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Area attorneys take on key leadership roles within the OSBA
Published: August 7, 2018
On July 1, Lawrence J. Scanlon started his three-year term on the Ohio State Bar Association (OSBA) Board of Governors and four other Akron area attorneys assumed leadership roles in OSBA committees and sections.
Lawrence J. Scanlon was elected by attorneys in OSBA District 11 to serve a three-year term on the board, which began July 1.
Scanlon replaces former Governor Judge Linda Teodosio who completed her three-year term at the end of June.
Scanlon is a managing partner at the firm of Scanlon & Elliott in Akron. He is a board certified civil trial attorney and former president of the Akron Bar Association. He is also a frequent lecturer at the University of Akron School of Law and often speaks to medical professional groups on product liability and medical malpractice.
Scanlon received his undergraduate and law degrees at the University of Akron.
The OSBA Board of Governors is a 24-member body that is charged with the responsibility of conducting business on the OSBA’s behalf, managing business affairs, setting policy and reviewing pending legislation. Twenty-one members are elected by attorneys in their districts and three members serve as at-large appointees.
OSBA 2018-19 President Robin Weaver has also appointed three Akron area attorneys to serve as chairpersons of OSBA committees and sections.
The OSBA maintains 33 committees and 10 sections, each of which specializes in a particular area of law. Committees and sections work to improve the justice system by keeping Ohio lawyers informed about the latest court decisions and regulatory changes.
They also comment on bills before the Ohio General Assembly and draft their own legislative proposals to improve existing laws.
Chairpersons selected for this honor have demonstrated excellence and expertise in their practice area as well as outstanding leadership and a commitment to the profession and the rule of law.
The following attorneys from OSBA District 11 were appointed to serve one-year terms as chairpersons, which began on July 1:
Fletcher A. Birmingham was appointed to serve as chair of the Aviation Law Committee.
Birmingham is an attorney and continuous integration project manager at the American Bath Group. He received his undergraduate degree from Southern Illinois University and his law degree from the University of Akron School of Law.
Maura E. Scanlon was re-appointed to serve as chair of the Grievance Committee.
Scanlon is an attorney with The Scanlon Group Co., LPA where she represents injury victims in cases involving automobile collisions, insurance disputes, medical negligence, nursing home negligence and wrongful death. She is a member of the American Bar Association, the American Association for Justice, the Ohio Women’s Bar Association and the Akron Bar Association.
As a member of the OSBA, Scanlon has served as a representative for District 11 on the Council of Delegates from 2006 to the present and as a member of the Legal Ethics and Professional Conduct Committee since 2011. She is also a member of the OSBA Women in the Profession Section and a 2012 fellow of the Ohio State Bar Foundation.
Lavell O. Payne was appointed to serve as chair of the Insurance Staff Counsel Committee.
Payne is a trial attorney with Nationwide Insurance and is the immediate past vice chair of the committee. She is also an adjunct professor at the University of Akron School of Law teaching insurance law and volunteers with the Summer Trial Academy at Akron Law, teaching law students trial advocacy.
Payne is a mock trial coach for the Akron Chapter of the Black Law Students' Association and serves as the director of the Trial Advocacy Workshop with the Akron Prelaw Undergraduate Scholars Program. She received her undergraduate degree from the University of Virginia and her law degree from the University of Akron School of Law.
David J. Wigham was re-appointed to serve as chair of the Natural Resources Law Committee.
Wigham is an attorney and shareholder at Roetzel & Andress, LPA where he focuses his practice in the areas of oil and gas, general business and corporations, construction, creditor’s rights and real estate. He is a second generation oil and gas attorney with more than 25 years of experience in the industry.
Wigham is the chair of the Sports Resources Committee for the Wooster City Schools Business Advisory Committee, and a former board member of Junior Achievement of Wayne County. He received his undergraduate degree from the College of Wooster and his law degree from the Cleveland-Marshall College of Law.