Attorney Ron Kopp, a partner at Roetzel & Andress, was chosen as president of the Ohio State Bar Association (OSBA). He will assume the position July 1.
Kopp said he has identified four priorities for his one-year term:
- The opioid epidemic
- Improving diversity in the bar
- Access to justice or the lack of access to legal aid
- The dramatic rise in the number of “pro se defendants” or people who are representing themselves.
He said Ohioans are entitled to have an attorney appointed in felony criminal cases if they can’t afford one, but they aren’t given this opportunity with civil matters. “We, along with the Ohio Supreme Court, are investing a lot of time and resources into trying to find folks better ways to have a lawyer when they have a legal problem,” Kopp said.
The most recent Akron attorneys to serve as state bar president were Carmen Roberto and Jane Taylor. Roberto is now practicing criminal law, while Taylor is the director of pro bono and communications for the Ohio Legal Assistance Foundation, a nonprofit organization that provides resources and support for the state’s legal aids.