TBA News Brief

When the Numbers Don’t Add Up: Why Women Enter Law, but Don’t Stay

By Kayleigh L. Summerville, Esq., The Toledo Women’s Bar Association

For more than twenty years, women have entered law school at the same rate as men, and today they consistently make up 50% or more of J.D. students nationwide. The University of Toledo College of Law reflects that trend, with the 2025 entering class being composed of 56% women. Yet this early parity does not translate into equal representation in legal practice. The question is simple: If women start law school in equal numbers, why don’t they remain in the profession at equal rates?

The answer lies less in who enters the pipeline and more in what happens after graduation.

Across the nation, women represent a smaller percentage of practicing attorneys than their law school enrollment would predict. The Ohio State Bar Association and local bar associations have long noted the same pattern visible nationwide: women leave the profession at higher rates, and those who stay are less likely to advance to leadership positions. In Toledo, although women play vital roles in firms, courts, government, and corporate counsel offices, they remain underrepresented among equity partners, managing partners, and high-level decision-makers.

Several factors continue to contribute to this disparity.

First, access to opportunities is uneven. Early-career assignments—lead cases, significant client work, trial experience—can shape entire careers. Women often report fewer of these “gateway” opportunities, making it harder to build the resume that leads to partnership or prominent roles.

Second, the demands of legal practice clash with caregiving realities. Despite growing flexibility in some workplaces, the traditional model of long hours and constant availability still disproportionately affect women, especially during the years when many are balancing young families and full workloads. This is not about lack of ambition; it’s about structures built for a different era.

Third, implicit bias continues to influence evaluations and advancement. Small assumptions—about assertiveness, availability, or leadership style—accumulate over time, shaping who is encouraged, promoted, or sponsored.

Despite these challenges, Toledo has a strong foundation for progress. The city 
has long benefited from women leaders in the judiciary, public service, and legal education—from trailblazers like the late Judge Arlene Singer to the recent appointment of Rebecca Zietlow as the first permanent woman dean of the University of Toledo College of Law. These leaders demonstrate what’s possible when women have access to opportunity and support.

So, what can be done?

Firms and institutions are increasingly focusing on structured mentorship and sponsorship, transparent evaluation criteria, flexible work policies that don’t penalize caregivers, and intentional leadership development. Local bar associations—including the Toledo Women’s Bar Association—continue to highlight these issues and create community support for women at every career stage.

Why does this matter? Because clients, courts, and communities benefit from a legal profession that reflects the people it serves. When half of law students are women, but only a fraction become partners or leaders, the profession loses both talent and perspective.

Toledo’s legal community has made meaningful strides, but the numbers remind us that the work isn’t finished. Achieving true representation isn’t just about who enters law school—it’s about creating a profession where women can build long, impactful, and sustainable careers.
 

Leading Inclusion in Our Legal Community

By Cindy M. Kirby, LGBTQ+ Committee Chair

As Chair of the LGBTQ+ Council of the Toledo Bar Association, I am honored to introduce you to our Council and the differences we are making for our Association and our community.

Over the past decade, we have witnessed meaningful advancements in the rights and recognition of LGBTQ+ individuals across the country. Landmark court decisions, expanded workplace protections, and greater societal visibility reflect a growing acknowledgment of the diverse identities that make up our communities. Yet, as many of us know firsthand, progress is rarely linear. Despite strides forward, we continue to see legislative rollbacks, targeted political rhetoric, and daily obstacles that disproportionately impact LGBTQ+ people - particularly transgender and nonbinary individuals, LGBTQ+ youth, and those living at the intersections of multiple marginalized identities.

As attorneys, we occupy a unique position of public trust and responsibility. Regardless of our areas of practice, our work shapes the structures that govern everyday life. This gives us both the privilege and the obligation to advocate for equitable treatment under the law. The LGBTQ+ Council offers members the opportunity to discuss the evolving landscape of LGBTQ+ rights in order to better serve and understand our clients and colleagues. The Council also offers our members opportunities for mentorship of law students and new attorneys and a place where LGBTQ+ attorneys and allies can thrive without fear of discrimination or erasure. In addition, we offer our members opportunities to collaborate with community partners to provide important and up-to-date information for the public on LGBTQ+ legal issues.

I invite each of you—whether you identify as LGBTQ+ or as an ally—to join us in this work. Attend an event. Mentor a law student or young attorney. Speak up when inclusion is at stake. Review your firm or organization’s policies for gaps in protection. Small actions, multiplied across our membership, create meaningful cultural and institutional change.

