About Kathryn DeLong
Articles written by Kathryn DeLong
Family Matters
Barbara K. Roman is all about minimizing the trauma of breakupsDivorce doesn’t have to be all bad, if you ask Barbara K. Roman. Despite the angst, some good can come out of it. The partner at Meyers, Roman, Friedberg & Lewis went through her own divorce, then remarried 22 years ago. That experience has helped her guide others through the stressful process. “As domestic relations lawyers, we see the immediate results of what we do, but we don’t necessarily get to see the positive outcome,” she says. “But children and families have come back to …
Alex Shumate on Taking Care of Business
The Columbus lawyer puts public policy to work for his clientsWhen it comes to career philosophy, Alex Shumate credits a professor at the University of Akron School of Law: “I’ll always remember what he said: that the study of the law is the study of the systematic approach to problem-solving.” Shumate follows that bit of advice from Emeritus Professor Donald M. Jenkins not only on weekdays but the weekend, too. Every Saturday when he hits the tennis courts, Shumate employs a systematic technique. “Mostly I’m a weekend warrior,” says the …
Champion of Diversity
Employment attorney Carl D. Smallwood is all about opening doorsWatching a ninth-grader at the podium during a packed mock trial at the state Supreme Court, Carl D. Smallwood’s thoughts turned to his own high school experience. “I was not the most talented 10th-grade speaker in high school, by a long shot,” says Smallwood, a partner in the Columbus office of Vorys, Sater, Seymour and Pease. “The idea that this young man is standing up in front of God and everybody he knows, and a whole bunch of people he doesn’t know, and is having words come …
The Craftsman
Charles Faruki practices simplicity in complex business litigationCharles J. Faruki co-founded his business litigation firm, now three dozen lawyers strong, nearly a quarter-century ago. But he still remembers the days when he would deliver opening remarks to a water heater. A junior lawyer at the time, Faruki would repair to his basement so as not to disturb his wife and young kids as he readied arguments for trial. He practiced and practiced, then practiced some more, until his message was fine-tuned and every unintentional pause eliminated. Despite the …
The Crisis Preventer
From the FTC to P&G, Deborah Platt Majoras keeps consumers in mindWhen Deborah Platt Majoras was chair of the Federal Trade Commission, her wrangles with Congress over the cost of gasoline gave insomniacs something to watch on TV. “Friends around the country would email me and say, ‘Hey, I haven’t seen you in years, but the other night I turned on C-SPAN at 2 o’clock in the morning, and there you were, getting yelled at about gasoline prices,’” Majoras says. Majoras cheerfully reflects on the criticism that went along with being a high-profile …
The Consensus Builder
Carol Rolf is a real pro at health care law—and at finding common groundEvery Friday, Carol Rolf’s first boss—a politically connected Cuyahoga County appeals judge—took his law clerks and a group of judges to a private dining room on the second floor of downtown Cleveland’s Theatrical Grill, which was a destination in the ’70s for the city’s power elite. “You were expected to order a cocktail at lunch,” Rolf remembers. “I’d never had a cocktail at lunch in my life. But we had cocktails, which meant Friday afternoons I was good for nothing.” …
Cleaning Up
Maritime lawyer Richard Ogrodowski goes from part-time janitor to full-time partnerE. Richard Ogrodowski began his legal career with a vacuum cleaner in one hand and a garbage bag in the other. It was in elementary school. He was helping his mother clean the offices of Washington, Pennsylvania-area businesses, which included a couple law firms. He went up and down the hallways, cleaning floors and dusting shelves, and soaked up the atmosphere. Something clicked. “I can’t really pinpoint to one thing,” he says today. But he just knew. He would work in a place like this …
The Open-Minded Professor
Frank A. Ray passes on the lessons of his success: tireless energy, an open mind and caring enough about your case to get scaredWhen Frank A. Ray bounds into his trial practice class every Tuesday and Thursday evening during fall semester, he does more than deliver lectures on being an effective litigator. Ray serves as his own case study on how to maintain enthusiasm and stay competitive over a 36-year career. “The experience has made me a better trial lawyer,” says Ray. The strict time limits he imposes on students as they conduct simulated cross-examinations, for example, are exactly the kinds of succinct …
From Brussels to Cleveland
While practicing law in Belgium, Eaton Corp.’ s Mark McGuire learned to improviseIn 1997, Mark McGuire was enjoying life in New York City when his company announced a general counsel opening in Belgium. He applied, but on a lark—he expected an expert in European law to nab the position. As it turned out, his employer at the time, International Paper, chose him. “I found myself plucked out of New York and landing in Brussels for the same company but in an entirely different position,” he says. “Questions would come across my desk on a daily basis from jurisdictions …
‘Don’t Let It Happen Again’
Terrence M. Connors on the challenge and responsibility of personal injury lawTerrence M. Connors is in the middle of a meeting at his office in downtown Buffalo’s Liberty Building when he pauses and says, “Let me show you something.” He leads his visitors down the hallway toward a painting on the wall. “That’s my prized possession,” he says reverentially. The beautifully rendered watercolor of swimmers standing by the side of a pool was painted by former professional diver Michael Murach after he sustained injuries that left him quadriplegic. Murach painted …
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