Login | March 29, 2024

Longtime Akron attorney to take reins as OSBA president-elect

SHERRY KARABIN
Legal News Reporter

Published: May 27, 2015

As a member of the Ohio State Bar Association Board of Governors, Roetzel & Andress Administrative Partner Ronald Kopp has participated in the search and selection of a new executive director. He also chairs the board’s budget & headquarters committee, where he oversees and manages a multi-million dollar budget and real estate holdings, along with working on many other projects.

But on July 1, Kopp will embark on an entirely new challenge as president-elect of the organization that represents about 23,000 members of the bench and bar and almost 4,000 legal assistants and law students. After getting his feet wet, he will take the reins as president of the OSBA on July 1, 2016.

While there generally are multiple candidates for Ohio State Bar Association president-elect, Kopp said he had the “good fortune,” to run uncontested this time. He was declared president-elect designate in January 2015, and the news was announced during the OSBA’s annual convention at Kalahari Resorts in Sandusky in late April.

“I think his legal practice and leadership experience make him an ideal candidate,” said Executive Director Mary Amos Augsburger. “He has served on our board and now as president-elect and president, he will be a member of the board for two of our affiliates, the Ohio State Bar Foundation and the Ohio Bar Liability Insurance Company.

“I think his experience as a former Akron Bar Association president and as current chair of Leadership Akron’s board of trustees gives him the expertise and mentorship skills that will help us connect with younger members of the bar.”

“I can’t tell you how honored I am to be selected for this position,” Kopp said. “The opportunity to represent my profession and help to improve opportunities for justice throughout our great state is a true privilege. When I was a boy, all I wanted to do was become a lawyer. I would never have imagined something this special. I’m blessed.”

A native of Canton, Kopp received his bachelor’s degree in political science from Miami University and his juris doctor from The Ohio State University Moritz College of Law. He has been a member of both the Akron and Ohio State bar associations since graduating from law school in 1979.

He also joined Roetzel & Andress as an associate in 1979, the firm where he has spent his career focusing on business litigation.

“I like the challenge of breaking down difficult problems and helping juries arrive at solutions,” said Kopp, who became partner at Roetzel & Andress in 1986. “I also enjoy helping businesses and business people work through their disputes and get to a better place.”

Over the years, Kopp has been on numerous committees at the Akron Bar Association, serving as president from 1996 to1997. He is a past governor of the Akron Bar Foundation and former adjunct professor at The University of Akron School of Law.

A 1987 Leadership Akron graduate, Kopp has been a member of Leadership Akron’s board of trustees since 2006 and is currently the chair. In addition, he is the secretary both the John S. Knight Memorial Journalism Fund and the Welty Family Foundation along with being a former president of the Fairlawn Country Club.

“One of the most significant things that occurred during my term as state bar governor over the past three years was trying to find a replacement for our former executive director, Denny Ramey, who retired after an impressive 33 years of service,” said Kopp.

“It took work to find someone with the right combination of skill and experience, but eventually we voted unanimously to select Mary Amos Augsburger. She is doing a wonderful job.”

“We have a long tradition of bar involvement at our firm,” said Roetzel & Andress Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Jeffrey Casto. “Ron has participated at the local and state levels and has been pursuing opportunities to get into a leadership position at the Ohio State Bar Association.

“I think the fact that he has been chosen as president-elect and will eventually be president is a very fine endorsement of Ron’s professional abilities and his service to the bar association. I’m sure he’ll do great things in terms of improving the bar association and moving it forward throughout the state,” said Casto.

When Kopp becomes OSBA president in July 2016, he will be the 10th person in the organization’s history from Akron to serve in the role. The first time a member from Akron held the spot was 1887. A member of Kopp’s law firm, the late Chester Wise, held the position in 1941.

“As an organization, the state bar is dealing with many of the same concerns as the rest of the profession,” said Kopp. “One of the greatest challenges is how to deal with the void in experience that will be left after the baby boomers retire.

“About 25 percent of the attorneys in Ohio are 63 or older. They are preparing to move out of the profession at a time when many younger attorneys are facing unemployment or under-employment, thus causing far fewer people to attend law school.”

In addition, Kopp said there is a severe access to justice among low-income individuals.

“I believe there is a real opportunity to fill this void, as well as voids that will occur throughout the profession, with attorneys who are just getting their feet wet and need jobs. But those lawyers and our communities need help understanding where the needs are. As president-elect and president, I plan to work with our board, members and staff to address these sorts of challenges,” said Kopp. “We are in a unique position to provide needed leadership.”


[Back]