Michael P. Donnelly

Michael, who most recently served as a justice on the Supreme Court of Ohio, is of counsel in the firm’s Cleveland office. 

He provides mediation and arbitration services related to complex cases throughout the United States.  Michael also provides strategic legal counsel to the firm’s clients in a variety of areas, including litigation and appellate work. 

Prior to joining the Supreme Court of Ohio in 2019, Michael served as a judge on the Cuyahoga County Court of Common Pleas, General Division for 14 years.  Before serving as a member of the local judiciary, he was an assistant Cuyahoga County prosecutor and a civil litigator in private practice.

Michael served on the Ohio Supreme Court’s Commission on Professionalism from 2007 to 2012 and chaired the commission during his final year.  During his tenure on the commission, he helped establish the highly successful Lawyer to Lawyer Mentoring Program, which has received national accolades.  He also spent more than a decade personally mentoring new lawyers.

Michael has spoken on numerous occasions on comprehensive data -driven criminal and civil justice reform, as well as ending wrongful conviction in Ohio.  He is a nationally recognized leader on the subject of plea-bargaining reform.  In February 2025, Michael was appointed to the Board of Advisors to the National Plea Bargain Institute located at Belmont University,

Michael also serves as an adjunct professor at Cleveland State University College of Law.  He teaches two courses: Power and the American justice system and The Ohio Court Watch Program.

Honors & Recognitions

Cleveland Metropolitan Bar Association Honorable William K. Thomas Professionalism Award, 2015

Ohio Association of Civil Trial Attorneys Public Service Award, 2017

Cleveland State University College of Law Alumni of The Year Award, 2020

Cleveland State University College of Law Hall of Fame, 2020

Saint Ignatius High School Honorable Leo M. Spellacy ’52 Bellarmine Award, 2024

Professional & Community Activities

Supreme Court of Ohio Judicial College, Faculty 

Cleveland Metropolitan Bar Association, Trustee

Ohioans for The Rule of Law, Organizer 

Ohio Supreme Court Death Penalty Task Force, 2013–Present 

Supreme Court of Ohio Commission on Professionalism, 2007–2012