Overview

For more than 30 years, Dean has represented individuals, corporations, partnerships and other legal entities in civil litigation, including hearings, bench trials, jury trials, arbitrations, and mediations in state and federal courts in a number of locations throughout the United States.

He has counseled clients in a wide variety of business disputes in such areas of law as contracts, shareholder disputes, lender liability, construction claims, securities fraud, trade secrets, non-compete agreements, director and officer liability, copyright infringement, and environmental claims.

Dean’s experience encompasses the practice of business and commercial litigation including, jury and bench trials, arbitrations and mediation of disputes as well as litigation in such areas as construction, tax, commercial and contract disputes, loan transactions, probate and trust litigation and counseling, professional liability, discrimination claims, employment disputes, unfair competition, fraud claims, business torts, non-competition agreements, trade secrets, breach of fiduciary duties, corporate governance disputes, conditional land use issues, investment disputes, securities FINRA arbitrations and litigation, civil racketeering and ERISA disputes.

He frequently consults with clients concerning the management of litigation exposure.



Practices

    • Represents individuals, corporations, partnerships, shareholders of closely held corporations, and limited liability companies in contract and tort disputes at the state and federal levels.
    • Represents financial and investment institutions, investors, title companies, securities brokers, trustees and trusts and estates.
    • Represents nursing homes and physician practice groups.
    • Represents contractors and builders.
    • Represents a national waste disposal company, cellular telephone companies, national oil and gas company, national lifting technologies company, metal fabricators, uniform supply companies, and national retail supplier of consumer goods.
  • Education

    • Cleveland State University College of Law/CSU College of Law, J.D., 1983
    • Cleveland State University, B.A., magna cum laude, 1976

    Admissions

    • Supreme Court of the U.S.
    • State of Ohio
    • U.S. Court of Appeals, Sixth Circuit
    • U.S. District Court, Northern District of Ohio
    • U.S. Tax Court
  • Professional Affiliations

    • Ohio State Bar Association—Member
    • Cleveland Metropolitan Bar Association—Member
    • Business Mediation Panel of Cuyahoga County—Member
    • Judicial Conference of Eighth Judicial District—Life Member
    • Federal Bar Association—Member
    • Westshore Bar Association—Member
    • Managing Editor, Cleveland State Law Review (1982-1983)

    Community Involvement

    • Options for Families and Youth—Board Member, President (1992-1999)
    • Named to The Best Lawyers in America in the area of Commercial Litigation and Litigation-Trusts and Estates (2017-2024)
    • Named to the Ohio Super Lawyers list (2011-2024)
    • AV Preeminent Peer Review Rated—Martindale-Hubbell
    • Recipient of the Corpus Juris Secundum Award - greatest contribution to legal scholarship in class by Cleveland State University College of Law (1984)
    • Recipient of the Chief Justice Samuel H. Silbert Award - greatest contribution to quality of the Cleveland State Law Review by Cleveland State University School of Law (1983)
    • "What's So Privileged About Attorney-Client Privilege?" Association of Corporate Counsel, Cleveland, OH (August 2021)