 The Ohio State Bar Association recognized excellence in the legal profession during its 2022 Annual Meeting at the Ohio Statehouse. The May 10 event included the presentation of the Ohio Bar Medal – the OSBA’s highest honor – to Dayton attorney and Ohio Bar past president Jonathan Hollingsworth.
In addition, Cleveland attorney Patricia Shlonsky received the OSBA Women in the Profession Section’s Nettie Cronise Lutes Award. The bar’s Eugene Weir Award for Ethics and Professionalism went to another Cleveland attorney and association past president, Robin Weaver. And the Lawyer Legislator Distinguished Service Award was presented to Ohio Senator Matt Dolan.
The Ohio Access to Justice Foundation also presented its Presidential Award for Pro Bono Service to Trumbull County Court of Common Pleas Judge Andrew Logan and its Voice of Justice Award to Ohio Sen. Nathan Manning.
The Ohio Bar awards are part of the association’s Annual Meeting, which was held at the Ohio Statehouse this year. The meeting includes the annual General Assembly for conducting bar business, as well as the meeting of the Council of Delegates, which sets public policy priorities for the Ohio Bar based upon the proposals of the association’s committees, sections and board.
The Ohio Bar Medal Award: Atty. Jonathan Hollingsworth – The Ohio Bar Medal is the OSBA’s highest honor, awarded to those who have given unselfishly of their time and talent by taking prominent leadership roles on the bench and in the organized bar and who have worked quietly to earn the deep admiration and respect of their colleagues and their community.
Jonathan Hollingsworth is a principle at the firm of Hollingsworth & Washington in Centerville. He served as president of the Ohio Bar for the 2013-2014 bar year and, prior to that, served on the association’’s Board of Governors for five years.
In 2005, he was awarded the bar’s Eugene R. Weir Award for ethics and professionalism and he has continued to demonstrate a high level of commitment to the legal profession and his community. Hollingsworth has served as chair of the Ohio Supreme Court’s Board of Commissioners on Grievances and Discipline, on the Ohio Bar’s Commission on Judicial Candidates and the Advisory Council on Diversity Initiatives. He is also a past president and vice president of the Dayton Bar Association and a current board member of the Ohio Center for Law Related Education, the Ohio State Bar Foundation and the Ohio Access to Justice Foundation. He serves as vice president of the board of trustees for Legal Aid of Western Ohio.
In his community, Hollingsworth has served as a board member and chair of the Montgomery County Transportaion Improvement District and is a past treasurer for the Dayton-Montgomery County Port Authority. He has served as president of the Family Service Association of Dayton and the Dayton Urban League and as a board member for Leadership Dayton, the Greater Dayton Volunteer Lawyers Project and Big Brothers/Big Sisters of Dayton. He has also provided his guidance as a legal advisor for the Miamisburg, Ohio Mock Trial team.
Hollingsworth is a graduate of Harvard University, where he received his undergraduate degree, and the University of Michigan Law School.
The Nettie Cronise Lutes Award: Atty. Patricia A. Shlonsky – The OSBA Women in the Profession Section created the Nettie Cronise Lutes Award to recognize women lawyers who demonstrate a high level of professionalism and open doors for other women and girls. The award commemorates the first woman to practice law in Ohio.
Patricia A. Shlonsky serves as partner-in-charge of Ulmer & Berne’s Cleveland office. She is nationally recognized for her work in employee benefits law and leads the firm’s Employee Benefits and Tax Practice groups. A dedicated mentor, Shlonsky plays a significant role on Ulmer’s Women in Law and Leadership initiative.
Her engagement extends to her community, where she has served as a board member and past president of the Cuyahoga County Public Library and a member of the board of the library’s foundation. She is a past vice president of the City Club of Cleveland and former vice chair of the Center for Community Solutions, a nonpartisan think tank focused on solutions to health, social and economic issues. She is also a former chair of Dress for Success Cleveland, where she remains an honorary board member, and is a 2012 graduate of Leadership Cleveland.
Shlonsky earned her undergraduate degree from Miami University and her law degree from The Ohio State University Moritz College of Law.
The Eugene R. Weir Award for Ethics and Professionalism: Atty. Robin Weaver –The OSBA Board of Governors established the Weir Award in 1998 to honor the memory of Eugene R. Weir, a former member of the board. Weir championed improvements in lawyer regulation and strongly advocated for professionalism and legal ethics. Each year this award is given to a lawyer who has worked to promote and uphold legal professionalism and ethics.
Robin Weaver is a veteran trial attorney and past president of the Ohio Bar who has, via his service to the legal profession, helped shape the landscape of attorney ethics and professional responsibility.
A leader in commercial litigation, Weaver spent his legal career at the firm of Squire Patton Boggs, rising to senior partner. Over the course of his career, he has tried cases throughout the state and federal courts in Ohio, as well as in many courts around the country. In 2010, he served as foreperson of the Cuyahoga County Grand Jury.
