July 7, 2009
Columbus Attorney Named President of Law & Leadership Institute Board
Upper Arlington resident Carl Smallwood has been named president of the board of directors of a statewide program that identifies promising youth from disadvantaged neighborhoods and grooms them to be future leaders in the legal profession.
The Law & Leadership Institute was formed last year as a pilot project to improve diversity in the legal profession. Earlier this year, the Supreme Court of Ohio and Ohio State Bar Association announced that the program will expand to four additional Ohio cities this summer.
An 11-member governing board was established to guide the program, and at its formative meeting June 22, Smallwood was elected president. For a complete list of board members, see below.
“I am excited about the opportunity to continue the extraordinary collaboration of Ohio lawyers, educators, judges and corporate partners, to draw into this profession an increasingly diverse group of talented young people,” Smallwood explained. “We recognize the economic challenges ahead, but firmly believe the doors to higher education and the law schools will remain open when ‘preparation meets opportunity.’ We know this program works because it has worked elsewhere--we are committed to its success in Ohio.”
Smallwood is a partner in the law firm Vorys, Sater, Seymour and Pease LLP, working in the Columbus office as a member of the litigation group. Smallwood received his J.D. from The Ohio State University College of Law and his B.S. from The Ohio State University where he was Beta Gamma Sigma.
He is a member of the American Bar Association, the Ohio State Bar Association, the Columbus Bar Association, the John Mercer Langston Bar Association and the Defense Research Institute. He is a former president of the Columbus Metropolitan Bar Association (2000). He is a frequent speaker to clients and trade associations on matters involving workers’ compensation, diversity and inclusion in the legal profession and cross examination of medical experts.
Columbus and Cleveland students entering the ninth grade participated in last year’s inaugural Law & Leadership Summer Institute, which is part of the Supreme Court’s Legal Education Opportunity program. The institute offered students with an interest in the law from underserved communities the chance to study law at The Ohio State University’s Moritz College of Law and Cleveland State University’s Cleveland-Marshall College of Law.
Now students in Akron, Cincinnati, Dayton and Toledo will explore similar opportunities in the legal profession.
During the intensive, five-week program last summer, students heard from attorneys, law professors, law students and judges via lectures, took field trips to the Statehouse, the Attorney General’s Office and the Supreme Court, and shadowed public and private sector attorneys during the work day. The curriculum included a heavy dose of instruction on legal principles as well as how to improve study habits and oral and written presentation skills.
After learning Monday through Thursday about all aspects of the criminal justice system including specific crimes in Ohio, the steps in a trial and hot-button issues such as search and seizure, racial profiling and police use of force, students were tested on their knowledge on Fridays. The program was modeled after a highly successful New York program called Legal Outreach.
“The Law & Leadership Institute recognizes that there are talented young people in Ohio who, given academic opportunities and support, would make excellent members of the legal profession,” said Chief Justice Moyer. “The Institute provides that opening and prepares interested high school students from the city schools to face the rigors of higher education and offers them an opportunity to ‘dream the dream’ of becoming an attorney.”
Additional partners for the 2009 summer institute include the Ohio Center for Law Related Education, the Ohio State Bar Foundation, Ohio’s metropolitan bar associations, city school districts and Ohio’s seven other law schools: the University of Akron School of Law, Capital University Law School, Case Western Reserve University School of Law, the University of Cincinnati College of Law, the University of Dayton School of Law, Ohio Northern University Pettit College of Law and the University of Toledo College of Law.
The institute’s primary purpose is to prepare class members to compete at high academic levels via intense legal and educational programming. The hope is that students use the program as a tool to foster vision, develop leadership skills, realize confidence and cultivate a passion to pursue higher education and a legal career.
The program, class materials, transportation and lunches are provided for free. Students earn incentives up to $200 for completing the program.
The Kettering Foundation has loaned its general counsel, Maxine Thomas, for two years to serve as executive director of the program.
Members of the Governing Board of the Law & Leadership Institute
Gary J. Leppla, Esq., Leppla Associates, Dayton
(Supreme Court designee; initial term expires April 30, 2013)
Steve Jemison, Esq., Chief Legal Officer, Proctor & Gamble, Cincinnati
(At-large member; initial term expires April 30, 2011)
Hugh McKay, Esq., Porter, Wright, Morris & Arthur, Cleveland
(At-large member; initial term expires April 30, 2010)
Geoffrey Mearns, Dean, Cleveland Marshall College of Law, Cleveland
(At-large member; initial term expires April 30, 2012)
Carl Smallwood, Esq., Vorys Sater Seymour & Pease, Columbus
(OSBA designee; initial term expires April 30, 2012, President)
Lori Urogdy Eiler, Social Studies Teacher, (East Cleveland) Shaw High School Leadership Academy, Moreland Hills
(OCLRE designee; initial term expires April 30, 2010)
Donnie Long, Executive Director, Akron Bar Association, Akron
(At-large member; initial term expires April 30, 2010)
Yolanda D. Gwinn, Law Clerk, U.S. Magistrate’s Office, Toledo
(At-large member; initial term expires April 30, 2012)
Honorable Jeffrey S. Sutton, Judge, U.S. Court of Appeals Sixth Circuit, Columbus
(At-large member; initial term expires April 30, 2010)
Lisa L. Eschleman, Commissioner, Ohio Environmental Review Appeals Commission, Columbus
(OSBF designee; initial term expires April 30, 2011)
Contact: Chris Davey or Bret Crow at 614.387.9250.