might need it back for work. It can be difficult to reapply and obtain it back. A renewal is something different, but a brand-new license is costly and time consuming.
It is imperative that residents stay on top of legal issues. Not only for things like criminal court cases, but also where there are changes to the law, or even things like business licenses or other businesses where something is going to change.
Maybe there is a bill being passed, or something presented to the public for voting. Knowing that something like term limits for judges is something you either want or don’t want, that you want or don’t want to vote on, will help people to make better choices.
Ohio’s Legal Reforms Highlighted
Ohio has long been a leader in adopting new laws and regulations addressing changes to society, business and technology. Amidst the rapidly changing landscape of state and federal legal regulation, Ohio continues to stand out. It is important to understand how, in particular, these recent changes will affect your company and its operations.
In February 2019, Ohio became one of the latest states to permit the establishment of a captive insurance company. Captive insurance is self-insurance for businesses, so it can bring significant savings over traditional commercial insurance. This new legal option is open to Ohio-based businesses of any size, which will increase options for commercial insurance. The law also grants special investment and corporate exemptions to captives, further increasing the incentive to open captives in Ohio rather than other states that have permitted the incorporation of captives for some time .
The Ohio legislature passed a series of new cybersecurity laws aimed at protecting consumer data. In response to growing concerns regarding identity theft, the regulations will hold companies to a standardized process for notifying customers when their personal data has been compromised.
Electronic filing of case documents will now be required in all Court of Common Pleas throughout Ohio. Sending all documents electronically has been available for many years and largely in use in larger jurisdictions. This new system requirement will push all jurisdictions to adopt this systems, which will ultimately make records more secure and accessible.
Ohio House Bill 440 went into effect in October of 2018, requiring certain government agencies to plan for potential increases in infectious disease outbreaks. The law directs state agencies to use the information to create a comprehensive plan to cooperate with local, state and private organizations in the event of an infectious disease outbreak.
Feature on Notable Ohio Attorneys
Since the inception of the Ohio Lawyer Blog, we have had a substantial following of legal professionals living all over the United States and world. Bright legal minds with a special interest in Ohio law are represented in our readership from all of our neighboring States including Michigan, Indiana, Pennsylvania, Kentucky West Virginia and the Great Lake region. We also have a significant following of Ohio based legal professionals. Ohio legal professionals are different in one respect that is of interest to the rest of the nation. Nowhere else in the United States will you find such a large and actively engaged community of legal professionals that include, Judges, lawyers, law scholars and legal assistants all with blogs on the subject of Ohio law. The judges in Ohio know and recognize the value of legal blogging. In particular, Judge Robert A. Nugent, of the Court of Common Pleas; Judge Timothy Horton of the First Appellate District; Judge Susan Brown of the Tenth Appellate District; retired Judge and former Supreme Court candidate Judge James Ray and current Supreme Court candidate Judge Cynthia Rice are just a few of the many Ohio judges that have blogs dedicated to both Ohio Civil and Criminal law. Their blogs share insightful commentary on rulings, procedures and rulings that shape the law in Ohio. Ohio lawyers also have a healthy and growing community of blogs that are nationally recognized. Ohio lawyers represent us in everyday life as well as in the courtrooms through involvement in significant Federal and State law cases. Coming out of the Federal Courts in Columbus is a very impressive inclusion of Judges with blogs. Judge George Smith, Magistrate Judge Terence Kemp and Magistrate Judge Elizabeth Preston White have each created and maintain blogs on the subject of federal law in the Southern District of Ohio. The Judges of the Northern District of Ohio are represented by Judge Sara Lioi and Judge John Adams. At the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit we have Ohio law professors with blogs on the subject of appeals out of the state. Ohio law professors Paul Caron of UC and Mark Herrmann of Case Western are joined by Professor Edward Difonzo of Cleveland Marshall College of Law. Their blogs review appellate decisions out of Ohio and the Sixth Circuit. Judge Donald C. Nugent of the U.S. District Court of Ohio has also mentioned the series of University of Cincinnati Law Review articles, Military Commissions and the Rule of Law: Bridging the Divide, for which he wrote the introductory "Foreword." he also contributed his expertise by serving as a parallel citation for the same review. Other Ohio bloggers with blogs include law scholars appearing out of Ohio. Case Western Reserve Law School Professor Lawrence Hellman has the DWI-Defense Blog; University of Cincinnati College of Law Law Alumni Blog Professor Verna Williams has Civil Rights in a Post-Racial Era; with Ohio Northern College College of Law Professor Edward Adamcyzk hosting the Attorney Client Privilege and Disqualification Report.
Where to Stay Abreast of Legal News from Ohio
Staying informed about changes in the law is crucial for any legal professional. In addition to our newsletter featuring recent appellate court decisions, there are multiple other ways to keep up to date with Ohio legal news. The Ohio Legal News Service provides various sources for legal information at the state and national level. Their site can be searched for Ohio Federal Court opinions as well as Ohio Supreme Court and appellate district opinions. You can also register for a free 30-day trial of their content services. The Law Bulletin Publishing Company prints and distributes 13 weekly regional editions of the Ohio Lawyer Magazine to legal professionals around the state. Subscribers can find information about cases and courts as well as community news and event details of interest to lawyers and their support staff . Ohio Lawyer is an electronic and print magazine distributed to all members of the Ohio State Bar Association and covers Ohio law, legislature updates, and other news. As with the Law Bulletin, the magazine offers articles that all members might find interesting, from business and technology to health care and the economy. It is published eight times each year in print and as an e-magazine. You can also check out the 2011 Ohio Legal Directory published by The Sourcebooks. The directory contains a listing of Ohio courts, courts of appeals, court of claims, supreme court and federal district. The tables of contents also include an index of appellate court cases, county and municipal government contacts, the Ohio Bar associations and bar associations by region. It is a useful tool for any paralegal, attorney or law firm staff.