Weaver has served on the Ohio Supreme Court Board of Commissioners for Grievances and Discipline and was its chairman from 1995-97. He also served by appointment to the Task Force to Review the Rules of Professional Conduct, which helped Ohio move from the Code of Professional Responsibility to the Rules of Professional Conduct. He was also appointed to the 2018-19 Task Force to Review the Ohio Disciplinary System. Weaver has lectured on ethics and the grievance process at both the Cleveland-Marshall School of Law and the National Institute for Trial Advocacy and has served on the Ohio Supreme Court’s Commission on Racial Fairness.
At the Ohio State Bar Association, Weaver served as a member of the association’s governing body – the Board of Governors – for three years; on the policy-setting Council of Delegates; as vice chair of the Government Affairs Committee; and as a member and committee chair for the Board of Directors of the Ohio Bar Liability Insurance Company. Weaver received his undergraduate degree from The Ohio State University and his law degree from the University of Michigan.
The Lawyer-Legislator Distinguished Service Award: Ohio Sen. Matt Dolan – The Ohio Bar established the Lawyer-Legislator Distinguished Service Award in 2014 to recognize Ohio lawyers who also provide exceptional service as Ohio legislators.
Sen. Matt Dolan serves the 24th District in the Ohio Senate, which includes portions of Cuyahoga County. He is a partner at the law firm of Thrasher, Dinsmore & Dolan, where he represents business clients in a variety of matters, in addition to handling municipal law and real estate matters, including zoning and land use issues. He is also vice president of 7th Avenue Properties, where he manages several area businesses as well as real estate properties. He has been an adjunct professor at the Case Western Reserve School of Law, as well as Kent State University’s Geauga Campus.
A former assistant prosecutor and assistant attorney general, Dolan has extensive knowledge and practical experience in the legal profession, with an understanding of what it’s like to practice in a variety of disciplines. He serves as a board member of the Ohio Access to Justice Foundation and, year after year, has been a champion of funding for indigent defense. Dolan has also been a supporter of OSBA priority legislation, helping to see Senate Bill 21, a bill from the Ohio Bar’s Corporation Law Committee, passed into law.
Dolan also served three terms in the Ohio House of Representatives, representing Ohioans of the 98th House District.
Dolan earned his undergraduate degree from Boston College and his law degree from the Case Western Reserve School of Law.
The Ohio Access to Justice Foundation Presidential Award for Pro Bono Service: Judge Andrew Logan – The Ohio Access to Justice Foundation (formerly the Ohio Legal Assistance Foundation) established the Presidential Award in 1996 to recognize individuals, law firms or organizations that have made outstanding efforts in improving access to justice in Ohio.
Judge Andrew Logan serves as the administrative judge for the Trumbull County Court of Common Pleas General Division, a role that he has held since 1996. He previously worked as a private practitioner and served as special counsel for the Office of the Ohio Attorney General. Logan has served as acting judge for the Trumbull County Central and Eastern District courts and was first elected to the bench for the Central District Court where he served from 1990 through 1994.
Logan founded and has continuously presided over the specialized criminal docket known as the Trumbull County Drug Court. In 2013, he established the Trumbull County Drug Court to coordinate and integrate substance abuse treatment and other related services for low-level felony offenders with drug dependency issues. Logan recognized that through the drug court, the community would be better served by allowing such participation to reduce substance abuse, crime and recidivism.
He has also developed several programs that have been instrumental in helping northeast Ohioans with housing issues. During the foreclosure crisis, Logan implemented a collaboration between the court and Community Legal Aid to represent low-income residents in danger of losing their homes. He played a crucial role in creating the Clarence Darrow Clinic, a judicially-led pro bono legal clinic that covers referrals in consumer and housing matters from all courts in the county. Northeast Ohioans who are unable to afford legal counsel and who are facing housing and collection matters can consult with Clarence Darrow Clinic for pro bono legal assistance.
Logan earned his undergraduate degree from The Ohio State University and his law degree from Capital University Law School.
The Ohio Access to Justice Foundation Voice of Justice Award: Ohio Sen. Nathan Manning – The Ohio Access to Justice Foundation’s Voice of Justice Award recognizes a person or organization who demonstrates outstanding leadership and advocacy on behalf of Ohioans who may need legal assistance to live stable, healthy and financially secure lives.
Ohio Sen. Nathan Manning represents the 13th District in the Ohio Senate, after having served two terms as an Ohio House Representative. He previously served as a prosecutor for the City of North Ridgeville and currently owns his family law firm of Manning & Manning with his sister, Allison.
A lifelong resident of Lorain County, Manning is active in his community and involved in several organizations including the North Ridgeville Chamber of Commerce, Lorain County Bar Association and the Lorain County Historical Society.
Manning is a champion for Ohioans facing legal challenges. His government experience and knowledge of the law enable him to provide leadership and counsel on how best to ensure that all Ohioans are able to address their legal needs. As a voice for justice, he championed the legislative efforts to direct attorney unclaimed funds to access to justice, ensuring that more funding is available to help low-income and underserved Ohioans with life-changing civil legal assistance.
Manning received his undergraduate degree from Denison University and earned his law degree from Capital University Law School.
About the Ohio State Bar Association – Founded in 1880, the Ohio Bar is the state’s largest legal network, representing attorneys, judges, legal professionals and law students who are committed to the highest standards in the practice of law. The Ohio Bar proudly serves its members and the public through its continued work to promote justice and advance the legal profession.
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