Steve has served as Chief Assistant Law Director for the City of Parma, Law Director for the Village of Wellington, and Solicitor for the Village of New London, and has advised or defended dozens of public sector clients, in a variety of contexts. Steve's public law practice has involved municipalities, townships, school boards, water districts, ambulance districts, fire districts, libraries, and universities, and has included drafting charter language, preparing legislation, zoning and land use, eminent domain, public improvement projects, drafting and awarding contracts, audit disputes, constitutional and civil rights issues.

In addition, Steve has focused his legal career on representing both private and public entities in all manners of employment law issues, including employment litigation, representing private and public sector clients in matters such as union elections, negotiations, arbitrations, civil service proceedings, disciplinary proceedings, wrongful termination claims, and unfair labor practices. He has defended employers before the EEOC, Ohio Civil Rights Commission, the National Labor Relations Board, SERB, OSHA, and the Bureau of Unemployment Compensation, as well as state and federal courts. He has written and lectured extensively on issues of public law and employment law.

Beyond public sector and employment law, Steve has also provided advice to a wide range of health care clients, from hospitals to nursing facilities, as well as large and small healthcare practices. In this ever changing legal environment, Steve has had extensive involvement with medical ethics, credentialing, physician contracting, medical staff issues, quality assurance, risk management, medical records, consents, affiliation contracts, EMTALA, HIPAA, JCAHO, and Advance Directive Issues.

Steve is AV® Preeminent™ Peer Review Rated through Martindale-Hubbell.

Professional & Civic Activities

· Member of the Lorain County (Former Chair, Labor & Employment Section) and Ohio State Bar Associations.

Articles & Presentations

· The Affordable Care Act: What's Already in Place and What's Ahead, M.D. News (November 2012)

· What Your Clients Need to Know about the Affordable Care Act Right Now, Akron Bar Association, Heath Law Section Meeting, (September 2012)

· NLRB's Employer Posting Rule Upheld, Cleveland Metropolitan Bar Journal, (May 2012)

· Recreational Immunity, A Continuing Refuge for Governmental Entities, OSBA Journal (January/February 2012)

· Disciplining and Terminating a Civil Service Employee, Ohio State Bar Association Convention (May 2009)

· Solving Your Continuing Medical Certification Conundrums, Council on Education FMLA Update (August 2007)

· Writing Employee Handbooks, Child Care Resource Center (2004)

· Legitimate Hiring & Firing Practices, LCCC (2003)

· Legal Issues in Human Resources, Ohio Society of CPA's (2002)

· Liability Issues Affecting the Non-Profit Sector Board, Volunteer Action Center (2002)

· Public Policy Tort Claims, Lorain County Bar Association (2000)

· Recreational Immunity for Ohio Political Subdivisions, Lorain County Bar Association (2000)

· State Employment Relations Board Update, 1993 Labor Law Seminar, Cleveland Bar Association

· R.C. 1533.181: "Immunity Continues to Thrive on the Playfield," Ohio Cities & Villages (February 1993)

· A Check-List of Employers' Obligations Under Ohio Statutes, Ohio Lawyer (March 1991)

· R.C. 1533.181: "Immunity is Blooming on the Playfield," Ohio Cities & Villages (August 1987)

· The Pre-Discipline Hearing, Ohio Cities & Villages (December 1985)

· Home Rule: Recent Developments in the Law, Ohio Cities & Villages (March 1984)

· When Is an Apartment Not an Apartment? 10 Current Municipal Problems, 320 (Winter 1984)

· Amusement Machines as the Subject of Municipal Taxation and Regulation, Ohio Municipal Attorney (September 1983)

· Considering the Usefulness of the Use Variance, 55 Ohio Bar Report 798 (May 17, 1982)

· Drug Paraphernalia Ordinances, Ohio Cities & Villages (January 1982)

· Home Rule - A Revitalized Principle for Noncharter Municipalities, 54 Ohio Bar Report 1 (January 5, 1981)

· Forest City Enterprises, Inc. v. City of Eastlake: Zoning Referenda and Exclusionary Zoning, 24 Cleve. St. L. Rev. 635 (1975)

· Constitutional Authority for Finance and Taxation, Deskbook for Ohio Municipal Attorneys

Representative Engagements

· Litigated the first case in the country on the "Model Drug Paraphernalia Act"

· Litigated dozens of decisions to the appellate or Supreme Court levels.

· Litigated the leading Ohio case on the Home Rule powers of non-charter municipalities