Toledo, OH – Former Ohio State Senate President Larry J. Obhof Jr. is joining the law firm of Shumaker. Obhof will be a partner in the firm’s Litigation practice.
“We are thrilled to welcome Larry to Shumaker. Larry is one of the best legal minds in Ohio, and we look forward to his engagement with our clients on some of their most challenging legal problems,” said Shumaker Partner Mark Wagoner. “Larry’s extensive breadth of service in the courtroom, the legislature, and the classroom gives him a skill set few can match.”
“I’m excited to be joining Shumaker and look forward to working with their talented lawyers,” Obhof added. “This is a great fit as I embrace new challenges and the next chapter of my legal career.”
Obhof, a graduate of The Ohio State University and Yale Law School, served as a member of the Ohio Senate for nearly a decade. His colleagues unanimously elected him to serve as Senate President, the presiding officer of the 33-member chamber, from 2017-2020.
During his time in the Senate, Obhof successfully sponsored legislation on a wide range of topics, including education, tax law, elections administration, criminal law, and corporate law. These included a comprehensive update to Ohio’s corporate code and limited liability company law, including the sections setting out fiduciary duties for officers and shareholders. He also sponsored significant updates to Ohio’s Control Share Acquisition Act (which governs corporate takeovers). In 2018, Obhof received the Ohio State Bar Association’s Lawyer-Legislator Distinguished Service Award.
An accomplished attorney and a legal academic, Obhof will focus his practice on litigation at both the trial and appellate levels and has experience in a variety of matters involving antitrust, fiduciary duties, torts, contracts, securities, and employment law. These range from standard contract disputes to constitutional challenges against federal statutes to defending against complex class actions.
Obhof has taught courses on Civil Procedure and Legislation as an adjunct law professor at Case Western Reserve University School of Law. He has also published legal scholarship on a range of issues including constitutional law, education, law and economics, and securities. Obhof has been cited in roughly 75 law journals throughout the country and by a member of the United States Supreme Court.
Beginning his legal career as a law clerk to Judge Alice M. Batchelder of the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit, Obhof has worked at some of the nation’s largest law firms including five years with Chicago-based Kirkland & Ellis LLP.
From 2018-2020, Obhof was a Rodel Fellow at the Aspen Institute, a program designed to bring greater civility to public discourse. He is active in the Federalist Society and is a former Board member of the Ohio Legal Assistance Foundation (now known as the Ohio Access to Justice Foundation), the statewide umbrella organization for legal aid.