David C. Weiner

after uc, where i spent alot of quality time with goody, inviting myself to the tri-delt house which was next door to the the sammy house (at one point gwin was ironing shirts for 10 cents each ), actually studing enough to make good grades, running the biz college tribunal (far cry from student council where i was tossed out) and the fraternity and drinking and driving far too much and cheering for the post big O bearcats-----i left for dc to find fame and fortune. LOVED georgetown law school ( i would go back tomorrow)---what great teachers and classmates;every day was a thrill and dc was far different than cincy--even met some democrates.
second year brought a part-time job at top-notch fcc law firm and fun times with a former classmate who moved to dc---we married the fall of third year and moved to the maryland burbs---very sophiscated. after graduation (bill clinton and i graduated the same day-- i wasnt in his rolodex ), i clerked for the great circuit judge e. barrett prettyman in dc and holly was born--such a happy occassion. foregoing the administrative law practice which dominated DC law firms in those days, we moved to the north coast of America - Cleveland, and I joined a mid-sized law firm thinking I would be a tax lawyer. That didn't last long - too taxing. Soon picked up a liking for litigation and have been doing that ever since - all kinds of cases, mostly business-related securities, antitrust, contracts, intellectual property - I could go on and on, regaling all with my many exciting cases and big victories, but I'll save you until the reunion. Soon Heather came along and we were a family of four. I got involved in bar activities and soon was very active in the American Bar Association. I successfully ran to be Chair of the Young Lawyers in 1980 and then won the Chairmanship of the Litigation Section in 1994. Both were great opportunities and we saw the country and the world while representing our constituency. The Young Lawyers did many worthwhile public service activities. I got to spend Law Day in the White House meeting President Carter and started a national PBS show featuring E.G. Marshall, where we answered legal questions. The Litigation Section of over 70,000 members dealt with matters of legislative reform, education for new trial lawyers, and diversity issues. I got to chair meetings in London, Hong Kong and had done Spain, Italy, Hawaii, Australia and New Zealand with the Young Lawyers. I have made many lawyer friends across the country and the world. Somewhere in this period son, Clay, was born, and I coached his baseball teams for four years (2 wins, 2 runners up). On the local level, I was active with Legal Aid - a cause I have dedicated myself to for the last 30+ years. Too many people in our society have legal problems and can't afford a lawyer. Legal Aid does a great job but not enough money to represent all in need. I went on to chair the Ohio Legal Assistance Foundation for four years where we greatly expanded funding, but we're still very short. I was at my original law firm from 1969 to 2003. I chaired many areas of the firm including being the managing partner for the last four + years - it was like herding cats, but we grew the firm from 20 lawyers to nearly 100 and we enjoyed working very hard together for our clients. For those interested, I was the Chair of Ohio NORMAL, and we were able to decriminalize personal marijuana use in Ohio - it has saved a lot of young people an unnecessary criminal record. In 2003, my new bride of two years, Charna Sherman, also a litigator, and I joined the global law firm of Squire, Sanders & Dempsey - 750 lawyers in 23 offices. We brought great fame and fortune to them and our litigation practice expanded geographically. (In the meantime, Holly had graduated from Antioch - what a great school, Heather from RISD, and Clay from Columbia, and were on their way to more schooling and adulthood). At SS&D, we represented the employer of the largest Ponzi schemer (until Bernie Madoff) in the history of the securities industry, Frank Gruttadauria, who stole $250 million+. On January 1 of this year, my wife, who has always had a feminist calling, started her own law firm dedicated to advancing the cause of women lawyers. Six days later I joined, but it's her shop and I'm very proud of her. I am also an adjunct professor of trial practice at Cleveland-Marshall School of Law, and just finished a term as Chair of a local grand jury. Just so people don't worry, I still don't work all the time - play lots of golf, platform tennis, softball, tennis, poker, and anything else that calls for a wager. I started collecting logo golf balls 18 years ago, and I now have 9,177 different logo golf balls - balls from classmates are welcomed and encouraged. Also, I have become a big fan of the Browns (was always that), and hate the Bengals, the Cavs (sure miss LeBron - I thought watching him was living in the time of Mozart), and of course, the Tribe - this may be their year!