Jeffrey M. Lewis
Recipient for nearly the last quarter-century of the coveted “AV Preeminent – 5.0”® highest possible rating from Martindale-Hubbell® (recognized as emblematic of America’s most respected and talented lawyers as voted by both their peers and the judiciary) and named by CEO Magazine© over the last fifteen years as one of Central Ohio’s “Best Lawyers,” Jeffrey M. Lewis is well known in the Central Ohio business, legal, and political communities, and has developed a substantial practice which includes not only consultation and advice, but litigation in local, state, and federal courts. His experience and expertise spans areas as wide-ranging as personal injury, probate, wrongful death, business, environmental, employment, civil rights, criminal, drunk/impaired driving (OVI, DUI), real estate, creditors’ rights, pre-nuptial agreements, juvenile, matrimonial, divorce, dissolution, custody, receivership, extraordinary remedies (Mandamus, Injunction, Prohibition, Quo Warranto), and land use development/planning & zoning law. He has provided representation to individuals and companies ranging from the Fortune 500 to sole proprietors. Additionally, Mr. Lewis has counted amongst his clientele many judges, magistrates, major and small law firms, and individual lawyers, and is thus often referred to as a “lawyer’s lawyer.”
Mr. Lewis is a Dean’s List graduate of Miami (Ohio) University (1978) and earned his Juris Doctorate from The Ohio State University Moritz College of Law in 1981. His legal expertise has been recognized by many public officials, as evidenced by his appointment (by Governor Celeste) as Member (later Chairman) of the Ohio State Parking Commission; his appointments as Special Counsel to: the City Attorneys of Columbus, Hilliard, and Whitehall; the Columbus Board of Education; Ohio Attorneys General Celebrezze, Fisher, and Cordray; the Ohio Democratic Party; the Solid Waste Authorities of Franklin (SWACO) and Geauga-Trumbull Counties; and the Ohio State Auditor. He has further been honored to have been previously appointed as General Counsel to: the Franklin County Democratic Party and the Hilliard City Development Corporation; and Law Clerk/Legislative Aide to the Ohio House of Representatives Judiciary Committee. He has also been frequently appointed by Franklin County Common Pleas Judges as a Mediator (Diamond Level), Receiver/Receiver’s Counsel, and Special Master/Commissioner, further evidencing his stellar reputation in the Central Ohio legal community.
A frequent lecturer and writer in the areas of both Trial Practice and Land Use Planning and Zoning Law, Mr. Lewis is/has been a member of the Ohio Academy of Trial Lawyers, the Franklin County Trial Lawyers Association, the Ohio Association of Civil Trial Attorneys, the Columbus Defense Association, Columbus Lawyer’s Club, the Central Ohio Association for Justice, and the American, Ohio State, and Columbus Bar Associations (where he served for several years as co-chairman of the bench-bar retreat committee). He has also served the community: on the Boards of Trustees of the Alvis House and of the Salesian Inner-city Boys and Girls Club; as Central Ohio Longhouse Chief in the YMCA Indian Princess Program; as a volunteer for the Columbus Bar Association Pro Bono Program; as a mentor in the Ohio State University Law Student Mentor Program; as one of the original Nominees (by the Franklin County Municipal Court Judges) to the Ohio Supreme Court’s New Lawyer Mentor Program; as a volunteer in the Legal Aid Society Lawyer Referral Project; as a volunteer in the Columbus Bar Association’s Lawyers for Justice Program; as a Mentor in the Miami University Pre-Law Student Mentor Program; as a guest lecturer at Capital University College of Law; and as a judge in the Ohio State and Capital Law Schools’ Moot Court and Negotiating Skills Competitions.
In 2008, in what likely is the first such instance in Ohio jurisprudential history, Mr. Lewis instituted legal action against the 10th District (Franklin County) Court of Appeals, successfully obtaining Writs of Prohibition/Mandamus against said court in a case filed and argued in (and now often cited as precedential authority by) the Ohio Supreme Court: State ex rel Sapp v. Franklin County Court of Appeals, 118 Ohio St.3d 368 (2008); 2008-Ohio-2637:
Mr. Lewis is licensed to practice law and appear before all Ohio Mayor’s, Village, City, County, Municipal, Common Pleas, and Appellate courts; all Ohio village/city councils; all Ohio state/county/local administrative boards and agencies; the United States District Courts for both the Northern and Southern Districts of Ohio; the Sixth Circuit United States Court of Appeals; and the United States Supreme Court. He has also been admitted pro hac vice to appear before state courts in Louisiana, Iowa, Nebraska, and Pennsylvania, and federal courts in California and Wisconsin.
Haley K. Lewis (Of Counsel)
Ms. Lewis is a 2016 Magna Cum Laude graduate of the Ohio State University Moritz College of Law, graduating 7th in her class and winning the CALI Award for the highest grade in Criminal Law, Federal Courts, and Wills, Trusts & Estates as well as the Karam Award for the highest combined average of Law I & II. She was the recipient of the Academic Merit Scholarship and the John Bowsher Scholarship, and served as managing editor of the Ohio State Journal of Criminal Law. Upon graduation from Moritz, Ms. Lewis was inducted into the Order of the Coif, an honor society for United States law school graduates. She is also a Magna Cum Laude graduate of Miami University, where she was inducted into Phi Beta Kappa. Before joining her former law firm of Zeiger, Tigges & Little in late 2016, she served as a law clerk to the office of General Counsel of the United States Department of Health and Human Services as well as to the Hon. Mark Serrott of the Franklin County Common Pleas Court. Ms. Lewis focuses her practice on business law/litigation as well as appellate advocacy and estate planning, and is resident in the Firm’s Cleveland office.
Ms. Lewis is licensed to practice law and appear before all Ohio Mayor’s, Village, City, County, Municipal, Common Pleas, and Appellate courts; all Ohio village/city councils; all Ohio state/county/local administrative boards and agencies; and the United States District Courts for both the Northern and Southern Districts of Ohio.
Evan J. Lewis (Of Counsel)
Mr. Lewis is a 2021 Cum Laude graduate of the Ohio State University Moritz College of Law, where he was honored to be chosen to give the J.D. Address at commencement. He was the recipient of the Eminent full-tuition Scholarship, and he received the CALI Award for the highest grade in Legislation and Regulation. During law school, he served for two years as a Certified Legal Intern in the Civil Division of the Franklin County Prosecutor’s Office. He is a double Buckeye, graduating Magna Cum Laude from Ohio State in 2017 with a Bachelor of Science in Political Science, and a Bachelor of Arts in History. In 2016, he was on the ballot as a candidate for the Franklin County Democratic Party Central Committee, losing by 21 votes to the Party Endorsed Candidate, and filed suit against the Ohio State University to establish his right to campaign on campus. Evan is adept at handling business disputes, and has already had experience well in excess of lawyers who have practiced for many more years, already having litigated both civil (including a class-action) and criminal (including representation of several clients accused of murder) matters.
Mr. E. Lewis is licensed to practice law and appear before all Ohio Mayor’s, Village, City, County, Municipal, Common Pleas, and Appellate courts; all Ohio village/city councils; all Ohio state/county/local administrative boards and agencies; and the United States District Court for both the Northern and Southern Districts of Ohio.
In his spare time, Mr. Lewis likes to run, listen to audiobooks, attend concerts, Buckeye games, and Crew games (usually with Jeff), and cook.