50Year Honorees
2020 Class of DBA Fifty-Year Honorees Year
Neil F. Freund
Lawrence W. Henke III.
Jonas J. Gruenberg
John H. Rion
A. M. Segreti Jr.
David A. Saphire
Freund, Freeze & Arnold A Legal Professional Association
Judge Michael R. Merz US District Court
H
Rion Rion & Rion, LPA, Inc.
Montgomery County Common Pleas Court
ere is the second of the Bar Briefs three-part tribute to those members of the Class of 1970 who have served their first half century as practitioners of our profession.
John H. Rion, Criminal Defense Attorney Rion Rion & Rion, LPA, Inc.
In 2019 John Rion was characterized by the Dayton Daily News as “the Dean of Dayton’s Criminal Defense Bar.” That sums up the lost list of accolades he has earned and the long list of professional associations and committees on which he has served in his field of board-certified legal specialization. He has served as President of the American Board of Criminal Lawyers, and in the oral history he provided to the Dayton 28
Dayton Bar Briefs November 2020
Coolidge Wall Co., LPA
The DBA will also be Celebrating the 50 Year Honorees during the November 6th Virtual Chancery Club Luncheon! RSVP to Chris: calbrektson@daybar.org
Bar Association, he characterized himself and the others who practice criminal defense law as follows: “If I were a fish, I would be a salmon because they are always swimming upstream, and they don’t require a lot of public acceptance because, in their mind, they are sticking up for somebody against a bully. And if the crowd doesn’t like it, then the crowd is wrong.” Here are his thoughts on reaching the fiftieth year of his colorful practice: One would think that being in the practice for fifty years, that a multitude of good and bad experiences would have presented themselves. I have either internalized both or managed to maintain a balance. This has been done through decades of training associated with maintaining confidential relationships. Therefore, I don’t have much to add on those suggested topics. Of course my greatest mentor was my father, Paul W. Rion. My father started our practice less than a decade after the Great Depression and worked hard every day to raise and support his family. He gave good advice, was a great example, and his word was his bond. Among the lessons that I was taught by my mentors, including my father, was to let your opponent walk away with something so that both sides felt like they had been treated fairly. Of course, my wife, Barbara, of fifty-four years, was the consummate mentor. In addition to giving me good advice, she never flinched when someone asked how I could represent someone accused of going astray. Among my mentors were the clerks and the bailiffs. I found them to be very generous with advice and recommendations. Our system could not function without the hard work of the clerks, the bailiffs and the staff of the judges. continued on page 29
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