Calfee Managing Partner Emeritus Brent D. Ballard Receives ORT Jurisprudence Award

Calfee Managing Partner Emeritus Brent D. Ballard as well as JOANN Senior Vice President, Chief Legal Officer & Secretary Ann Aber received the ORT Jurisprudence Award at a reception hosted by ORT America in Cleveland on May 22, 2024. The award recognizes outstanding members of the Ohio legal community whose professional and personal lives have established new directions for the enhancement of their profession and their community, created role models for others to emulate, and improved the quality of life for others.

Founded in 1880, ORT is a training and education network servicing Jewish people worldwide. The ORT network reaches more than 200,000 people annually in schools, universities, and vocational training programs in more than 30 countries and provides high-tech training that allows beneficiaries to obtain gainful employment.

Brent led Calfee as Managing Partner for nearly two decades, growing the firm from two offices in Ohio to six offices across three states and Washington, D.C. that serve clients in major metropolitan areas across the U.S. and Canada, Europe, and Asia. Under his leadership, the firm preserved its unique culture based on mutual trust and respect for members, clients, and community partners, despite the challenges resulting from the Great Recession and the COVID-19 Pandemic.

Brent is a champion of diversifying the legal industry and actively participates in community-focused initiatives that support the educational success of diverse students and the professional success of diverse attorneys and professionals. Over the past two decades, Calfee has worked diligently to recruit, retain, and promote diverse leaders within the firm and the business community.

Brent has been named to The Best Lawyers in America^® in Corporate Law and Real Estate Law since 2006, most recently in 2024, and he was featured in the Crain’s Cleveland Business 2022 “Notable in Law” list.

Brent serves as the Board Chair of the Playhouse Square Foundation, a member of the Cleveland Clinic Board of Trustees, and Board President of the Pepper Pike Club. He is a member of the University Circle Inc. Board Executive Committee and Board of Trustees, the University School Board of Trustees, the Bluecoats, Inc. Board of Directors, and the Ohio Business Roundtable. He is a former member of the Greater Cleveland Partnership Board of Directors and a former member of the Board of Trustees of the Union Club and the 50 Club.

Brent serves as a member of the Case Western Reserve University School of Law’s Visiting Committee (business advisers) and Society of Benchers and was inducted into the Society of Benchers’ Hall of Fame in 2005. Brent is a member of the Leadership Cleveland Class of 2003.