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12/12/2013

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2013NEWSMAKERS

16 CRAIN’S CLEVELAND BUSINESS

LAWRENCE MITCHELL Case Western Reserve University By MICHELLE PARK LAZETTE mpark@crain.com

he headline of the June 20, 2011, Crain’s Cleveland Business story announced: “He’s bringing order.” It was the news that many at Case Western Reserve University School of Law had welcomed. After 2½ years during which leadership was in a state of transition, the school had a new dean, Lawrence E. Mitchell, who said he was determined to stay awhile. An expected seven to 10 years, in his words. It’s another 2½ years later, and Mr. Mitchell is not presently at the helm of the law school. He has taken a temporary leave of absence after he was sued by Raymond Ku, a professor at the school. Mr. Ku’s Oct. 23 lawsuit alleges that Mr. Mitchell and the university retaliated against him for reporting potential sexual harassment of women by the dean. His complaints present some scandalous allegations, among them that the dean joked to CWRU faculty members that a CWRU graduate student “wasn’t good for anything but keeping the bed warm,” and that Mr. Mitchell propositioned a student for a “threesome.” Through his attorneys, Mr. Mitchell has asserted that Mr. Ku’s “irrelevant and salacious allegations” are an outlet for the professor’s disappointment about vying for, and losing, a deanship position that went to Mr. Mitchell and

“to cover up and distract from his unsatisfactory performance.” The back-and-forth between Messrs. Ku and Mitchell and the university has made headlines in multiple media outlets, including the legal site, Above the Law. It remains to be seen what impact, if any, the maelstrom has on the recruitment of students at a time when applications are on the decline. Many say the matters at hand will prove to be a short-term distraction for the law school. But it’s also clear in online comments that there are concerns for its reputation. “Let’s see how the annual fundraisers explain this to already pissed off law school alums [sic],” one commenter wrote, responding to a Nov. 6 Cleveland Scene story about Mr. Mitchell’s leave of absence. So much for Case Western’s reputation, another lamented. That reputation, though, is a good one, asserted John Carey, chancellor of the Ohio Board of Regents, which oversees colleges and universities in Ohio. “Case Western in general is a very highly respected university, and they’re very important to the state,” he said. “The law school is important because of the graduates it produces. “No one can avoid being sued completely,” Mr. Carey added. “You have to handle yourself in a professional way and manage around it.”

What he said ■ Nov. 6, email to law school faculty, students and staff: “I am confident that this review will be done expeditiously and that this review, again, will affirm that neither I nor the university have done anything wrong or improper. I am also confident that it will put this behind us. I intend to take full advantage of the legal process to seek justice. We have dramatically improved admissions efforts, broadened our global

TIMELINE

IVAN SCHWARZ

TIMELINE

■ Oct. 23: Raymond Ku, a Case Western Reserve law school professor and former associate dean, files a lawsuit in Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Court, alleging that the dean and the university retaliated against him after he reported to various university officials that Mr. Mitchell potentially had sexually harassed women. The same day, the university responds, stating, in part: “This situation is categorically not an instance of retaliation.” ■ Nov. 6: Mr. Mitchell announces he is taking a temporary leave of absence as the university conducts an independent review related to the allegations of Mr. Ku’s lawsuit. ■ Nov. 14: Case Western Reserve names Jessica Berg and Michael Scharf — two people it describes as “renowned scholars” — to lead the university’s law school while Mr. Mitchell is away. ■ Nov. 27: Cuyahoga County Judge Peter J. Corrigan denies a motion Mr. Mitchell’s attorneys filed on Nov. 7 to strike “certain immaterial, impertinent and scandalous allegations and materials” from Mr. Ku’s complaints. The same court record also notes, “Parties indicated that no further media releases will be necessary.”

