Frantz Ward LLP is pleased to announce that attorneys
Thomas G. Haren and
Ryan T. Smith have been elected as District 12 representatives of the Ohio State Bar Association Council of Delegates. They will each serve a two-year term.
The Council of Delegates is one of the two major governing bodies of the Ohio State Bar Association – the other being the Board of Governors. Members of the Council meet at least once a year to consider legislative proposals offered by the committees and sections of the Association. In addition, members also consider proposed rule changes to the Ohio Rules of Professional Conduct and other matters pertaining to the Association and the legal profession.
Tom represents growing businesses at each stage of their development, advising them on complex matters involving regulatory oversight, corporate governance, risk management, and other day-to-day business issues. He often works with his clients to overcome short-term regulatory and financial uncertainty to achieve long-term success in developing markets. When litigation is unavoidable, Tom crafts litigation strategies for a defense-led investigation and discovery effort to uncover new favorable facts and witnesses. Tom's practice is also focused on marijuana law and policy. He has become one of the go-to attorneys for Ohio's burgeoning medical marijuana industry, working with medical marijuana cultivator, processor, and dispensary applicants and license holders. He assists clients with license acquisition, zoning and municipal law, product labeling and packaging, and regulatory compliance. He also advises ancillary industry stakeholders seeking to service Ohio's medical marijuana market. Tom is recognized on the Ohio Super Lawyers Rising Star list. He earned his J.D,
cum laude, from Cleveland-Marshall College of Law and a B.A. from John Carroll University.
Ryan focuses his practice on employment litigation and labor relations. He represents management in state and federal courts and before administrative agencies in a wide range of matters, including employment discrimination, retaliation, and harassment, wage and hour disputes, including class and collective actions, and breaches of non-competition and other types of employment agreements. Ryan also represents employers in traditional labor matters, at arbitrations and before the National Labor Relations Board. When not representing employers in active disputes, Ryan counsels them on key employment decisions such as wage and hour compliance, leave administration, and terminations, and on various aspects of the collective bargaining relationship. He also drafts employment agreements and policy manuals. Ryan is recognized on the Ohio Super Lawyers Rising Star list. He earned his J.D.,
cum laude, from The Ohio State University Moritz College of Law and his B.S. from Miami University.