Amy K. Friedmann

Amy counsels clients on the administration of trusts and estates and is experienced with employing a variety of techniques for modifying, reforming and terminating irrevocable trusts.

Amy has been recognized as a Leading Lawyer in the Chambers High Net Worth Guide 2024 in Band 3 for Ohio: Private Wealth Law. Chambers HNW is the only independent directory specifically aimed at the private wealth market that ranks law firms according to their private client disciplines.

The Chambers HNW Guide states, "Amy is responsive and attentive to details. She can discuss complicated items in a meaningful way that creates confidence in her legal advice."

Amy is a member of the Ohio State Bar Association’s Estate Planning, Trust and Probate Law Section Council, the Cleveland Metropolitan Bar Association’s Estate Planning, Probate & Trust Law Section and the Estate Planning Council of Cleveland.

Her professional and civic activities include The University of Akron Gift and Estate Planning Committee and the Charles Deering Legacy Advisor Leadership Council of Summa Foundation. She was a member of the Inaugural Class of the Women’s Network/Leadership Akron Community Leadership Institute, and the Akron Torchbearers Class of 2011. As a volunteer, Amy previously served on the Board of Trustees of the Greenleaf Family Center in Akron and was a Council Member at Trinity Lutheran Church in Kent.

Before joining Calfee in 2017, Amy was a Partner in a regional Ohio law firm.

Amy earned her J.D., summa cum laude, from the University of Akron School of Law in 2006, where she served as the associate editor of the Akron Law Review. While in law school at The University of Akron, Amy served as a judicial extern for the Honorable Judge Deborah L. Cook, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit.

Prior to entering the law profession Amy worked in Information Technology, specifically as a Network Analyst for the Lucas County Auditor, the Technical Platform Manager for Smart Data Strategies, Inc. and as a Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer consultant.

She earned her M.P.A. from the University of Toledo in 1996, and her B.A. in Political Science, cum laude, from Mount Union College in 1992.

Honors & Recognitions

• Chambers High Net Worth, Private Wealth Law, Band 3, Ohio (2022-2024)
• The Best Lawyers in America^®, Trusts and Estates (2021-2025)
  

Education

J.D., summa cum laude, The University of Akron School of Law, 2006 

M.P.A., The University of Toledo, 1996

B.A., Political Science, cum laude, Mount Union College, 1992

Professional & Community

• Ohio State Bar Association’s Estate Planning and Probate Law Section Council, Member
• Cleveland Metropolitan Bar Association’s Estate Planning, Probate & Trust Law Section, Member
• The University of Akron Gift and Estate Planning Committee, Member
• Charles Deering Legacy Advisor Leadership Council of Summa Foundation
• Inaugural Class of the Women’s Network/Leadership Akron Community Leadership Institute, Member
• Akron Torchbearers Class of 2011

Presentations & Publications

• “Spendthrift Trusts and Creditor Protection,” Presentation with Jaclyn Vary to the Akron Tax and Estate Planning Council, Akron, OH (January 2021)
• “Beneficiary Withdrawal Powers: A Hole in the Armor of Ohio Third-Party Settled Spendthrift Trusts,” Probate Law Journal of Ohio Vol. 31 #2 (Nov/Dec 2020), co-authored with Jaclyn Vary
• “Spendthrift Trusts and Creditor Protection,” Presentation with Jaclyn Vary at the CMBA Estate Planning, Probate & Trust Law Section, Cleveland, OH (February 2020)
• Matthew Bender Debtor-Creditor Law treatise “Spendthrift Trusts,” Chapter co-editor with Jaclyn Vary (to be published) (November 2019)
• “Creating a Legacy” – Presentation to AXA Advisors Legacy Planning Strategies Workshop (2017)
• "Avoiding Common Mistakes in Charitable Gift Planning" Presentation to Northern Ohio Planned Giving Council, Planned Giving Day (2016)
• “Gift and Estate Planning Basics” – Presentation - Northwestern Mutual, Akron, Ohio (November 2015)
• “Why Ohio is a Great State for Estate Planning” – Presentation - Carver Financial Services Estate Planning Update (2014)
• “Strategies for Dealing With Tax-Burdened Assets” – Presentation at Rockynol Retirement Center, Akron, OH (2012)
•  “Ohio Law Update,” Presentation to Akron Bar Association Estate Planning, Probate, & Elder Law Section, Akron, Ohio (2010)
•  “Special Needs and Disability Planning: An Estate Planner’s Perspective,” Presentation to Akron Tax Club, Akron, OH (2009)