Larry J. Obhof, Jr.

Partner

Shumaker Professionals Larry J. Obhof, Jr.
Larry J. Obhof, Jr.
Larry J. Obhof, Jr.

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Education
  • J.D., Editor, Yale Journal on Regulation; Editor, Yale Law and Policy Review, 2003; Elected Class Secretary for Class of 2003, Yale Law School, 2003
  • B.A., summa cum laude, Pi Beta Kappa, The Ohio State University, 2000
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Larry builds on a wide range of experiences – including as an accomplished attorney, a former President of the Ohio Senate, and a legal academic – to help solve his clients’ most challenging legal problems. He focuses on complex litigation, including high-stakes appeals.

A Partner in the firm’s Litigation and Disputes Service Line, Larry focuses 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, elections law, and employment law. These range from standard contract disputes, to constitutional challenges against federal statutes, to defending against complex class actions. Larry has represented large employers and statewide associations and officeholders, and he even served as a special prosecutor to defend a common pleas court and retired judge against a mandamus action. 

Larry has represented parties or amicus curiae before the Ohio Supreme Court and the U.S. Supreme Court. He has an active amicus practice helping clients raise issues that are important to them but which might not have been raised or fully developed by the parties in the case. These have included statutory issues, such as tort reform and limitations on damages, statutes of limitations, and the proper application of environmental laws. Larry’s experience also includes high-profile matters involving a range of constitutional questions. These include, among others, questions related to property rights, the Commerce Clause, the Establishment Clause and Free Exercise Clause, the Second Amendment, tax issues arising under Article I and the Sixteenth Amendment, and the requirements for Article III standing.        

In addition to his litigation practice, Larry 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, Larry 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. Larry also sponsored significant updates to Ohio’s Control Share Acquisition Act, which governs corporate takeovers. In 2018, he received the Ohio State Bar Association’s Lawyer-Legislator Distinguished Service Award.

Larry has also taught courses on Civil Procedure and Legislation as an adjunct law professor at Case Western Reserve University School of Law. He has published legal scholarship on a range of issues, including constitutional law, education, law and economics, and securities. He has been cited in more than 75 law journals throughout the country and by a member of the United States Supreme Court.

Larry began his legal career as a law clerk to Judge Alice M. Batchelder of the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit. He has worked at some of the nation’s largest law firms and began his private practice by spending more than five years with Chicago-based Kirkland & Ellis LLP.

From 2018-2020, Larry 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. He is also a former member of the Ohio Constitutional Modernization Commission, the Ohio Criminal Sentencing Commission, and the Ohio Criminal Justice Recodification Committee.

Media Mentions:

  • Member of team that successfully appealed a preliminary injunction entered by a federal district court against a hospital system and its insurance subsidiary, in a case involving refusal-to-deal claims under the Sherman Act.  Obtained a decision from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit, vacating the preliminary injunction.  
  • Appointed Special Prosecutor to defend a common pleas court and retired judge in an action seeking a writ of prohibition or mandamus against the court.  Successfully defended the action and obtained a full dismissal from the appellate court.
  • Represented amici curiae on a range of constitutional issues, in amicus briefs filed in the U.S. Supreme Court and the Ohio Supreme Court.
  • Member of team that challenged the constitutionality of the Obama Administration's healthcare reform law on behalf of a small business association and the attorneys general or governors of 26 states. Helped draft amended complaint and all trial-level briefing, including successful motion for summary judgment.
  • Represented the Securities Investor Protection Act (SIPA) Trustee for the liquidation of Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities LLC, in connection with prior firm’s role as court-appointed counsel.
  • Member of team that successfully defended large international food producer against a class action involving Sherman Act and state law price fixing claims, with potential treble damages of nearly $500 million.
  • Successfully defended appeal of summary judgment finding in client's favor, against claims for employment discrimination and alleged violation of whistleblower protection laws. Briefed the issues and argued the appeal.
  • Trial-level and appellate-level experience in securities-based class actions, including writing pleadings, motions and appellate briefs in cases where plaintiffs sought hundreds of millions of dollars in damages.
  • Pro bono experience has included representing indigent defendants in federal appeals, including obtaining a Sixth Circuit decision vacating the client's sentence and remanding for resentencing under the Fair Sentencing Act.

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  • Business Sectors
  • Service Lines
  • Education
    • J.D., Editor, Yale Journal on Regulation; Editor, Yale Law and Policy Review, 2003; Elected Class Secretary for Class of 2003, Yale Law School, 2003
    • B.A., summa cum laude, Pi Beta Kappa, The Ohio State University, 2000
  • Bar and Court Admissions
    • Ohio, 2012
    • Illinois, 2004
    • United States Supreme Court
    • United States Court of Appeals, Fourth Circuit
    • United States Court of Appeals, Sixth Circuit
    • United States Court of Appeals, Seventh Circuit
    • United States Court of Appeals, Eighth Circuit
    • United States Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit
    • United States Court of Appeals, Tenth Circuit
    • United States Court of Appeals, District of Columbia Circuit
    • United States Court of Appeals, Federal Circuit
    • United States District Court, Northern District of Ohio
    • United States District Court, Northern District of Florida
  • Professional and community affiliations
    • Federalist Society, Board member (Columbus Chapter)
    • Ohio Legal Assistance Foundation, former Board member
    • Ohio Constitutional Modernization Commission, former member
    • Ohio Criminal Sentencing Commission, former member
  • Honors
    • Ohio State Bar Association, “Lawyer-Legislator Distinguished Service Award”
    • National Federation of Independent Business, “Guardian of Small Business”  
    • Greater Cleveland Partnership/Council of Smaller Enterprises, “Small Business Advocate of the Year”
    • Youngstown/Warren Regional Chamber, “Political Achievement Award”  
    • Ohio Society of CPAs, “Outstanding Legislator Award” 
    • Ohio Library Council, “Andrew Carnegie Award”
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