2005 Archive	Highlights
September	In August, the Dayton Business Journal published its annual list "Dayton-Area Law Firms," ranked in size by number of local lawyers. On October 7, our firm is presenting a damages seminar for corporate counsel, The firm is preparing for its fall recruiting process. Andrew J. Reitz, a second-year associate at FI&C, recently completed an externship program with the Montgomery County Public Defender's Office as part of FI&C's externship program with the Public Defender's Office. In August, our firm opened our new employee workout room. Katie Miltner recently authored a note, entitled Discriminatory Filtering: CIPA's Effect on Our Nation's Youth and Why the Supreme Court Erred in Upholding the Constitutionality of The Children's Internet Protection Act Rebecca Owen, recently published her Note in Volume 20 of the Ohio State Journal on Dispute Resolution.
August	Charlie Faruki wrote a chapter for the book of materials that the Ohio Bar Association distributes to new lawyers upon admissions to the bar. Julie Zink has been asked to resume her role as an adjunct professor at the University of Dayton School of Law (UDSL) this fall. Andrew LeMar was selected to be the Vice Chair of the Dayton Bar Association's Congeniality Within the Profession Committee. FI&C Associate, Chad Burton, was recently appointed as Vice Chair of the New Lawyers Committee for the Dayton Bar Association. Jacqueline Brown will be Vice Chair of the Dayton Bar Association's Diversity Issues and Federal Practice committees for the new DBA session.
July	FI&C achieved an important win recently on behalf of one of the firm's long standing clients. Jeff Ireland and Brian Wright recently authored an article, entitled "Easing the Burden: Recovery of Damage Control Costs After Balance Dynamics Corporation v. Schmitt Industries, Incorporated," that has been published in the Spring 2005 edition of the Consumer Protection Update. Ron Raether was a presenter in June at a day-long seminar sponsored by the National Business Institute titled "Getting the Evidence You Need: Effectively Conducting E-Discovery and Computer Forensics." Partner Jeff Sharkey has been named a member of the Dayton Area Chamber of Commerce's Ambassador's Club. On June 10, 2005, FI&C associate Julie Zink was elected to serve a two-year term as the Treasurer for the Dayton Intellectual Property Law Association (DIPLA). The Spring 2005 issue of Dayton Lawyer magazine contains an article on the Intellectual Property Moot Court Team at the University of Dayton School of Law. Charlie Faruki authored an article explaining consumer class actions, at the request of the Ohio State Bar Association.
June	On May 17, a number of partners and associates in the firm made a presentation to one of the firm's clients, on the two subjects of Daubert hearings and Markman hearings. Charlie Faruki received the Dean Francis J. Conte Special Service Award from the Alumni Association Board of Trustees of the University of Dayton School of Law. FI&C associate, Julie Zink, has accepted an invitation to join the Advisory Board for the Paralegal Program at Sinclair Community College. Michele A. Murphy successfully completed the Cincinnati Academy of Leadership for Lawyers ("CALL") Class IX. Chad Burton was recently appointed to the Board of Directors for a non-profit organization called the Miami Valley Teen Coalition.
May	Our firm received a special award on Law Day, May 5, 2005, from the Montgomery County Common Pleas Court... During the past month Charlie Faruki spoke at two programs. FI&C associates Eli Kiefaber and Brian Wright, working pro bono, successfully appealed the sentence of William DeLong, an indigent defendant. FI&C associate, Julie Zink, participated in a special panel presentation for "Women in Law" at the University of Dayton on April 20, 2005.
