Our Work

Litigation

Chief Trial Counsel: Elena Boop

Chief Assistant Directors of Law: J.R. Russell, Tiffany Fischbach and William Menzalora

Our litigation section represents the City of Cleveland and its Departments and Divisions in proactive and defense litigation arising from contracts, property damage, personal injury, wrongful death, workers compensation, labor and employment matters, civil rights litigation, injunctive, declarative, and mandamus actions and other litigation in state and federal judicial and quasi-judicial tribunals in Ohio and throughout the country.

Operations & Sustainability

Chief Assistant Director of Law: Geraldine Butler

We protects the health of residents and the environment while providing environmental support for Brownfield projects. The Operations & Sustainability section counsels and represents the City's electric and water utilities, the City Department of Public Health, and both the Offices of Sustainability and Professional Standards.

Code Enforcement

Chief Assistant Director of Law: David Roberts

Fights for residents' quality of life through enforcement of the City's Building, Housing, Fire Prevention, Health and Zoning codes through criminal prosecution, civil nuisance abatement actions, and direct enforcement of the City’s codes.  This section counsels and represents the Department of Building & Housing, Department of Health and Division of Fire Prevention with respect to code enforcement.

House Counsel

Chief Assistant Director of Law: Stephanie Melnyk

We counsel the City regarding municipal law and finances, drafts legislation and contracts, and prosecutes tax cases.

Development

Chief Assistant Director of Law: Richard Bertovich

Helps the City's economic-development efforts by counseling and crafting real-estate and development transactions for job creation. The Law Department’s Development section counsels and represents the City Departments of Community Development, Economic Development, City Planning, Non-Code Enforcement Building & Housing Matters, and Port Control (airports).

Public Records

Amy Hough, Chair

The City’s public records section represents the city and its departments and divisions in processing public records requests, training of the city’s employees on public records law, providing legal advice to the city’s departments and divisions and representing the city in litigation related to interpretation of Ohio’s public records law. The section processes over 30,000 public records requests annually.

Criminal Division

Chief Assistant Prosecutor: Aqueelah Jordan

The City of Cleveland’s Prosecutor’s Office is responsible for prosecuting misdemeanor crimes, including domestic violence, assault, traffic offenses, and theft. Prosecutors also review (or recommend County review) of incidents that may be felonies. Prosecutors review police use of deadly force and internal investigations to determine whether prosecution is fitting. Misdemeanor Investigators in this division assist citizens with criminal complaints and alternative dispute resolutions for criminal matters within the City of Cleveland.