James F. Koehler
Attorney
James F. Koehler is a founding member of the firm who focuses his practice on securities litigation and broker-dealer representation.
Mr. Koehler has litigation experience in trial and appellate courts (state and federal) in Ohio, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Virginia, Delaware, New York, Texas and California. He has handled court cases involving federal securities laws (class and derivative suits, broker-dealer and investment advisor actions), attorney and accountant malpractice, Uniform Commercial Code, contracts, finance, lender liability, international banking, RICO, corporate law, partnership law, employee relations, real estate and estates and trusts. Additionally, he has argued several cases before the Ohio Supreme Court.
Mr. Koehler has represented broker-dealers in several dozen FINRA Dispute Resolution arbitrations throughout the United States in matters involving customer claims of fraud, unsuitability, selling-away, breach of fiduciary duty, and violations of federal securities and blue sky laws.
Mr. Koehlers transactional experience includes serving as counsel for diversified U.S. and international corporate clients, including Reg. D issuers, limited partnerships in tax shelter areas, and clients in China and Israel. In addition, he has handled mergers and acquisitions and prepared 1934 Act Securities and Exchange Commission filings.
Mr. Koehler is past President and serves on the board of Big Brothers, Big Sisters of Greater Cleveland and is Vice Chair of the Case Western Reserve University School of Law Visiting Committee. He is the past President of the boards of the Lake-Geauga Recovery Centers and Ohio Stroke Association.
Mr. Koehler is a member of the American, Ohio State, and Cleveland Metropolitan Bar Associations, the ABA Committee on Federal Regulation of Securities, and the ABA Committee on State Regulation of Securities. Ohio Super Lawyers and the publishers of Cincinnati Magazine have named Mr. Koehler an Ohio Super Lawyer for 2010, 2011, and 2012 for business litigation. In addition, Mr. Koehler has achieved the highest rating in Martindale-Hubbell. |
EDUCATIONCase Western Reserve University School of Law,
College of Wooster,
ADMISSIONSOhio
- U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit
- U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit
- U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit
- U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit
- U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Ohio
- U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Ohio
- U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan
- U.S. District Court for the District of Arizona
PRACTICE AREAS
- Securities Litigation
- Securities Arbitration
- Commercial Litigation
- Business Law
- Trusts and Estates
|
John N. Neal
Attorney
John N. Neal is a founding member of the firm and focuses his practice on liquor permit licensing, the hospitality industry, and commercial litigation.
First and foremost, Mr. Neal counsels companies and individuals on the intricacies of Ohio's regulation of the liquor industry, including representation of liquor manufacturers, distributors, state liquor agencies, and retail permit holders. These services include transactional representation between buyers and sellers of liquor permits, obtaining liquor permits through the Ohio Division of Liquor Control, negotiating the transfer of permits between locations, and litigating violations that permit holders receive before the Ohio Liquor Control Commission and the courts. Clients of these services include independent restaurants, hotel and restaurant chains, supermarkets, real estate developers, concessionaires, and large public venues such as concert theaters and stadiums.
Continuing on with the practice established by Eugene Stevens, Mr. Neal provides valuable and experienced representation in this technical area of the law.
Mr. Neal is often retained to appear before the Ohio Liquor Control Commission to appeal the non-renewal or rejection of a retail permit holders liquor license after the permit holder has lost the license upon an objection by a city or township. He has successfully obtained the reversal of such rejections in numerous high profile and contentious cases.
In addition, Mr. Neal maintains an active commercial litigation practice, and has significant bench and jury trial experience. Such matters include employer and employee disputes, trade secrets, unfair trade practices, construction disputes, broker dealer defense, and securities litigation. |
EDUCATIONCase Western Reserve University School of Law,
- J.D., cum laude
- Editor-in-Chief, Health Matrix: Journal of Law- Medicine, Vol. 12
Miami University,
ADMISSIONSOhio
- U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit
- U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Ohio
- U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Ohio
PRACTICE AREASLiquor Control
Hospitality
Food & Beverage
Commercial Litigation
Business Law
ASSOCIATIONSOhio State Bar Association
Cleveland Metropolitan Bar Association
Cleveland Association of Civil Trial Attorneys (CACTA) |
P. Wesley Lambert
Attorney
P. Wesley Lambert is a founding member of the firm who focuses his practice on securities litigation, broker-dealer representation and commercial/business litigation.
Mr. Lambert has litigation experience in trial and appellate courts (state and federal), has handled court cases involving federal securities laws (class action, multi-district litigation (MDL), broker-dealer and investment advisor actions), Uniform Commercial Code, contracts, finance, RICO, corporate law, partnership law, employee relations, product liability and estates.
Mr. Lambert has represented broker-dealers as well as investors in FINRA Dispute Resolution arbitrations and in federal court involving customer claims of fraud, unsuitability, selling-away, breach of fiduciary duty, and violations of federal securities and blue sky laws.
In transactional matters, Mr. Lambert has represented clients in Regulation D offerings, in the advisor and registered representative registration process with FINRA and state regulatory authorities, and in the review and interpretation of contracts on a variety of business related issues.
Mr. Lambert has also published several articles relating to financial services law including A Critique of the Need for the Additional Criminal Securities Fraud Section in Sarbanes-Oxley, 53 Case Western Law. Rev. 839 (Spring 2003); The Supreme Courts Review of Jones v. Harris Associates and 36(b) Claims Under the Investment Company Act of 1940 A Prospective and Analytical View, 12 Duquesne Bus. Law Journal 63 (Winter 2009) and has an article forthcoming in the winter edition of the Duquesne Business Law Journal addressing the recently-enacted Dodd-Frank financial reform legislation.
Mr. Lambert is a member of the Judge John M. Manos Inn of Court and a member of the Ohio State and Cleveland Metropolitan Bar Associations. |
EDUCATIONCase Western Reserve University School of Law,
- J.D., magna cum laude
- Law Review Contributing Editor
The Ohio State University,
- B.A., Concentration in Finance
ADMISSIONSOhio
- U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Ohio
- U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Ohio
PRACTICE AREASSecurities Litigation
Securities Arbitration
Commercial Litigation
Business Law |
Eugene Stevens
Retired
Eugene Stevens is a retired partner of the firm, previously focusing on liquor permit licensing. Mr. Stevens and Mr. Neal worked together for several years prior to Mr. Neal succeeding to and continuing Mr. Stevens' practice. |
EDUCATIONCase Western Reserve University School of Law,
Case Western Reserve University,
PRACTICE AREASLiquor Control |
Melanie Harness
Office Manager
Melanie Harness is the firm Office Manager, having joined Koehler Neal at its inception. |
|
|
|