Porter Wright Morris & Arthur LLP

Can a party unilaterally withdraw a perfected jury demand? The Supreme Court of Ohio says no. In Estate of Tomlinson v. Mega Pool Warehouse, the Court ruled that once a party perfects a jury demand – by both serving the demand and paying any required deposit – the right to a jury trial is secured for all parties and cannot be withdrawn without unanimous consent under Civ.R. 38(D). This decision overturns a trial court’s interpretation that required each party to pay a separate jury deposit and reinforces the importance of carefully reading procedural rules. Attorney Tony Graber discusses this key precedent and its implications: https://bit.ly/4hUIMz6

WELCOME | Porter Wright is pleased to announce that Chess Bedsole has joined the Government & Regulatory Affairs group in Washington, D.C. Chess leverages more than 25 years of experience in the public and private sectors to serve clients in both government relations and litigation. Welcome, Chess! Read more about Chess and his experience: https://bit.ly/4j1FUS1

WELCOME | Porter Wright is proud to announce that Matthew DePasquale, Esq. has joined the firm's Tampa office as a partner in the Corporate Department. Matt focuses his practice on business transactions, contracts, and commercial and residential real estate transactions and litigation. Welcome, Matt! Learn more about Matt and his background: https://bit.ly/4c1MiGH

CONGRATULATIONS | Porter Wright is proud to announce that attorney Tony Graber has been named to the first class of the Rising Stars of Law by the Dayton Business Journal. This prestigious honor recognizes the most exceptional emerging leaders who have distinguished themselves in their professions and in the Dayton community. Congratulations, Tony! Learn more: https://bit.ly/3FvEAIs

Attorneys Greg Daugherty and Victoria Hanohano-Hong spoke at the Ohio/Kentucky Chapter of The ESOP Association's 2025 Spring Conference on March 5. Greg and Andy Manchir, ASA, CMA, CEPA shared insights on executive compensation strategies as an ESOP matures, while Victoria and Nyota Brown, MBA, CMP, RMC discussed effective record retention practices as part of ESOP risk management. The ESOP Association

No objections here! Baby Ahti is raising the bar on cuteness today 🥰 Special thanks to proud parent, Kelsey Gee, for sharing!

Managing employee benefit plans can feel overwhelming, but asking the right questions is key. In the next installment of "Employee benefit questions you didn’t want to ask (but should)," attorney Victoria Hanohano-Hong explains the importance of making SPDs clear and accessible for plan participants and shares practical tips for improving clarity. Learn more: https://bit.ly/3DyLOLd

On March 4th, partner Greg Daugherty joined The ESOP Association’s Ohio Advocacy Day alongside Jessica Donley, Mariann Dance Fuller, CPA, CMA, Michael Palmieri, Scott Stitt and Courtney Wysocki. They had the opportunity to meet with State House Minority Leader Allison Russo, Rep. Melanie Miller, Rep. Heidi Workman and Senator Bill DeMora to advocate for legislative and regulatory programs to boost employee ownership in Ohio.

CONGRATULATIONS | Porter Wright is proud to announce that attorney Will Gutmann has been elevated to senior associate status at the firm. Please join us in congratulating him on this momentous accomplishment in his legal career! Learn more about Will and his experience: https://bit.ly/3DcUrec

Thank you so much to Cincinnati Business Courier, Columbus Business First, Pittsburgh Business Times and Tampa Bay Business Journal for hosting such wonderful Mentoring Monday events this week! This year, we were fortunate to have several of our women attorneys attend both as mentors and as mentees. Deborah Boiarsky, Kristen Del Sole, Melissa Murphy, and susan cliffel (not pictured) all shared advice from their years of professional experience as mentors, while Melissa Rottier, Helen Sudhoff, Jamie Repasky and Alexis R. Pannell attended the Columbus event as mentees and gained valuable insights from the mentors. Special thanks to Columbus Business First, Tampa Bay Business Journal, Pittsburgh Business Times and Jim Harris for the beautiful photos!