Greater Cleveland Film Commission

■ March 5: Media outlets report Cleveland lured the movie “Draft Day” away from Buffalo, with help from the Ohio Motion Picture Tax Credit. As a result, the movie will focus on the Browns instead of the Bills. ■ May 31: The city of Cleveland closes the West Shoreway for “Captain America: The Winter Soldier.” People on the West Side start complaining about their commutes. ■ June 15: The West Shoreway reopens. ■ Nov. 8: Online rumors suggest that filming of a “Ghostbusters” sequel could come to Cleveland. Mr. Schwarz says he cannot comment.

reach, and developed and implemented an innovative new curriculum. The momentum is just beginning. I look forward to continuing our work together.”

What others are saying ■ John Carey, chancellor, Ohio Board of Regents: “As long as the university is forthcoming with information about the controversy and presents it in a credible way, I don’t think it has any long-term impact. It would be a distraction but I don’t think it means that the students aren’t going to get the education that they need.”

Peer-Reviewed. Rated. Recognized. Porter Wright salutes all attorneys selected by their colleagues for inclusion in The Best Lawyers in America©, including seven of our Cleveland-based attorneys. Michael A. Ellis Donald J. Fisher Phillip E. Langer Hugh E. McKay

DECEMBER 16 - 22, 2013

Leo M. Spellacy, Jr. Tracey L. Turnbull William R. Weir

By CHUCK SODER csoder@crain.com

ocal historians may look back and say Northeast Ohio’s movie industry didn’t really get started until 2013. By far, 2013 has been the biggest year for movies in the area since the Greater Cleveland Film Commission was founded in 1998. Since May, the region has hosted shoots “back to back to back,” said commission president Ivan Schwarz. There are two reasons: ■ The state of Ohio in 2012 voted to raise the cap on the Ohio Motion Picture Tax Credit to $20 million per year from $10 million. The cap had put a serious crimp in the state’s still-developing movie industry: Producers wanting to shoot in Ohio sucked up all $10 million in the first 15 days of fiscal year 2012, which started in July 2011, Mr. Schwarz said. ■ Northeast Ohio started to win repeat business from movie makers. For instance, “Captain America: The Winter Soldier” — the biggest, most expensive movie shot in the region this past year — might not have come to Cleveland if the city hadn’t already gotten its foot in the door in 2011 when it hosted “The Avengers,” another movie made by Marvel Studios, Mr. Schwarz said. The same phenomenon could’ve helped the region attract a few other productions shot locally in 2013. Two executives who worked on “Draft Day,” a football movie starring Kevin Costner and Jennifer Garner, had worked on other movies shot in town since the film tax credit went into effect in the state’s 2010 fiscal year. Plus, the producer of “Miss Meadows,” a Katie Holmes comedy that started shooting in Cleveland this past August, is in the process of shooting a horror movie called “Fear Clinic” in Medina. Mr. Schwarz played a large role in getting the region to this point. He replaced film commission founder Chris Carmody in 2007 and spent much of the next few years pushing the state to pass the tax credit. He’s got lots of contacts, having spent more than 25 years in the business.

There are downsides. For the “Captain America” sequel, the city shut down the West Shoreway for two weeks, causing traffic jams and bickering. Mr. Schwarz said it was worth it, but even Chris Evans, who plays “Captain America,” apologized on Twitter for “screwing up” traffic. Then there’s the tax credit itself. It brings $1.20 into Ohio for every tax dollar spent, according to a March 2012 Cleveland State University study paid for by the film commission. But the credit doesn’t pay for itself in tax revenue: The study said 27 films shot over a three-year period received $28.3 million in credits but generated just $5.9 million in new local and state taxes. The benefits to Northeast Ohio will increase, however, if the region can build a sustainable film industry that employs lots of local residents, Mr. Schwarz said.

What he said ■ On the film commission’s early stage plan to start a media technology campus in Northeast Ohio: “I want to make people see Cleveland as a center of excellence for global filmmaking.”

What others are saying ■ Carrie Carpenter, vice chair, Greater Cleveland Film Commission: “He has worked very closely with local government, especially city hall, to make this a very filmfriendly environment.” ■ June 17, Plain Dealer editorial: “Our long regional nightmare is over. The West Shoreway is open again. … The ‘Captain America’ crew is still in the area, bringing creative disruption to other lives. But at least it gives Clevelanders something new and interesting to gripe about.”