Our Council’s mission is not just about defending rights; it is about affirming that every member of our profession and every person who seeks justice deserves to be seen, heard, and valued.

Thank you for your continued support, commitment, and partnership. I look forward to working together to ensure that our legal community embodies the principles of fairness, dignity, and equality for all.
 

How to Strengthen Public Confidence in the Law


By Carasusana B. Wall, DIRE Committee Chair

As Chair of the TBA’s Diversity, Inclusion & Race Equity (DIRE) Committee, I wrote in last year’s Diversity Issue about the ways in which a legal profession that reflects our population enhances the perception of fairness in our legal system. A diverse and varied legal profession then enhances the very credibility of our legal system and bolsters the rule of law. Unfortunately, the inverse is true as well: if the law is seen as arbitrary, unpredictable, or unjustly applied, then our collective credibility erodes. 

Our profession carries significant privileges, such as education, access, and authority, while also imposing critical responsibilities. As attorneys, we all share a sworn oath to support the laws and Constitutions of both the State of Ohio and the United States of America. This foundational commitment to justice and the rule of law exists outside of party lines. That is why the near daily examples of due process ignored, inconsistent heightened immigration enforcement, and questions of compliance with court orders must be a nonpartisan concern for all attorneys.

We are professional advocates with a duty not just to our clients but to the integrity of our legal system as a whole. So how can we be zealous advocates for the rule of law? By using our privileges – our voices, our training, our positions – to build a profession and a community that demonstrates a commitment to equal protection under the law and fosters a sense of belonging for all our community members. 

We are fortunate to have a variety of options locally to fulfill our responsibilities, regardless of your time, personality, or even political affiliation. You can:

♦    Speak Up. Use your voice and platforms to call out unlawful conduct and provide factual information about due process and law to counteract false information and misunderstandings.
♦    Educate. Volunteer your services with community programs to educate others on our legal system and their rights within it. For example, the TBA’s Civics Outreach Committee’s 3Rs (Rights, Responsibilities, Realities) Program connects lawyers, judges, law students, and paralegals with local students to help foster an appreciation of the U.S. Constitution. 
♦    Support. Support immigration and due process work. Advocates for Basic Legal Equality (ABLE) provides immigration services across 32 counties in northwest Ohio. Advocating Opportunity (AO) provides comprehensive, holistic, trauma-responsive legal and social services to people who have experienced sex and labor trafficking. The University of Toledo College of Law’s Immigrant Justice Clinic represents clients navigating the immigration system, including cases involving family reunification and humanitarian protection.
♦    Represent. Use your expertise to work on cases seeking accountability for those whose conduct undermines the rule of law and the legitimacy of our legal system. Offer to mentor or co-counsel with attorneys looking to gain experience in these areas. 
♦    Volunteer. Share your time by volunteering to provide legal services outside of your daily practice. The TBA’s Pro Bono Legal Services Program connects volunteer attorneys with low-income individuals through full case work and clinics. You can support these efforts, along with those of Legal Aid of Western Ohio (LAWO) and ABLE through individual and joint fundraising to ensure access to justice for all regardless of their financial resources. 
♦    Build. Build a legal profession that reflects the makeup of our community. This includes building meaningful pipelines to the law for students from all backgrounds. The TBA’s Summer Clerkship Program matches outstanding students from backgrounds historically excluded from the legal profession with local employers for paid summer employment. We are currently accepting new employer participants for Summer 2026. The Law & Leadership Institute (LLI) is a non-profit in Ohio that works with high school students from underserved communities to educate them about and prepare them for careers in the legal profession. Support active law student groups and affinity bars, like those at the University of Toledo College of Law, with your time and financial resources. 
♦    Foster. Create inclusive professional environments that include meaningful positions for those from all backgrounds and foster a sense of belonging for all professionals in your office. The TBA’S DIRE Committee and the LGBTQ+ Council, along with the Thurgood Marshall Law Association and the Toledo Women’s Bar Association affinity bars, steward programming to address the various lenses we all bring to our role as attorneys. The TBA’s First Gen Lawyer’s Project supports attorneys and law students who are the first in their families to obtain a college or professional degree through mentorship, programming, and digital content. 

We all have a role to play in ensuring that our laws are applied equally and the public has confidence in due process. So do not wait to do your part to protect and preserve the rule of law and credibility of our legal system.

