Juris Doctor (JD)
Ohio State University College of Law
1974
I’ve never climbed Mt. Everest or ran a marathon. Things that you are looking for as accomplishments as a lawyer can be found on my website www.thomasefriedman.com. I regard my greatest personal accomplishments as being those days that I can leave the office before 7:00 p.m., feeling that my assistant and I have done the most that can be done for our clients under the circumstances, and we’ve given them quality legal services. Then I can go home, go to dinner with my wife, play with the dogs and the cat, watch a little TV, and start over again the next day.

American Bar Association
Ohio State Bar Association
Columbus Bar Association
Family Relations Law since January 2003
All the CLE I’ve ever taken or at which I’ve been a speaker would fill all the space on this webpage. As a certified specialist in Family Relations Law I am required to take 36 specialist hours every two years.
OSBA Family Law Committee
Spousal Support Subcommittee of the OSBA
Ohio Center for Law Related Education
Ohio Supreme Court Advisory Commmittee on Children,Families, and the Courts

November 1974
0012852
OH
1-5

I am an OSBA Board Certified Specialist in Family Relations Law. I am here to help you in a difficult time in your life.
After college, I taught school for three years, then went to law school. I then spent two years as an Assistant Attorney General (Ohio) and two years working for a prepaid legal services plan before I entered private practice as a solo practitioner.
Pacht v. Jadd, 13 Ohio App. 3d 363 (1983). This case established that a medical degree is not marital property. The Ohio Supreme Court did not confirm this principal until several years later in a separate case. I am proud to have established this in Franklin County much earlier.

I was attracted to the legal profession because it was both intellectual and interpersonal at the same time. I knew that my head would be in the books dealing with legal theory, but at the same time I would be dealing with people and their immediate concerns.
36 years of experience helps me to be a better attorney. I was a teacher for 3 years before I went to law school, I was an Assistant Attorney General for 2 years, and I was a staff attorney for a prepaid legal service for a labor union for 2 years before I went into private practice. I am a past chairman of the Columbus Bar Association Family Law Committee, past chairman of the Ohio State Bar Association Family Law Committee, and continue to participate on these committees. I’ve served on the Child Support Guidelines Advisory Council three (3) times. I am a past president of the New Directions Career Center and a Board member of the Ohio Center for Law Related Education, serving students and their teachers.Recently, I was appointed to the Ohio Supreme Court Advisory committee on Children,Families and the Courts.
People who are children of the 60’s, such as myself, became rather cynical in regard to both government and “movements”. The only way to do any good in this world would be to do it for certain individuals, based on their needs, rather than any “movement“ or “cause”.
This law firm is not unique. There are plenty of solo practitioners practicing in this area. The point of comparison is whether or not you, the client, believe I have the ability and sense of judgment to guide you through your legal difficulty. You can only determine that as a result of a face-to-face interview.
The ideal client is the client who has been candid in providing the pertinent facts in regard to the matter and tempers his or her expectations based on the objective analysis received. I refuse to represent clients with absurd goals and expectations. The ideal client is also one who believes in cost effectiveness. Prudent clients do not direct their attorneys to spend 20 hours at $200 per hour on a matter which will only get them $400, if the court sees fit.
I am grateful for any time I can get away from the office to spend with my wife, my pets, and our extended family. Of course, a fair amount of that time is spent watching the Ohio State Buckeyes, the Cincinnati Reds, and puttering in the garden. My wife and I are volunteers in Huntington Gardens, in Schiller Park, which is affiliated with the German Village Society.
Although I am no longer on the Board of the New Directions Career Center, I like to support them financially. The Ohio State Bar Foundation and the Ohio Center for Law Related Education are my favorite 501(C)(3) organizations. My wife and I donate to a number of pet related charities and do considerable volunteer work for the German Village Garden Club.

There are no free consultations in regard to domestic relations matters. There is a $50 consultation fee. However, there is a free consultation for collection matters for small businesses, handled on a bulk basis.
My hourly rate varies between $200.00 and $250.00 per hour. Few matters come in requiring less than 15 hours of time. Therefore, “typical” retainers are around $3,000 to $6,000. However, there are few “typical” cases.

I do some commercial collection work for law firms, dental practices, and other small businesses. This is done on a contingent fee basis.
My hourly rate varies between $200.00 and $250.00 per hour; for my paralegal $70 per hour.