April	On March 9, 2004, the U.S. District Court in Dayton issued an order unsealing an oral decision from July 2004; the order had been sealed originally to assure that an arbitrator hearing related issues was not influenced by the Court's analysis of legal issues and witnesses' credibility. In a decision on March 14, 2005, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Ohio rejected challenges to a tortious interference claim that had been brought by one of the firm's clients against a competing manufacturer. On March 25, 2005, Ohio's Second District Court of Appeals affirmed an earlier decision by the Montgomery County Court of Common Pleas that FI&C client The Dayton Power and Light Company ("DP&L") is entitled to summary judgment on a former employee's claims of wrongful termination in violation of public policy and constructive discharge. On March 23, 2005, FI&C attorneys Bob Bartlett, Tom Kraemer, and Karl Neudorfer obtained a summary judgment in favor of Miami Valley Broadcasting Corporation d/b/a WHIO-TV ("WHIO"), Becky Grimes, Cox Broadcasting, Inc. and Cox Enterprises, Inc. on defamation claims brought by the proprietors of various adult entertainment enterprises. Bob Bartlett and Karl Neudorfer have successfully defended Dayton Newspapers, Inc. ("DNI") against claims of disability discrimination brought by a DNI employee. On March 11, 2005, based upon memoranda prepared by Jeff Sharkey and Erin Stefanec, the Warren County Common Pleas Court dismissed four claims filed by the City of Franklin against FI&C client Miami Wabash Paper LLC ("MWP"). Ron Raether was a presenter in March at a day-long seminar sponsored by the National Business Institute titled "Overcoming Your Fears: Utilizing Technology in Litigation." (see also: http://www.ficlaw.com/raethertech.htm ) On March 11, 2005, Don Burton, Julie Zink, John Fischer and Erin Bair presented a mock Markman hearing at the University of Dayton School of Law for members of the Dayton Intellectual Property Law Association, as well as students and faculty of the university.
March	At a luncheon attended by approximately 800 people, Jeff and Ellen Ireland received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Young Women's Christian Association ("YWCA"). Charlie Faruki has been selected to be a Fellow of the Ohio State Bar Foundation. Ron Raether was a presenter last month at a day-long seminar sponsored by the Institute for Paralegal Education titled "Document Gathering, Production and Management for Litigation Paralegals in Ohio." Numerous FI&C personnel have volunteered to participate in the Dayton Early College Academy ("DECA"), which involves tutoring high school students to help them to develop their writing skills. Eli Kiefaber tried a murder case in state court, as part of FI&C's Public Defender Externship Program, and succeeded in procuring a lesser offense verdict. FI&C attorneys continue to be active in the community.
February	As a part of FI&C's growing media and communications law practice, Bob Bartlett, Tom Kraemer, and Karl Neudorfer are defending a local television station WHIO-TV 7 ("WHIO") in an action claiming that WHIO made defamatory broadcasts about a local business. The Public Utilities Commission of Ohio ("PUCO") recently approved a Stipulation negotiated by Jeff Sharkey. Tim Pepper, Ian Taronji, and Brian Wright are all 2004-2005 Dayton Bar Association Committee Chairs. John Fischer along with fellow FI&C associates Erin Stefanec and Chad Burton coached Dayton's Chaminade-Julienne Catholic High School Mock Trial Team to a first-place finish at the February 2005 mock trial district competition, where several of the Chaminade-Julienne students also won top oralist awards.
January	Once again, FI&C was well-represented in the annual Super Lawyers survey of Ohio attorneys conducted by Law & Politics Magazine and by Cincinnati Magazine. The Dayton Business Journal recently published its 2005 Book of Lists. Last month, Charlie Faruki, Paul Horstman and Jeff Sharkey won an appeal before the Ohio Supreme Court, on behalf of FI&C client The Dayton Power and Light Company ("DP&L").  Brad Anderson, one of FI&C's senior associates, is the newly-elected Vice President of Health Partners of Miami County, and will also serve that organization as Chair of its Board Development Committee.  Eli Kiefaber and Katie Wahl, the first two associates to participate in the start of the FI&C/Montgomery County Public Defender externship program, are in the final stages of their externships.  FI&C is eager to have Eli and Katie return to FI&C to share their experiences with others and to put their newly-developed skills to work.