Pictured left to right: Ralph DeNune, III; Jonathan B. Cherry; David L. Kuhl; Craig F. Frederickson; Stephen J. Stanford; Cormac B. DeLaney; Scott J. Saum; Ray A. Farris; Sheldon M. Slaybod; C. Craig Covrett; David J. Simko

Scott J. Saum
Undergraduate School & Major: The Ohio State University, Microbiology & Chemistry
Law School: University of Toledo

Why did you choose to become a lawyer?
My majors in college were Microbiology and Chemistry. I would do well in lectures, but not as well in labs. The reason was I would socialize too much around the lab. As a massive extrovert (wife’s terminology), I believed law might be a better career.

What is your fondest memory of practicing law?
I enjoyed getting to know and become friends with judges and fellow attorneys. I don’t believe that I did any of that for ulterior motives. The “camaraderie” was important to me and made me feel that I had arrived and was accepted. A few times in my career, clients gave me more in attorney fees that I billed! Of course, that made me feel appreciated. Finally – for now – I enjoyed using my Spanish with Spanish speaking clients. Although, I was third string behind Esteban Callejas and Jane Randall, if was satisfying.

Who have you practiced with through the years? 
Howard Westin, Thomas Gruhler, James Hess, Charlie Rowell, Sol Zyndorf,  Dwight Osterud – Honorable Judge Osterud (later), E.J. Leizerman, and John Pardee!

What are your non-law related interests or activities?
I am, and have been, a director on the board of Glass City F.C.U. along with fellow TBA member, Phil Browarsky. I played ice hockey into my forties, most notably, I might add, with a team called The Lawyers for several seasons. I raced sports cars from 1975 to 1990 with Sports Car Club of America and with Waterford Hills Road Racing Club (Formula Vee). I’ve enjoyed learning languages, both before my career and during my career, in particular Spanish and French. I’ve received court appointments in Spanish in Perrysburg Municipal Court, Wood County Common Pleas Court, and Lucas County Common Pleas Court with Judge Bates. I received one French speaking court appointment for a Haitian nurse who spoke standard French and (with great speed), Creole. That was challenging. Finally, I was a speaker at a CLE with the Real Estate Committee (TBA-TBR Presentation). All the presenters in my opinion did very well – a great success!

Is there any advice you would like to pass along?
Return all your phone calls daily. As a litmus test, if you have returned all of your calls faithfully, then you are probably on top of things!

David J. Simko
Undergraduate School & Major: University of Toledo, Political Science, History, Economics
Law School: Capital University

Why did you choose to become a lawyer?
I went to Buckeye Boys State in my senior year of high school where I developed an interest in politics and law. 
In college, that interest grew and saw both as a way to help people.

What is your fondest memory of practicing law?
The attorneys I have met, the clients I have represented and generally helping people.

Who have you practiced with through the years? 
Ohio Attorney General’s Office, Lucas County Prosecutor’s Office, Arthur Wilkowski, Charles Bloom, Niepp & Wincart, Shindler, Neff, currently daughter and attorney Megan E. McNulty.

What are your non-law related interests or activities?
I have enjoyed Politics, serving on Community Boards and currently following our children’s careers and, of course, keeping up with all the grandchildren.

Is there any advice you would like to pass along?
Try to enjoy what you do.

Sheldon M. Slaybod
Undergraduate School & Major: University of Buffalo, Business
Law School: University of Toledo

Why did you choose to become a lawyer?
From a young age I wanted to be a lawyer. 

What is your fondest memory of practicing law?
Being a partner with my wife.  

Who have you practice with through the years?
Casey & Slaybod Partnership for 49 years.

What are your non-law related interests and activities?
Spending time with family and friends.
Sports
Traveling
Reading 

Is there any advice you would like to pass along?
Try to make the world a better place. 

Stephen J. Stanford
Undergraduate School & Major: The Ohio State University, Economics
Law School: The Ohio State University

Why did you choose to become a lawyer?
Prior to College, I participated in a school field day tour of Lucas County Common Pleas Court. I sat at one of the counsel tables, looked up at the bench, and decided I wanted to be a lawyer.

What is your fondest memory of practicing law?
Early in my career I won a case before the National Labor Relations Board that was treated by the Administrative Law Judge as 21 separate employment (i.e., discharge) discrimination cases. My client prevailed in each one of them. It was my first trial before the NLRB.

