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Family, colleagues pay tribute to attorney George J. Emershaw III
SHERRY KARABIN
Legal News Reporter
Published: March 3, 2021
A successful trial lawyer and fearless advocate for his clients, George J. Emershaw III never shied away from taking on unique or complex cases, said Ann Marie O’Brien, labor relations officer at the Ohio Department of Transportation, District 4.
“George was very passionate about the law and his clients,” said O’Brien, a former Akron Municipal judge. “He was extremely well respected for his work on behalf of personal injury plaintiffs.
“George always had a story to tell,” she said. “We first met when I was a law clerk for another firm. I’ve also worked for him in the recent past and I can tell you that he was very driven. Even in his late 70s, he came into the office seven days a week and remained very involved in the Akron Bar Association.”
On Jan. 9, Emershaw passed away at Cleveland Clinic Akron General after a heart attack at age 80.
O’Brien said Emershaw’s passing was a complete surprise. “George, a Marine to the end, was very athletic and worked out regularly,” she said. “He was a mentor and a very good friend.
“George had a soft spot for the chipmunks and birds that visited his backyard; he made sure everyone had snacks waiting for them,” said O’Brien. “I simply adored George and his wife Ginger, who George often referred to as the Queen.”
“George cared a great deal about his family,” said Emershaw’s nephew, Akron attorney William H. Corgan III, who primarily focuses on personal injury and criminal defense. “He was my favorite uncle and like a father to me.
“I worked for George for many years and he taught me everything I know about the practice of law,” said Corgan. “He loved being a lawyer. It took a lot to get him not to be at the office constantly. He would take me to the office with him on many holidays. We would work and then go to the family dinner.”
Emershaw never retired and was still actively practicing at Emershaw, Mushkat & Schneier at the time of his death.
Born on Aug. 3, 1940 in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, he was one of Eleanor Lisovsky Emershaw and George J. “Kirby” Emershaw II’s two children. Emershaw grew up in Swoyersville, Pennsylvania and was part of the first class to graduate from Catholic High School in Kingston, Pennsylvania.
He majored in history and government at King’s College in Wilkes-Barre, where he was a member of the ROTC and played several positions on the football team.
Corgan said his uncle was very proud of his military service.
“George served in the U.S. Marine Corps and obtained the rank of corporal before his honorable discharge,” said Corgan.
In 1962, Emershaw married his college sweetheart, the former Virginia Donlin.
Emershaw obtained his juris doctor from The University of Akron School of Law, becoming a licensed attorney in Ohio in 1968. Several years later, he obtained his license to practice in Pennsylvania.
Emershaw primarily focused on representing injured people, but his cases included complex civil and criminal actions.
During his time at Akron Law, he was a sales representative for the pharmaceutical company Burroughs Wellcome.
Emershaw was also a member of The Academy of Ambulatory Foot & Ankle Surgery (now The Academy of Minimally Invasive Foot & Ankle Surgery).
Trina Carter, office manager and former attorney at Emershaw, Mushkat & Schneier said Emershaw was an active participant in the organization for many years, attending their national meetings, giving lectures on legal issues, helping conduct their officer elections and even participating in cadaver surgery.
“George loved medicine and enjoyed working with podiatrists and other types of doctors,” said Carter. “He was very knowledgeable about medicine and biomechanics, which helped make him such a good personal injury attorney.
“He loved helping people and was a strong advocate for his clients. He fought just as hard for a client who had a $2,000 case as he did for one who had a $2 million case,” said Carter.
“George was an incredible mentor and friend to me. He taught me volumes about the practice of law. He enjoyed teaching younger lawyers and was very generous with his time and knowledge.
“He was loyal and dedicated, with a deep love for his family, friends and clients. George’s passing is a great loss to the entire legal community.”
It was at Akron Law that Emershaw met Barbara Mushkat, the attorney who became his law partner for over 45 years.
“I was two years behind George in law school,” said Mushkat. “After I graduated, I couldn’t get a job because jobs for women were limited. George was looking for someone to run a law office and work on cases.
“We decided it was to our advantage to become partners,” said Mushkat. “We opened our first law office on Main Street in a building that had a purple pot on top of it.”
When they first started their practice, Emershaw was teaching business law at The University of Akron, which he began doing after he graduated law school.
“I held down the fort for about a year and then George joined me full time,” said Mushkat, who retired in 2019.
The law firm was initially known as Emershaw & Mushkat. It later became Emershaw, Mushkat & Schneier.
“George was the brightest person I’ve ever met,” said Mushkat. “He was very driven and enjoyed negotiating with insurance companies to get the highest dollar he could for his clients.”
Emershaw and Mushkat were also neighbors.
“George was very attached to all the animals in our West Akron neighborhood at the edge of the Cuyahoga Valley,” said Mushkat. “He fed the chipmunks, deer, turkeys and birds.”
Solo practitioner Kerry O’Brien was a student of Emershaw’s at The University of Akron. O’Brien said he enrolled in Emershaw’s business law class because he intended to start his own company with his father and brother, but changed career directions while taking the course.
“George was very knowledgeable, direct, personable and approachable,” said Kerry O’Brien. “He struck a chord inside of me and the next thing I knew I was asking him about law school and how to apply.
“He was a role model for me, and later when I became a lawyer anytime we ran into one another we would joke about how he was the one who inspired me to go to law school. One time, he saw me in the law library on a Saturday night, and he just laughed and said ‘I warned you.’”
Akron attorney Deborah McCort worked for Emershaw for about 30 years.
“George was completely focused on helping his clients,” said McCort, now retired. “If he thought his clients weren’t being treated correctly, he would do battle until the end of the Earth.
“He did a lot of pro bono work over the years,” said McCort. “He would tell the client if you have another case please come back. Many did. He was the attorney for generations of families.
“George was first and last a lawyer, but while he worked extremely long hours he did not require his employees to do the same,” McCort said. “I was a single mom and I can’t tell you how much I appreciated that.”
A longtime member of the Akron Bar Association, Emershaw served on and often chaired its Grievance Committee. He was also a member of the Summit County Association for Justice, where he was a trustee for many years.
In addition to his involvement in the legal profession, Emershaw was a student at The University of Akron’s Bliss Institute of Applied Politics and a member of St. Vincent de Paul Roman Catholic Church.
An avid fan of the Cleveland Indians and a lifelong athlete, Emershaw studied Taekwondo and played tennis and handball.
“George loved baseball and football, and not just the professional teams in Cleveland,” said Corgan. “He would often go to see the Akron Rubber Ducks and Akron Zips football games too.
“He loved dogs a lot. He had several dogs during his lifetime and he also kept boxes of dog bones in his trunk so he could pass them out to any dogs he met.”
Corgan said his uncle had a great appreciation for music.
“George represented a lot of musicians over the years,” said Corgan. “We would go to concerts together. We typically saw folk singers. Early on I remember seeing Peter, Paul and Mary with him and the family at Blossom.
“I think he liked folk music the most because he liked songs that told a story. In the time before he passed, he was really into Tom Petty and his song ‘I Won't Back Down.’ I don’t think opposing counsel would be surprised by this.”
A Mass of Christian burial was held at St. Vincent Catholic Church on Jan. 16.
Emershaw is survived by his wife Virginia Donlin Emershaw; sister Eleanor Corgan of Wyoming, Pennsylvania; nephew William H. (Jacquenette) Corgan III of Akron; cousin Willard (Shirley) Coutts of Forty Fort, Pennsylvania as well as several other cousins, nieces and nephews.
His parents, nephew Patrick J. Corgan and several aunts and uncles preceded him in death.