We are all shaped by our childhood. My grandmother preached to me that time goes by no matter what you do, so you might as well be doing something productive. I inherited a relentless need to make things better. In the law, I have found kindred spirits. We have created a series of video logs (vlogs) that you can view by clicking here. My clients don’t come looking for money, they come looking for answers. If someone was negligent, they want accountability. Most of all, they are consumed with a desire to make things better so that others don’t have to go through what has happened to them. ​One of the most insightful speeches of that encapsulates my attitude and the attitude of my clients is “The Man in the Arena” by Theodore Roosevelt. A video about this speech can be seen by clicking here. I worked my way through college and met the love of my life at Bowling Green State University. She is loving, supportive and has been a steadying force throughout our 30+ years together. She makes me a better person. ​I worked my way through night law school at the University of Akron, graduating in 1993. A firm in Cleveland was looking for a trial lawyer with 5 years of experience. I had gotten trial experience working for the city of Akron during law school and had reached the National finals of the American Trial Lawyers competition. My boss convinced the firm to give me an interview and I got the job. A man entrusted his medical negligence case to me and in my second year as a lawyer, an Akron Jury awarded the man $1,000,000 and a dangerous doctor lost his privileges at a local hospital. We made things better. I was hooked, but I needed more trial experience. ​ A local Cleveland firm defending doctors and hospitals had a senior partner become ill and needed an experienced lawyer to step into a large case load of medical negligence cases. This was an opportunity to gain an immense amount of experience in a courtroom. I got the job and worked tirelessly for the next several years, trying 5-6 cases per year and learning all I could about medical negligence litigation. ​ ​ The next opportunity presented from a firm that represented injured people, advertised state wide, but did no medical negligence litigation. I helped put together a team of people and thanks to the courage of clients and juries throughout the state, numerous record setting settlements and verdicts followed.