Calfee Attorney Chris Ward Receives the 2025 Excellence in Public Service Award from Public Interest Law Foundation at The Ohio State University Moritz College of Law 

Christopher M. Ward, Senior Attorney with Calfee's Environmental Law practice group in Columbus, Ohio, was recently selected as one of three recipients of the 2025 Excellence in Public Service Award by the Public Interest Law Foundation (PILF) at The Ohio State University Moritz College of Law.

PILF is a 501(c)(3) organization dedicated to promoting student involvement in public interest and public sector legal practice. The Excellence in Public Service Award honors Columbus-area attorneys who demonstrate continued commitment to public interest work and who go above and beyond in service to their community.

Chris was honored for his dedication to pro bono work and service to the LGBTQ+ community as well as his service to the City of Hilliard, Ohio's Environmental Sustainability Committee.

Since June 2023, Chris has handled nine pro bono cases throughout Ohio for the Equality Ohio Legal Referral Network to help members of the LGBTQ+ community, including transgender individuals seeking counsel related to name changes, correction to their birth certificates, insurance coverage disputes, and hospital discrimination. He has testified about transgender-related legislation at the Ohio Statehouse.

In addition, Chris serves as co-leader of Calfee's LGBTQ+ affinity group and has been a highly respected voice across the firm in his advocacy for LGBTQ+ rights, which have led to positive shifts toward inclusion within the firm's culture.

As an environmental law attorney, Chris volunteers for his own community in leading recycling and sustainability efforts. He has served as a member of the City of Hilliard's Environmental Sustainability Committee, being first appointed in 2022 and recently appointed for a second term. Through his service, Chris has helped the City acquire new sustainable technology through grants and engaging in community outreach on environmental issues facing the City.

Chris Ward focuses his legal practice on environmental and regulatory issues and assists clients in the administrative and litigation processes before the Environmental Review Appeals Commission and both federal and state agencies. He also counsels firm clients on workplace safety issues, defending employers on injury claims before the Ohio Industrial Commission and in Ohio's courts. Bringing his specialties together, Chris provides review and counsel to companies in business transactions with his due diligence analysis of potential environmental, OSHA, and general workplace safety liabilities in business sales and acquisitions.

Chris is a Certified Specialist in Workers' Compensation Law by the Ohio State Bar Association (2015). He is a member of the Ohio State Bar Association's Environmental Law Committee and Workers' Compensation Law Committee as well as the Columbus Bar Association's Environmental Law Committee and Worker' Compensation Law Committee. Chris serves as a member of the Ohio Manufacturers' Association Environmental Committee and Safety Committee, and he is a member of the National Workers' Compensation Defense Network.

Chris has been recognized as a leading lawyer by The Best Lawyers in America^®, Environmental Law and Litigation - Environmental (2024-2025).