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Board Members

 

The Founders and Board Members of Protecting Ohio's Employees are:

 

  • Amy Glesius

  • Fred Gittes

  • Gregory Gordillo 

  • Neil Klingshirn and

  • Sheila Smith

 

Each Board Member is an advocate of individual employee rights and an accomplished attorney

Amy Glesuius

 

Amy S. Glesius has advocated for employees’ rights since she entered the legal profession. She was one of the first fifty lawyers in Ohio to be certified as a Specialist in Labor and Employment Law by the Ohio State Bar Association.

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For the past several years, Amy has been listed in Best Lawyers in America in the area of Employment Law representing individuals, and her firm, Bolek Besser Glesius LLC has been listed in Best Law Firms every year since the firm was founded. In 2013, and again for 2016, The Best Lawyers in America named Amy the Cleveland “Lawyer of the Year” in the field of Employment Law representing individuals. She has earned the highest rating, AV, from the legal directory Martindale Hubbell, which describes her legal abilities and professionalism as “Preeminent.” Amy has also been elected to the Fellows of the American Bar Foundation, which is limited to one-third of one percent of lawyers licensed to practice in Ohio. She has repeatedly been named a “Super Lawyer” in the area of Labor and Employment Law by Super Lawyers Magazine.

AGlesius@BolekBesser.com

 

216-464-3004  

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Bolek Besser Glesius LLC
5885 Landerbrook Drive
Suite 302
Cleveland, OH 44124

Frederick M. Gittes

 

Fred Gittes is former president of the National Employment Lawyers Association and the Ohio Association for Justice (formerly the Ohio Academy of Trial Lawyers). He was appointed Chair of the Civil Rights Committee of the Ohio State Bar Association for five years and elected Chairperson of the OSBA's Labor and Employment Law Section. He has been selected by a peer review process for inclusion in Best Lawyers in America for over twenty years, in areas of practice including Employment Law, First Amendment Law and Communications Law. Fred has been repeatedly honored by being voted one of the top 100 lawyers in Ohio, as reported by Ohio Super Lawyers.

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Fred has represented people from all walks of life – physicians, journalists, assembly line workers, nurses, social workers, teachers, truck drivers, mechanics, firefighters, police officers, legislators, tellers, sales representatives, bankers, engineers, attorneys, janitors, secretaries, radio and TV performers and news anchors – in a wide variety of cases. His legal work ranges from assisting individuals who are unemployed and disabled to representing high profile political personalities and executives. Fred has served as lead counsel in complex civil and criminal proceedings in Ohio, California, Florida, and New York. His practice includes employment law, civil rights, invasion of privacy, defamation, medical privileging, professional negligence, police misconduct, public records, and environmental law.

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FGittes@GittesLaw.com

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The Gittes Law Group, LLC
723 Oak Street
Columbus, OH 43205

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614-222-4735

Greg Gordillo

 

Gregory A. Gordillo has focused his law practice on employment related matters since he graduated in the top 5% of his class at Cleveland Marshall College of Law. After a successful eight-year association with one of Ohio's largest law firms, Greg opened his own law offices in Cleveland, Ohio. 

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Greg is a nationally recognized lawyer. He has published numerous articles on trial procedure and employment laws, and his work has been cited and relied on by the New Jersey Supreme Court and the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, which determines federal law for Connecticut, New York, and Vermont. He was one of only 30 trial lawyers selected from across the country to attend the American Bar Association's First National Trial Academy. He has also been invited to speak at trial tactics and employment law related seminars across the country.

GGprdillo@ValoreGordillo.com

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Valore & Gordillo
21055 Lorain Rd.
Fairview Park, OH 44126

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440-333-7330

Neil Klingshirn
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Neil grew up on his family's Lake Erie farm and winery. More interested in books than vines, Neil knew by grade five he would practice law for a living. After graduating with Honors from Kent State University and The Ohio State University College of Law, he began his career in 1986 with one of the nation's largest law firms. He formed his own firm 1993. Neil joined Elfvin, Klingshirn, Royer & Torch, LLC in 2016, whose attorneys have over 100 years of employment law experience.

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Neil's peers have selected him as a Super Lawyer every year since 2005, and long ago honored him with an AV rating, signifying preeminence in the practice of law and the very highest ethical standards. Neil was among the first 50 lawyers in Ohio to receive Specialty certification in Labor and Employment law.

 

Neil currently serves the employment law community as a Board Member of the Ohio Employment Lawyers's Association and as a founding Member of Protecting Ohio's Employees. Neil serves on the Ohio State Bar Association's (OSBA) Employment Law Specialization Board. Earlier, Neil was the Chair of the OSBA Employment Law Section and a member of the Midwest Labor Law Conference Planning Committee.

Neil@EKRTLaw.com

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4700 Rockside Road

Suite 530

Independence, Ohio 44131

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216-382-2500

Sheila Smith

 

Sheila Smith, of Counsel to Freking Myers & Reul, has dedicated her law career to representing employees in employment matters. She has represented hundreds of employees, and has won two multimillion-dollar jury verdicts and two significant pro-employee decisions in the appeals courts. The law is Sheila’s second career; she was an engineer for a large corporation for eleven years prior to studying law. She is a published law review author and frequent speaker on employment law topics, and has been included in various “Who’s Who” publications since 1993. She has also been included in “The Best Lawyers in America” since 2007, and has been an “Ohio Superlawyer” since 2004. Sheila is a Chicago native transplanted to Cincinnati in 1981, and received her engineering degree from Purdue University and her J.D. (Order of the Coif) from the University of Cincinnati.

SSmith@FMR.law

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Freking Myers & Reul
3345 Legendary Trails Dr.
Cincinnati, OH 45245

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513-218-2569

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