28 | COLUMBUS JEWISH NEWS | ColumbusJewishNews.com
MARCH 18, 2021
LOCAL LAWYERS - SUPER ATTORNEYS A COLUMBUS JEWISH NEWS SPECIAL SECTION
LAW THROUGH GENERATIONS From women’s inclusion to tech boom to COVID-19, attorneys describe field transformations MIRIAM SEGALOFF | CONTRIBUTOR columbuseditorial@cjn.org
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embers of three downtown Columbus law firms say the way law is practiced today has been shaped by many influences over the
years. The degree to which they are impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, new technologies, and advancements in women’s inclusion and progress depends on their
Robert H. Cohen, Partner
Firm: Porter Wright Morris & Arthur LLP Age: 69 Law school: University of Cincinnati College of Law Practice area: Corporate immigration law Hometown: Berwick neighborhood of Columbus Synagogue: Congregation Tifereth Israel For Robert Cohen, the meteoric rise of computing technology and its applications over the last 45 years created one of the most significant changes in the way he practices law. Email and texting have created an environment in which clients expect 24hour access to attorneys, he said. And, “we no longer have a library. We have an
Michael Schottenstein, Director
Firm: Kegler Brown Hill + Ritter Age: 34 Law school: OSU Moritz College of Law Practice area: Commercial real estate development law Hometown: Bexley Synagogue: Congregation Tifereth Israel The days of attorneys hard at work in the office until all hours of the night seem to be fading fast, said Michael Schottenstein. Law firms, he said, have fully embraced the stay-at-home culture at the heart of the COVID-19 pandemic. “Firms were starting to get more flexible, even before COVID, with what they are
Beatrice K. Sowald, Founding Partner
Firm: Sowald Sowald Anderson Hawley & Johnson Law school: OSU Moritz College of Law Practice area: Family and estate law Hometown: Eastmoor neighborhood of Columbus Synagogue: Beth Jacob Congregation Beatrice K. Sowald was one of two women to graduate from The Ohio State University College of Law in 1966, the same year the National Organization for Women was founded. The incoming law school class that year included 10 women. “I can tell you that when I started, it was the same as the Ruth Bader Ginsburg story – firms did not hire women,” Sowald said. “Aside from the fact
perspectives and how long they have been in the legal field, the lawyers explained to the Columbus Jewish News. Here is what they had to say.
information resource center – it was changed to reflect the nature of what librarians do and the nature of the way we do the things we do. “I watched them take truckloads of books out to take to the dump. It was heartbreaking. It’s a whole different way of operating.” Cohen said the first time he had a computer on his desk was in 1988. “We are much closer to a paperless system than I thought we would ever be,” he said. “I still like to pick up a file and go through it, but now it’s all electronic. “A law student came to see me about a year or two ago. She was preparing for the bar exam and asked if I used a laptop when I took the bar exam. I had to tell her the personal computer was not invented until five years after I took the bar exam, and the laptop probably didn’t come along for another 10 years after that. But we did have ballpoint pens.”
willing to allow people to do in terms of setting up a home office,” Schottenstein said. “I am curious to see what’s going to happen when we open up and are able to go back to the office.” Schottenstein, who spends most of his time working from his Bexley home, said he believes the movement toward doing business online will significantly benefit clients. Those clients will no longer need to pay for their attorney’s travel time and can view meetings and hearings first-hand remotely. “There are a lot of benefits to clients,” Schottenstein said. “It could potentially cut down on some of the profitability of the industry, but on the flip side, you can take on more work than before. It is going to be interesting to see how the profession comes out of it.”
that there weren’t lawyers that were women, there definitely weren’t any judges who were women.” Sowald recalled being in a courtroom and being mistaken for a secretary on more than one occasion. “In reality, I did not feel like a trailblazer,” she said. “I felt awfully alone.” The world has undoubtedly changed for the better, Sowald said. “You just don’t have things like that happening anymore.” But, she added, it didn’t happen overnight. “It happened gradually, over time,” Sowald said. “But all things change over time. And it really isn’t a shock or oddity that a woman is doing things now. I don’t think anybody even questions that there are female attorneys and female judges and female justices of the Supreme Court.”
Miriam Segaloff is a freelance writer from Gahanna.