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Former Mahoning Bar president receives Distinguished Service Award
SHERRY KARABIN
Legal News Reporter
Published: July 9, 2020
He didn’t set out to be a lawyer, but once he started practicing Robert Christian said he quickly became aware of his ability to make a positive difference in his clients’ lives.
“Being a lawyer lets you help a lot of people in a variety of situations,” said Christian, a solo practitioner in Youngstown. “When I first started out I did a lot of criminal appointments like many new attorneys do, but I found what I enjoy the most is doing guardian ad litem and adoption work.
“I believe I’ve done over 650 adoptions during the 43 plus years that I’ve been a lawyer and I’ve never charged full price for one of them,” he said. “I figured out early on that I wasn’t going to become wealthy by being a lawyer so I decided to find something I really like, which is adoptions.
“People often stop me on the street and introduce me to the children of their adopted children, which is very gratifying,” Christian said.
A member of The Mahoning County Bar Association since 1977, Christian has served as president, on the board of trustees and has been active on many committees over the years. He’s a former chair and co-chair of the bar association’s Lawyer Referral Service and a current member of the certified grievance and campaign ethics committees.
“I believe the bar association provides many important services to lawyers,” said Christian. “It offers continuing legal education, notary classes and networking opportunities. When younger attorneys join, members are always willing to help them out with questions or anything else they need.”
In addition to his bar service, Christian is a longtime member and a former chairman of the Beaver Township Zoning Board of Appeals. He also served on the board of Northeast Ohio Legal Services (now Community Legal Aid Services Inc.) for over 25 years, including 20 years as treasurer. The organization has recognized him for his pro bono work.
As he winds down his legal practice, Christian was recently presented with The Mahoning County Bar Association’s Distinguished Service Award.
Given to a lawyer who has provided exemplary service to the bar association and/or the community at large, the recipient is selected based on the services performed during a specific calendar year or for the assistance provided over the course of many years.
“I was very surprised and honored,” said Christian, who received the award at the bar association’s golf outing, which took place on June 29 at the Youngstown Country Club. “There is a long list of really distinguished individuals who have received this award.”
“I have known Bob Christian for many years and have had the opportunity to personally observe his pro bono service to the community and his devotion to the bar association, including a year of presidency and many years as a trustee,” said Kelly Johns, past president of The Mahoning County Bar Association. “He is well-deserving of the Distinguished Service Award.
“We would normally present Bob with a plaque during the annual election banquet, after the golf outing,” said Johns, a shareholder in the Youngstown office of Reminger Co., who focuses on workers’ compensation, administrative and litigation matters. “But this year’s banquet was canceled due to the pandemic, so we presented him with the plaque during our pre-golf luncheon, which was held outside the country club.”
His wife, former Mahoning County Common Pleas Court Judge Shirley Christian said she is “thrilled” that the bar association recognized her husband for his many years of service.
“Bob is an excellent lawyer and the most reliable person I know,” said Judge Christian. “He is extremely intelligent and demonstrates great patience when working with clients.
“He has been very active in the bar association,” she said. “He has served on the certified grievance committee for many years. He puts on CLEs and is always willing to share his knowledge with younger lawyers, which I think is a wonderful thing.
“He enjoys his work, but he doesn’t talk about all that he does, so it’s nice to know that people notice.”
A native of Youngstown, Christian received his bachelor’s degree in geology from the University of Washington in Seattle. He then returned to Mahoning County, joining the local carpenters union and working for Jones & Laughlin Steel Corp. in Campbell, Ohio.
“I was still deciding what I wanted to do at the time,” he said. “My closest friend in college, who was also a geology major, went to law school. We started talking on the phone and he said ‘I think you’d really like it.’ I gave it some thought and decided to give it a try.”
After receiving his juris doctorate from the school now known as Ohio Northern University Claude W. Pettit College of Law in 1976, he started a practice in Youngstown.
He later went to work for attorney Bob Hammond. “Bob was the GC for the Youngstown Metropolitan Housing Authority. I started doing work for the organization and later became general counsel.”
The two were partners for a few years under the firm name Hammond, Hammond & Christian. Afterward, they returned to their previous office sharing arrangement.
Today Christian primarily focuses on adoptions, probate and landlord-tenant matters. While representing landlords in eviction proceedings, he said he frequently works with opposing counsel or tenants to come up with alternatives to eviction.
Christian, who turns 72 in September, is the process of retiring, a decision he said he made last year after his wife left Reminger Co., where she served as of counsel from Feb. 2017 until June 30, 2019.
“I am cleaning up my cases, which has taken longer than I expected because of the pandemic,” he said. “I won’t give up my license because I still plan to continue doing adoptions.
“Being a lawyer is very satisfying,” Christian said. “Many nights I go home knowing I did good for somebody.”
Christian said he is hoping to travel more in the future.
“My wife and I planned on taking a driving tour to the West Coast this summer, but those plans didn’t work out,” he said. “Hopefully, we’ll be able to do so next summer.”