About David Searls
Articles written by David Searls
Staying Grounded
Anna Moore Carulas saves the day for her health care clients, but she only brags about her kidsAnna Moore Carulas politely declines to answer one particular question posed to her. It’s a follow-up to her comment about having won all three of her court cases that went to verdict this year. She’d just mentioned having more than 50 defense verdicts over the course of her 20-year career, so the next logical query is whether she knows her win-loss record. Her career batting average, so to speak. “I’d rather not say.” It’s said some of the most renowned criminal defense attorneys …
The International Language of Law
Victoria Eslinger holds court from Columbia to CannesIf multiculturalism is the model of the new America, Victoria Eslinger is among its first citizens. "I add and subtract in French and multiply and divide in English," she says. It's no wonder. Her grandmother was Spanish, her grandfather French, and she learned both languages, as well as English, from the crib. As an adult, Eslinger practiced American corporate law for the Paris office of an international firm during which she met her future husband, Rick Creswick, a New Jersey native and …
The English Major Makes History
J. Kendall Few combines his two passions: writing and the lawA woman pulls her car to a stop at an intersection. Suddenly, her car is struck from behind by a logging truck and erupts in deadly flames as the poorly designed gasoline tank ruptures and ignites. This ghastly event sparks Greer-based attorney J. Kendall Few's self-published novel Let Justice Be Done Though the Heavens May Fall. Few says he wrote the book out of respect for the Seventh Amendment and the American trial system derived from it—a sentiment that's not exactly unusual among trial …
On the Side of Angels
Michael Gire on representing doctors and defending hospitalsEvery year for the last 20, Mike Gire dons his road warrior armor—jeans, boots and leather jacket—and hits the road on his BMW R1100RT motorcycle to explore a different part of North America. The people who have seen him fly by in the Canadian Rockies or heard him roar around Lake Tahoe might be surprised to know that the man in the black leather jacket has devoted his career to helping those in white coats. When Gire gets back to his own driveway, he turns back into a mild-mannered …
Cowhand, Esq.
Terry Tippens practices law so he can tend to his ranchBetween two young grandkids, his "go-fast" boats, his 100 cows and the tinkering he does in his machine shop, it's hard to see how Terry Tippens manages to find time to practice law. And yet he's earned a reputation as one of Oklahoma's most respected attorneys and toughest litigators. "The secret is good time management," he says with a chuckle before wrapping up a phone call to head out of the office of Fellers, Snider, Blankenship, Bailey & Tippens, where he's a senior partner. He'll …
The Politics of Nice
Kathleen Trafford has made a career of keeping it cleanKathleen Trafford doesn’t seem nearly intimidating enough to have earned her reputation as a killer litigator. A tall, slender woman with an easy smile and a soft voice, she apparently draws her power from skill rather than intimidation. “She’s the epitome of the collaborative lawyer,” says Art Marziale, executive director of the Ohio State Employment Relations Board and a former client from the attorney general’s office during Gov. Bob Taft’s administration. “Very easy to get …
A Law All Her Own
As a 1960s radical, Barbara Handschu reined in repressive police tactics with her eponymous decreeTo many Americans, the concept of terrorism only dates back to 9/11 and the modern stereotypical terrorist is a conservative religious fanatic. But there was a time when terrorism conjured a different image, from the opposite side of the political spectrum. When a ragtag assortment of equal rights activists, peaceniks, gays, pinkos (both real and imagined), Native Americans and anyone else outside the mainstream was fair game for domestic espionage. Especially in New York City, home of the …
Not So Civil Service
Stephen Funk joined the board of education to improve local schools. He didn’t expect the riots.Stephen Funk was as well-equipped as one could be for a term on the Hudson School Board. His public law background, which included representing educational clients, was the ideal training for dealing with local bureaucracies and thorny community issues. But nothing could have prepared him for the pepper spray. Still, Funk, partner and litigator with Roetzel & Andress’ Cleveland and Akron offices, looks back fondly on his days as an elected public servant on the board of education in the …
Where in the World is George von Mehren?
Whether he's in London, Prague or Madrid, von Mehren stays plugged inBarbara von Mehren has a pretty good idea where her husband is tonight. At least she has his location pinpointed to the correct continent. “He’s in Texas. I don’t know the city, but it’s near Galveston.” That’s close enough. With appointment calendar in hand, she can track her husband’s travels as far back in time as the previous five weeks. “Let’s see … Prague, Paris, Washington, D.C., Madrid, Florida and Boston.” Then, of course, that nameless city in East Texas. …
A Geek Squad of One
Ron Raether knows his bits from his bytesThe future is most definitely now. We’re still waiting for those flying cars, but in the meantime, we’ve got spyware, cyber-stalking and identity theft. In this brave new wi-fi world, security and privacy come at a premium, and many computer users are suspicious of any digital interaction, even on their own home PCs. They’re right to be concerned, says Dayton lawyer Ronald Raether Jr., but they shouldn’t give in to the Luddites. “When was the last time you stood in a bank …
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