Community Involvement
Community Outreach
Giving back to the community is a value deeply embedded in the culture of Calfee, Halter & Griswold. We routinely participate in services and activities in the Cleveland, Columbus and Cincinnati communities, where our professionals live and work. From food banks and area schools to Habitat for Humanity and Harvest for Hunger, our community service efforts are approached with the same kind of enthusiasm we bring to our practice.
Many of Calfee’s attorneys support charities in the Cleveland, Columbus and Cincinnati areas and several are service-sector leaders in various community diversity-driven projects. Some of the firm’s recent community service involvement includes:
- East Cleveland’s Shaw High School Mock Trial Team
- St. Martin de Porres Corporate Work Study Program
- Youth Opportunities Unlimited
- Habitat for Humanity
- Harvest for Hunger
- The Northern Ohio Minority Business Council
- The Commission on Economic Inclusion
- United Way
- Achievement Centers for Children
- University Circle, Inc.
- The Cleveland Zoological Society
- Goodwill
- Cleveland Metropolitan Bar Association (High school, year-long education programs, 3R’s; Minority Clerkship Program; Minority Judicial Clerkship Program; High school internship program; Buy-A-Book Program for inner-city schools)
Calfee Initiatives
In addition to Calfee’s ongoing community service involvement, we also develop our own diversity initiatives to help us stay active in our communities. In Columbus, many of our attorneys and staff support both the arts and education through a unique, annual program that began in 2003. We purchase 20-30 pieces of artwork from students at Columbus Public Schools (CPS) that serve as the main artwork for the walls of our Columbus office. Calfee combines the recognition program with a donation to the CPS Art Fund each year. The Columbus office also involves itself in the community in a number of other ways, such as City Year Columbus, Children’s Hospital Foundation, TechColumbus, Children’s Hunger Alliance, Toys-4-Tots, and through mentoring at OSU Moritz College of Law.
In Cincinnati, Charlie Luken, Senior Counsel in Calfee’s Government Relations and Legislation group, has been involved in the expansion of the Greater Cincinnati Convention Center and the formation of the Cincinnati Center City Development Corporation. Committed to improving race relations, Charlie formed Cincinnati CAN, a roundtable of community leaders working to improve Cincinnati’s economic and racial climate. He also has served on the boards of Cincinnati Art Museum, CincyTech USA Leadership, Cincinnati Retirement System, Cincinnati Youth Collaborative and has served as chairman of Downtown Cincinnati, Inc. Charlie has been a member of Success by Six Community Conference, Fifth Third Charlotte Schmidlapp Fund, and American Federation of Television and Radio Artists. He received an honorary doctorate of humanities from the Cincinnati State Technical College.
Also in Cincinnati, Senator Richard Finan serves as director of Franklin Savings and Loan; First Franklin Corporation; Rest Haven Cemetery Association and the Warren County Arts and Culture Center. He is the chairman of the Capitol Square Review Advisory Board (Ohio Statehouse) and co-chairman of the Trust for Democracy; and co-chair of the Government Cooperation & Efficiency Project and Hamilton County Planning Partners. Senator Finan is on the board of directors of St. Joseph Home, CET Public Television, Ohio Veterans Hall of Fame, Capitol Square Foundation and The National Conference of State Legislatures Foundation. He is also a member of multiple organizations and committees, including Cincinnati Bar Association; Sharonville, Reading, Hamilton County and Sycamore Township Republican clubs.
Pro Bono
Calfee is very active in pro bono activities in Cleveland, Columbus and Cincinnati. Click here to learn more about our efforts.