Who have you practiced with through the years?
30 years with Fuller & Henry, and 20 years with RCO.

What are your non-law related interests or activities?
Golf and Tennis

Is there any advice you would like to pass along?
I have told aspiring lawyers to pursue a technical undergraduate program (e.g., science, engineering, business, computers, accounting) instead of majors like English or political science. I still believe a technical background is more attractive to legal employers.

60 YEAR MEMBER HONOREES:

Richard F. Ellenberger
Undergraduate School & Major: Ohio Wesleyan University, History
Law School: The Ohio State University

Why did you choose to become a lawyer?
As an undergraduate history major I always was intrigued by the role lawyers played in the U.S. from the time of the founding fathers to the present. 

What is your fondest memory of practicing law?
Many memories and stories. Initially, passing the bar, observing other veteran attorneys and concluding that I could do the work of a competent confident lawyer. During the many years there are satisfying memories of winning verdicts, successful appeals, complicated settlements and earning the respect of sometimes difficult judges. Certain cases or matters stand out, i.e. the “radish king,” the “illiterate multi-millionaire,” the “space heater incineration,” the “good ship lollipop,” and the only time I ever packed a courtroom, defending the “insane clown posse” in federal court. 

Who have you practiced with through the years?
Doyle, Lewis and Warner 1965-2000
Anspach, Meeks, Ellenberger 2001-2023 (Inactive)
Multiple partners, associates, law clerks, client reps & counsel, court reporters as well as opposing attorneys and judges resulting in life long friendships.

What are your non-law related interests or activities?
Primary: Married 62 years, raising 4 successful children all with post grad degrees and 6 special grandchildren. Secondary: I have always been an avid gardener, fisherman, hunter and outdoor person. Special Note: I have a buckeye tree in my yard raised from a nut collected from the buckeye tree at the Lucas County Court House back in 1965.

Is there any advice you would like to pass along?
Young lawyers: Trial preparation is an intense, grueling, exhausting process but the trial is like a strategic athletic event. In preparation for trial be sure you thoroughly know your case, including all of the facts, issues, the good and not so good aspects, the witnesses and opposing counsel. Why? Because no case that starts trial is the same when it concludes. Things always happen and you need to be ready to respond appropriately. A final thought: Learn to know your opposing counsel on a personal level,  his family, kids, interests etc. to develop a relationship of trust if possible. It will make your life a lot easier.

Douglas E. Metz
Undergraduate School & Major: Capital University, Political Science
Law School: The Ohio State University

Why did you choose to become a lawyer?
Because I was doing poorly as a chemistry major.

What is your fondest memory of practicing law?
The wonderful association I had with Jim Robison, John Curphey, and Michey O’Connell.

Who have you practiced with through the years?
Robison, Curphey & O’Connell exclusively.

What are your non-law related interests or activities?
Working out, trying to stay healthy, and enjoying our grandchildren.

Is there any advice you would like to pass along?
Be an advocate of Toledo; it’s a wonderful city to live in and to practice law.
 

Donald M. Mewhort, Jr.
Undergraduate School & Major: Duke University, AB in Accounting
Law School: Duke University

Why did you choose to become a lawyer?
Accounting was boring and law was a chance to compete (with rules).

What is your fondest memory of practicing law?
Sitting second chair to Jack Hackett through many trials in State and Federal courts. 

Who have you practiced with through the years?
All my years in the practice have been with Shumaker, Loop & Kendrick, including a summer clerkship. 

What are your non-law related interests or activities?
Reading, following sports of all kinds and spending time with grand and great grandkids.

Is there any advice you would like to pass along?
Follow on of Stephen Covey’s The 7 Habits of Highly Successful People: “Seek first to understand, then to be understood.”

Barry E. Savage
Undergraduate School & Major: University of Michigan, Economics
Law School: University of Michigan

Why did you choose to become a lawyer?
Urging of my parents. In my senior year of High School, (Maumee High) our Civics class spent a morning at Toledo Municipal Court watching the Criminal Court. Young Bob Franklin was the Prosecutor and guided us through the court proceedings. This was my first contact with the legal side of life and I was impressed by Bob Franklin’s presentation of the court. Needless to say it was “eye opening” and really started my interest in the legal profession.

