Effective January 1, 2023, the Ohio-based law firm of Weston Hurd LLP expands its practices with the addition of new Education Law and Labor & Employment attorneys. According to Weston Hurd’s Managing Partner Dan Richards, “We are thrilled to make these extremely talented attorneys part of the Weston Hurd family. We are adding significant depth to our existing Labor and Employment group while giving us one of the largest and strongest Education Law sections in Ohio.” The firm now has more than 65 attorneys statewide.
New Weston Hurd Attorneys
Sara Ravas Cooper – Partner – Cleveland Office – scooper@westonhurd.com; 216.687.3364
Sara concentrates on civil and commercial litigation – in particular, labor and employment litigation – as well as white-collar criminal defense. Sara is a well-versed trial lawyer, with more than 15 years of experience in both state and federal courts. She also has extensive experience in the discovery of electronically stored information (ESI), including properly retrieving, culling, reviewing, and producing ESI under the federal and Ohio Rules of Civil Procedure.
Christine T. Cossler – Partner – Cleveland Office – ccossler@westonhurd.com; 216.687.3365
Christine represents her clients in discrimination, harassment, and wrongful discharge allegations. She also defends breach of contract issues, promissory estoppel and breach-of-the-covenant-of-good-faith and fair dealing actions. Christine handles ERISA claims, non-compete and non-disclosure issues as well as various torts, including intentional torts. Christine guides clients through ongoing labor relations issues and assists them in the interpretation and enforcement of collective bargaining agreements.
Miriam Fair – Partner – Cleveland Office – mfair@westonhurd.com; 216.687.3366
Miriam’s practice focuses on school law, ranging from primary to post-secondary levels. She advises clients on issues related to special education, labor and employment, bullying/harassment, employment discrimination, student discipline, and disability accommodations. She also focuses on constitutional rights, policy drafting and implementation, and public records requests. Her special education experience includes staff training, ETR and IEP meetings, and document review for compliance.
Megan E. Greulich – Partner – Columbus Office – mgreulich@westonhurd.com; 614.280.1142
Megan provides general counsel to public school districts in board governance, personnel, and student matters. She advises education law clients on complex issues including discipline, due process, public records, Title IX, board policies and procedures, collective bargaining, arbitration, parliamentary procedure, residency and custody disputes, social media, Constitutional rights, and discrimination concerns. Megan also assists districts with collective bargaining needs, including contract review, negotiation, and interpretation and enforcement of collective bargaining agreements.
Eric J. Johnson – Partner – Cleveland Office – ejohnson@westonhurd.com; 216.687.3368
With more than 20 years of experience in labor and employment and education law, Eric represents both private and public sector clients in the broad spectrum of employment matters and represents boards of education in all facets of school law. Eric also has substantial labor law experience representing public and private sector employers at the bargaining table as the lead negotiator.
James M. McWeeney – Partner – Cleveland Office – jmcweeney@westonhurd.com; 216.687.3371
James’ legal services include education law, labor and employment, and litigation. He advises clients on matters related to contract disputes, collective bargaining, due process claims, public record request compliance, and policy drafting. James also has considerable commercial and labor/employment litigation experience, and he has managed and assisted with several cases from the initial phases of discovery through trial.
Christina Henagen Peer – Partner – Cleveland Office – cpeer@westonhurd.com; 216.687.3372
Christina advises boards of education on a variety of Education Law matters involving the IDEA and Section 504, student discipline, employee grievances, employee evaluation and discipline issues, the First Amendment, public records requests including Sunshine Laws, records retention policies, social media issues, residency and custody disputes, and the drafting and implementation of board policies. She is a frequent presenter on special education issues and counsels boards of education regarding state and federal laws relating to the education of students with disabilities.
Kathryn I. Perrico – Partner – Cleveland Office – kperrico@westonhurd.com; 216.687.3374
Kathy counsels boards of education in relation to special education and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act, student services, student discipline, residency and custody, student records and confidentiality, public records requests and Sunshine Law issues, employee leave, discipline and termination, and constitutional issues arising in education. She also handles all aspects of litigation relating to state school-based issues. Kathy has represented her clients before the Ohio Department of Education and U.S. Department of Education, Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, Ohio Civil Rights Commission, and state and federal courts.
Russell T. Rendall – Partner – Cleveland Office – rrendall@westonhurd.com; 216.687.3375
Russell is proficient in the areas of discrimination and harassment claims, wage and hour claims (including class and collective action), employment policies and procedures, family and medical leave, disability accommodation, and employment contracts. Russell regularly handles disputes in state and federal courts, arbitration, and alternative dispute resolution forums. His legal counsel spans a range of industries including education, healthcare, public sector employers, banking/finance, retail, manufacturing, and hospitality, among others.
Max V. Rieker – Partner – Cleveland Office – mrieker@westonhurd.com; 216.687.3376
Max counsels both private and public sector employers in a full range of workplace matters. He represents clients before a variety of arbitrators, boards, commissions, administrative agencies and at every level of court throughout Ohio. He has extensive experience handling administrative investigations, public sector collective bargaining agreements, employment agreements, non-compete agreements, contract disputes, executive compensation considerations, severance issues and immigration concerns.
Jennifer L. Whitt – Partner – Cleveland Office – jwhitt@westonhurd.com; 216.687.3348
Jennifer’s practice focuses on workers’ compensation and occupational safety and health, defending both state-funded and self-insured employers before the Ohio Industrial Commission and in Ohio’s courts. Jennifer’s practice also includes litigation and tort actions representing large and small clients. She has represented clients in the health care, manufacturing, hospitality, construction, trucking and automotive industries as well as school districts and municipalities throughout all phases of the administrative process and all court levels.
Lisa H. Woloszynek – Associate – Cleveland Office – lwoloszynek@westonhurd.com; 216.687.3382
Lisa represents clients in the areas of special education law, school law, and labor and employment law. She provides general counsel to school districts on personnel and student matters, as well as issues related to Sunshine Laws, board policies, residency and custody, public and education records, confidentiality, constitutional rights, and discrimination concerns. Lisa also focuses on advising school boards and personnel on laws related to the education of students with disabilities and regularly provides services ranging from preventative compliance and training to all aspects of dispute resolution and defense.
Peter T. Zawadski – Partner – Cleveland Office – pzawadski@westonhurd.com; 216.687.3384
Peter assists employers and school district clients in resolving legal issues covering labor and employment matters, contract negotiations and disputes, policy drafting, employee and student due process challenges, real estate property valuation, and public records compliance. Peter’s practice is diverse and includes legal advice on matters involving discrimination, retaliation, sexual harassment, free speech, religious expression, sovereign immunity, Title VII, Title IX, discipline, defamation, social media concerns, and related investigations. Peter also works on cases involving the defense of employers in state and federal court and before administrative agencies.
