In its December 9, 2007 edition, the Dayton Daily News reported that Faruki Ireland & Cox was recently ranked second in Ohio in litigation among Ohio law firms.
An edited excerpt of the article reads:

"The law firm was recently ranked second in litigation among Ohio law firms by Chambers USA Magazine. Each year, the magazine performs extensive research and interviews in determining which law firms will be included. Individually, Charles Faruki was ranked first in Litigation: General Commercial. He focuses on business litigation and has represented many corporations in state and federal courts, and before agencies . . .

Partner D. Jeffrey Ireland was ranked fourth in Litigation: General Commercial. He has represented clients in federal and state courts throughout the United States for more than 25 years. . . . Both Faruki and Ireland co-founded the firm in 1989."

The independent ranking of the firm as second in business litigation among Ohio law firms, and the rankings of Charlie Faruki in the first tier and Jeff Ireland in the fourth tier in General Commercial litigation, show the strength of the firm, and the depth and breadth of its practice.

Charlie Faruki, Jeff Ireland, Jeff Cox, Bob Bartlett, and Tom Kraemer –all FI&C partners – have been recognized as Super Lawyers for their noteworthy talents in law.
Super Lawyers identifies the top 5 percent of attorneys in each state, as chosen by their peers and through the independent research of Law & Politics. In 2007, approximately 31,606 ballots were distributed asking attorneys to cast votes for the best lawyers based on their personal knowledge and statewide reputation.  Following a lengthy review process, interviews, and independent research, the nominees were ranked in over 76 practice areas.

In a case involving an explosion at one of the firm's clients, a local chemical company, the firm recently won the dismissal of an appeal taken by the opposing party.
The Plaintiffs were nearby residents who had been evacuated from their homes following the explosion. After certification of a class of all homeowners within a one-mile radius of the chemical plant, the case proceeded to a jury trial on compensatory damages for a selection of thirty-one Plaintiffs. The jury returned verdicts that were much lower than the amounts requested by the Plaintiffs. Dissatisfied with the results of the jury trial, the Plaintiffs appealed to the Second District Court of Appeals of Ohio. The court dismissed the appeal for lack of a final appealable order.

FI&C completed another very successful recruiting year.
FI&C will welcome the following new associates in the fall of 2008: Stephen Weigand (University of Cincinnati College of Law; Bowling Green State University); Tony Schoen (Ohio State University College of Law; Ohio University); and Trey Pauley (University of Toledo College of Law; Wilmington College). We will also welcome the following summer associates for the summer of 2008: Jade Smarda (University of Dayton School of Law; Miami University) and Kelly Rethman (Florida State University College of Law; Tiffin University).

Charlie Faruki and Jeff Ireland made a recent presentation on antitrust, business ethics and compliance issues to the senior management of one of the firm's manufacturing clients.
Topics included the antitrust laws, recent developments regarding distribution, and compliance steps; the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act; business ethics; practical advice in dealing with distributors and contractual issues regarding the same; an update on international competition law developments; and electronic discovery/litigation hold issues. Charlie and Jeff have represented this client in a variety of cases, including distribution and antitrust, patent, employment and products liability cases.

As in previous years, in December Charlie Faruki participated in teaching the Annual Federal Practice Update for the Dayton Bar Association.
The Federal Practice and Procedure topics covered by Magistrate Judge Michael R. Merz and Charlie included caselaw developments in the following areas: motion practice, personal jurisdiction, removal, jurisdiction and procedure, electronically stored information, spoliation of evidence, evidentiary issues including issues regarding expert testimony, attorney/client privilege, Title VII discrimination litigation, and punitive damages.

Ron Raether spoke at a nationwide CLE teleconference on electronic evidence and shared his experience in navigating the unique issues raised by electronic discovery.
The December 28, 2007 teleconference was broadcasted nationally and was sponsored by the NBI. Drawing on Ron's years of dealing with electronic discovery issues, the seminar, titled "Best Practices in E-Discovery Management," focused on teaching legal professionals the current rules applicable to the collection, production and use of electronic evidence in federal courts. The written materials for the December presentation can be found Here.

Ron Raether addressed a nationwide audience on ethics from the perspective of an attorney who has handled information technology issues for numerous years on many different levels.
Ron's presentation relied on his years of technology-related experience, focusing on the ethical considerations for attorneys as they represent clients that rely on information technology, communicate regularly with clients and opposing counsel using e-mail, and other technology-related issues that could raise ethical issues if ignored. The December 21, 2007 teleconference, broadcasted to a national audience by NBI, not only addressed obvious issues such as e-discovery, use of email and metadata, but also addressed the emerging information security obligations of lawyers and law firms. The materials for the seminar, entitled "Legal Ethics in the Information Age," can be found Here.

Brian Wright participated in a panel discussion on December 7, 2007 regarding civil pretrial motion practice, which was sponsored by the Young Lawyers Division of the Dayton Bar Association.
In addition to Brian, the seminar, entitled "Pointers for Civil Motion Practice," featured Judge Jeffrey E. Froelich, Judge A.J. Wagner, and attorney Brian Wildermuth. The panel discussed strategic considerations for preparing dispositive motions and best practices for pretrial civil motion practice. Brian is a former chair (2004-05) of the Young Lawyers Division (formerly known as the New Lawyers Committee) of the Dayton Bar Association, in which several attorneys at FI&C are current active members.