Page 14 - SeptemberOctober25 Report

Explore a regular feature that
highlights our experienced
attorneys and the unique
paths that lead them
to this chapter of their
legal career.
A Look Back
With Harry Santen
Fear Not: Open Wide Your Eyes and Listen
Years ago, I raised my hand to be sworn in as a young lawyer
in Cincinnati. Wide-open eyes and well-tuned ears watched four
important events over the ensuing years. I was directly involved
in three of the four.
First in 1982, the Cincinnati Bar Association and The Legal
Aid Society incorporated the Volunteer Lawyers Project (VLP)
to provide legal assistance to those who could not afford a lawyer.
All the large law firms in the city and many individual lawyers
were approached for help. To the surprise of many, the consent of
the law firms was unanimous. Jerry Lawson, then President of
The Legal Aid Society, and I successfully enrolled about 15 of the
largest firms and many individual lawyers to join in the project.
During the last 40 years the VLP has provided free legal
assistance in an astonishing 75,600 cases. Problems range
from simple to complex. Lawyers continue to understand and
become involved, because justice should not be restricted only
to those who can afford to pay. Over the last many years Exec-
utive Director of Legal Aid Society, Mary Asbury, has ensured
continued success. The Volunteer Lawyers for the Year Award
granted each year continues to be a great source of pride for its
40+ recipients.
Second, in the year 1985 the efforts of the Legal Aid Society
and the Cincinnati Bar Association led to the Ohio General
Assembly putting IOLTA into place, Interest on Lawyer Trust
Accounts. The morning vote at the Assembly was three shy of
passage. I was intimately involved along with others in a persua-
sion effort that resulted in passage that same afternoon. IOLTA is
a key to the continuation of Legal Aid in Ohio.
Third, in 1991 Judges in Hamilton County would not become
members of the Cincinnati Bar Association. They concluded their
membership would create a conflict of interest. The Bar, where I
held the presidency at the time, asked Taft attorney, Robert G.
Stachler, and Judge Raymond E. Shannon to convene the first
ever local Bench Bar conference which was appropriately titled
“Building Bridges.”
Over 200 lawyers and judges attended the conference. They
agreed among other things that a conflict did not exist, so
several judges joined the Bar and many are members today. John
Holschuh, a subsequent President of the Bar Association, carried
on the Bench Bar collaboration for many years. The annual
Bench-Bar Social carries on this tradition.
The fourth event I watched from a distance with great respect.
Michael H. Neumark, then President of the Cincinnati Bar Associ-
ation, created one of the CBA’s most successful programs , CALL,
Cincinnati Academy of Leadership for Lawyers. Its mission is,
“To cultivate, empower, and inspire a diverse class of lawyers to
realize their leadership potential.”
Supreme Court of Ohio Justice Patrick F. Fischer was a
member of the first graduating class of CALL. Some time ago he
cited the 400 or more graduates of the academy for their excel-
lence as lawyer advocates.
May the Cincinnati Bar Association and its multitude of
members continue to “Fear Not” and to “Open wide their eyes
and listen.”
14 Harry Santen was president and/or chairman of the CBA, Legal Aid Society,
Volunteer Lawyers Project, and Cincinnati Opera Association. He also created the
first Bench-Bar conference.
THE REPORT | September/October 2025 | CincyBar.org