William Lear to step down as law firm's chief

Headline News

One of Kentucky's oldest law firms, Stoll Keenon Ogden, has announced changes in its top management position.

William M. Lear Jr., managing director for 18 years, will step down to return to full-time law practice.

The new managing director will be J. David Smith Jr., a lawyer with the firm.

Lear will remain with Stoll Keenon and continue as chairman of its board of directors for the next two years. Kendrick Riggs is vice chairman.

The managing director functions as the chief operating officer of the firm, Smith said, dealing mostly with financial issues. "We've got 150 lawyers in four cities. Managing director is, basically, a full time job." Smith said Lear "did an incomparable job."

Lear will concentrate on constitutional law cases, economic development and government relations. In the past five years, Lear has become a major downtown developer with several projects in the South Hill neighborhood, including Center Court loft condominiums.

In the community, Lear served as a state representative from 1985 to 1994. He is vice chairman of economic development for Commerce Lexington, and he serves on the board of the Speed Museum in Louisville. He is listed in Best Lawyers in America and Super Lawyers for Kentucky.

Smith, also included in Best Lawyers in America, has been with Stoll Keenon since 1982, and is active in the Kentucky Historical Society and the YMCA.

Related listings

  • Firm suspends lawyer in school district scandal

    Firm suspends lawyer in school district scandal

    Headline News 02/19/2008

    A part-time private attorney who was listed as a full-time employee by five school districts - enabling him to earn health benefits and a nearly $62,000-a-year state-funded pension, while his law firm was paid millions of dollars in fees - has been s...

  • Five districts falsely reported lawyer's job status

    Five districts falsely reported lawyer's job status

    Headline News 02/17/2008

    A federal grand jury in Central Islip has opened an investigation into possible fraudulent financial double-dipping at five Long Island school districts, according to several sources. Agents with the Federal Bureau of Investigation served subpoenas f...

  • ‘Hottest Female Associate’ Contest Leaves Skadden Unamused

    ‘Hottest Female Associate’ Contest Leaves Skadden Unamused

    Headline News 02/13/2008

    Who’s the hottest young female lawyer at Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom? Last week that question sent the New York firm into a bit of a tizzy.On Feb. 4, Skadden Insider, a blog written by two anonymous firm employees and dedicated, unoffici...

Grounds for Divorce in Ohio - Sylkatis Law, LLC

A divorce in Ohio is filed when there is typically “fault” by one of the parties and party not at “fault” seeks to end the marriage. A court in Ohio may grant a divorce for the following reasons:
• Willful absence of the adverse party for one year
• Adultery
• Extreme cruelty
• Fraudulent contract
• Any gross neglect of duty
• Habitual drunkenness
• Imprisonment in a correctional institution at the time of filing the complaint
• Procurement of a divorce outside this state by the other party

Additionally, there are two “no-fault” basis for which a court may grant a divorce:
• When the parties have, without interruption for one year, lived separate and apart without cohabitation
• Incompatibility, unless denied by either party

However, whether or not the the court grants the divorce for “fault” or not, in Ohio the party not at “fault” will not get a bigger slice of the marital property.

Business News

New York & New Jersey Family Law Matters We represent our clients in all types of proceedings that include termination of parental rights. >> read