James R. McIlvaine

James R. McIlvaine is a founding partner of the firm and has been an active member of the community and legal community for over 40 years. Professionally Jim is a member and Past President of the Medina County Bar Association, a past member and President of the Ohio Academy of Trial Lawyers, a past member of the Board of Governors of the Association of Trial Lawyers of America, and a Fellow of the Ohio Academy of Trial Lawyers. Jim has spoken frequently in Medina County and statewide at legal education seminars.

He served as an elected member of the Wadsworth City School District for 26 years and was President of the Board or Vice President for the majority of those years. In recognition of his service, the school board named the performing arts theatre in the high school the James R. McIlvaine Performing Arts Facility in December 2013. He was also a Founding Trustee and Treasurer of the Wadsworth City Schools Performing Arts Foundation, from 1994 to the present, which has raised more than $1.2 million dollars to renovate the O.J. Work Theatre and to support the performing arts in Wadsworth schools.

Jim has a long history of public service to the health care of our citizens and served on the Wadsworth Rittman Hospital Board from 1999 until 2008 (with 2 years as Chair), and then as Chair of the combined Summa Barberton-Wadsworth-Rittman Hospital LLC Board of Directors from 2008 until 2011. He has also served as a Board Member of the Summa Health System Board of Trustees from 2008 through the present and as Chairman of the Summa System Board from 2014 to the present.

Jim has been a member of the Wadsworth Lion’s Club since 1978 and is a former member of the board of Main Street Wadsworth. He is a former member and Chair of the Wadsworth Chapter of the American Red Cross, Past Chair of the YMCA Community Challenge in Medina County, and Honorary Chair of the first Wadsworth Board of the Wadsworth YMCA.

Jim holds the highest rating that a lawyer can receive from his peers by being rated AV for the highest possible legal ability and ethics by the Martindale-Hubbell organization.