What is your fondest memory of practicing law?
After sixty (60) there are a lot of memories and I shall share a few. In 1973, a bank I was representing asked me to pursue a $200,000 claim against an insolvent Ford auto dealer in Port Clinton. The Judge in Port Clinton was Judge Stahl, who we could be characterized as eccentric and was known for his different views, he openly referred to the Court of Appeals as “three blind mice.” The dealer was out of trust for about 35 new Fords, sold cars but did not pay the bank for money borrowed to finance his purchase of the cars. He got duplicate titles by calling the assembly plant saying that when they delivered the cars he did not receive titles and the assembly plant would provide him with titles to deliver to the purchasers, which is where this situation went from bad to worse.

I talked to several Ford employees about this problem but they all, to protect their jobs, claimed no knowledge of the problem and were not helpful. Out of frustration, I decided as a last resort I would, as a long shot, write a letter to the then President of Ford, Lee Iaccoca. Thinking I had nothing to lose, I mentioned the names of all employees I had contact with and their stated position on the subject. It wasn’t but a few days that I received phone calls from some of the employees mentioned in the letter that I knew then that the letter had been read by Iaccoca. One of the employees who was most upset was the number 3 or 4 guy at Ford, after Henry Ford and Iaccoca who made threats to me.

A few weeks later the court had a pretrial on the civil case, where Ford appeared with counsel and their check book. Stahl confined us to the Jury Room and at the end of 2 days of negotiation we had a settlement and the Ford representatives opened their check book and wrote out checks to settle the claims of the banks who did not have cars to support their loans.

As a side note, the dealer was indicted and convicted of 53 counts of criminal conduct. The case had been assigned by Stahl to a visiting judge because Stahl was well acquainted with the dealer. No journal entry was even signed by any judge finding the dealer guilty based on the jury’s findings, the dealer was never sentenced and the case just died. That was Port Clinton under Judge Stahl.

In another case, a good friend of mine in the past, east side attorney Cliff Baker asked me to be co-counsel in a murder case in Bowling Green where Floyd Coller was the Judge, also was known as eccentric. The case involved a husband and wife living in a mobile home in Northwood where one Friday night a gun went off and the husband was killed. The wife was indicted for first degree murder and was in jail in the old Wood County Jail which left a lot to be desired. Cliff had never handled a murder case before. He assured me that he would handle all the preparation and that all I had to do was show up the day of trial.  

The day of trial I showed up when Cliff was to fill me in on the case details. Dan Spitler was the newly elected prosecutor and this was his first big criminal case. Dan offered a plea to Manslaughter which Cliff quickly rejected. Coller called the case and the trial started. At that point Spitler dismissed the case which was something of a surprise to me and others. Cliff leaned over said to me, “he doesn’t have any witnesses.” Needless to say the Defendant was relieved.

I then asked Cliff how we were going to get paid. He said he took an assignment of a life insurance policy. Now he going to get the death certificate changed from the cause of death being murder to accidental and we would get double indemnity. For the amount of time I had involved I made the most money in this case that I had ever made in a criminal case. Lawyer Baker knew what he was doing all along.

Who have you practiced with through the years?
Started with Jack Schlageter in 1965, and we transferred to Boxell, Bebout, Torbert and Potter in 1968, and left BBT&P in 1973 and continued to practice as a solo attorney with associations with other attorneys following. Moved to Charleston, S.C. in 1993 to become corporate counsel for a company, but left that in 1994 and began commuting back to Toledo to renew my practice and have been practicing on a solo basis since, moving back to Toledo in 2002.

What are your non-law related interests or activities?
Boating, power and sail.

Is there any advice you would like to pass along?
Maintain your personal and professional integrity. No Excuses. 

James F. White, Jr.
Undergraduate School & Major: Princeton University, Political Science
Law School: The Ohio State University (JD), New York University College of Law (LLM in Taxation)

Why did you choose to become a lawyer?
College friends encouraged me to do so. Thought it would be helpful in running the family business. 

What is your fondest memory of practicing law?
Association with great partners and associates at Shumaker, Loop & Kendrick and mentoring young associates. Winning my first tax case against the IRS.

Who have you practiced with through the years?
Shumaker, Loop & Kendrick including Don Mewhort, Jr. and Rolf Scheidel. Enjoyed law school experience with Richard Ellenberger and Douglas E. Metz as classmates. 

What are your non-law related interests or activities?
Being with family members and sitting on boards of community organizations. Playing golf and traveling. 

Is there any advice you would like to pass along?
Be involved in our community to help make a difference.  

