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Toledo attorney becomes OSBA president July 1
RICHARD WEINER
Legal News Reporter
Published: May 30, 2014
Toledo attorney Martin E. Mohler takes the office of new president of the Ohio State Bar Association on July 1, taking over the position from current association president Jonathan Hollingsworth of Dayton. He received the gavel of leadership on May 1, at the OSBA convention in Columbus.
Looking out toward his upcoming term in office, Mohler said that he, “wants the OSBA to be an advocate for Ohio lawyers during this upcoming year,” and has a number of ideas that he would like to see instituted during his presidency.
Mohler is a partner in the firm of Shindler, Neff, Holmes, Worline & Mohler LLP, a 15-member, full-service law firm founded in 1946. He has practiced law in northwest Ohio for nearly 40 years, in areas that include both criminal and civil law, including business/corporate matters, personal injury, wrongful death, family/domestic relations, probate and estate planning, real estate, attorney discipline/ethics and arbitration/mediation.
Mohler received his undergraduate degree in English from Cleveland’s John Carroll University, a school that he holds dear and where he still stays in touch with friends from his college days. He attended school and was close friends with the late Tim Russert, and still stays in contact with Russert’s wife and son.
He also has retained his interest in the northeast Ohio music scene. A guitar player who plays in a lawyer band, he has a particular affinity for Devo and the Black Keys. His band, Jingle Balls, had the unusual experience of playing for the reception at the OSBA convention in Columbus celebrating Mohler’s ascension to the presidency of the organization.
The oldest of eight children, Mohler returned home to Toledo to attend law school at the University of Toledo School of Law.
Early on in his career, he became involved in the Toledo Bar Association, eventually becoming that organization’s president. After he had exhausted the possibilities of holding office in that organization, he said, “I moved over to the state bar,” where he has been notably active for many years.
Mohler is a fellow of the Ohio State Bar Foundation, and has been very active in the OSBA, most recently having chaired the Government Affairs Committee of the OSBA Board of Governors, and also having served on the 2012 Commission on Judicial Candidates, among other positions.
He is also a member of the Ohio Bar College and the National Conference of Bar Presidents.
“I find bar work to be quite regarding on a personal level,” he said. “They do a lot of work for the public and for members. They strive to be indispensable for the membership.”
He is an advocate for pro bono work, legal aid and other ways of providing legal services to people who may otherwise not have access to the legal system or other services.
Looking forward to his tenure, Mohler said that he will be continuing some of the projects of his predecessor, as well as advocating for his own ideas.
“I am following a great president in Jonathan Hollingsworth,” he said, “and I would like to bring some of his endeavors to fruition.”
One project currently underway that Mohler will oversee is proSHARE, a program which generates advertising revenue from the OSBA website.
This is one method to increase income, and therefore to hold dues at a lower level, which can help with attracting younger attorneys into the organization, Mohler said.
He is very interested in the health of the Legal Services Corporation, and will work with trying to increase funding for legal aid around the state. “We still need to provide legal assistance to those affected (by the decrease in funding for legal aid). We need to make sure that everyone has access to the justice system.”
He is also very interested in Ohio’s “exploding” list of specialty courts. “I would like to see a growth in those courts,” he said. “There are many segments of the public which have special needs, and if we give special attention to some of them, the hands of justice will be served.”
Mohler and his wife of 40 years, Terri, have four grown children, two of whom are also lawyers, and two grandchildren.