Jerry Lawson
As Interim Executive Director of OLAF, Jerry Lawson starts with the immediate respect of the delivery system and a solid understanding of legal services in Ohio, and will be a reassuring presence at the helm of OLAF during a transition period.
Jerry's work experience includes extensive leadership on several projects for legal services organizations. Notable Ohio projects include: the recruitment and hiring process for a new executive director for the Legal Aid Society of Cleveland; affiliation discussions between various legal aid programs; developing a new work plan for state support; and rebuilding the management and organization of the Legal Aid Society of Columbus. Jerry also assisted with the OLAF assessments of the Legal Aid Society of Columbus, ABLE and LAWO, and participated in the 2007 OLAF strategic planning process.
Jerry is president and senior mediator of The Center for Resolution of Disputes, Inc. He has served as the managing attorney and executive director of the Legal Aid Society of Cincinnati. He has also served as the executive director of the Peninsula Legal Aid Center (Hampton, Virginia) and as a staff attorney for the Appalachian Research and Defense Fund (Charleston, West Virginia). Immediately after law school, Jerry was an associate with Taft Stettinius and Hollister in Cincinnati.
Jerry is a graduate of Indiana University, Columbia University School of Law, and received additional training in the areas of negotiation and mediation. He was admitted to the practice of law in the state of Ohio in 1968.