With Them or Against Them...Embracing AI and the Unknown in Legal Education


By Candice L. Kline, Assistant Professor of Law, University of Toledo College of Law

The burst of artificial intelligence (AI) onto the landscape of higher education and legal practice presents a familiar change paradigm: accept it or go the way of the dinosaurs. But the realities of incorporating AI into legal learning and practice need not be so binary. The most constructive approach is one of moderate, thoughtful adoption.

Students are already using generative AI tools based on large-language models, whether from their undergraduate studies or daily lives. Popular models such as ChatGPT, Gemini, and Copilot are widely known and increasingly integrated into browsers and productivity software. Even simpler AI-based tools, such as Microsoft Editor, WordRake, and Grammarly, make clean writing accessible but also, in a sense, automated. Their ubiquity raises legitimate questions about how to continue teaching foundational writing and analytical skills when automation is just a click away.

A similar tension arises with research competence and professional judgment. The well-publicized incidents of AI-generated briefs containing fabricated case citations have prompted necessary conversations about responsible use. Yet, each “AI hallucination” is also a teachable moment. It is an opportunity to strengthen students’ habits of verification, analytical skepticism, and source evaluation. Used well, AI can reinforce rather than erode the essential disciplines of good lawyering. It may also level the playing field for small and solo practitioners. A recent NBC News article profiled pro se litigants using AI, some quite successfully, highlighting new access-to-justice opportunities when traditional legal services are out of reach.1 

Law schools, including the University of Toledo College of Law, have adopted policies addressing AI use.2 Still, uncertainty persists around student reliance on AI in graded assessments, despite explicit guidelines, honor codes, and faculty oversight. Some professors are responding with more in-person, closed-book assessments. According to the Wall Street Journal, the Blue Book is making a comeback and not for nostalgia’s sake.3 Others rely on secure testing platforms such as Blackboard Ultra, which are well-suited to the challenge. Given law school’s high-stakes environment—where grades and rankings matter—it is hardly surprising that AI temptation exists. The question becomes how best to guide responsible, ethical use.

Curriculum design offers one promising path forward. Many law schools now integrate AI directly into their courses, either through stand-alone classes or as part of existing doctrinal and skills instruction. Professors are using AI to enhance, not replace, pedagogy: as a study coach, a drafting assistant, or a simulation tool in ADR and professional responsibility courses. Such measured experimentation and sandboxing AI for formative exercises, practice problems, or writing feedback invites creativity without compromising academic integrity.

A persistent challenge centers around ethics and professional responsibility in practice. Each court order sanctioning lawyers for AI misuse underscores the importance of technological competence: a natural extension of the duty of competence under Model Rule 1.1 and as reaffirmed in ABA Formal Opinion 512 (2024).4 That opinion emphasizes that while lawyers may use generative AI to enhance efficiency, they must do so with informed oversight, confidentiality protection, and verification of all outputs. Framed this way, ethical use is not a limitation but a professional obligation, ensuring that AI serves clients without substituting for legal judgment.

Today’s AI is the worst AI we will ever use.5 Technology will only improve, but the lawyer’s core responsibilities of judgment, integrity, and ethical reasoning remain timeless. AI is a capable assistant, not a counselor; it can suggest a pathway through complex doctrine, but only the well-trained legal mind can choose the right one. AI’s future in legal education will depend not on avoidance or overuse, but on thoughtful stewardship that preserves the legal profession’s core values and continued vitality.
 

Candice L. Kline is a member of the TBA and holds a JD from the University of Toledo College of Law. She also has an MBA from the University of Chicago and has practiced corporate bankruptcy law nationally. The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the University of Toledo.

Editor’s Note: In the spirit of writing about AI with AI, and practicing transparency, the author refined portions of this article with editorial assistance from ChatGPT, an AI-based writing tool used to enhance clarity and tone. 

1 Gadi Schwartz, More Americans Are Using ChatGPT in Place of Lawyers, NBC News (Oct. 7, 2025), https://www.nbcnews.com/nightly-news/video/more-americans-are-using-chatgpt-in-place-of-lawyers-249308742000. 
2 Univ. of Toledo Coll. of L., Generative Artificial Intelligence Policy, https://www.utoledo.edu/law/studentlife/resources/generative-ai-policy.html (adopted Mar. 27, 2024).
3 Ben Cohen, They Were Every Student’s Worst Nightmare. Now Blue Books Are Back., Wall St. J., May 23, 2025, https://www.wsj.com/business/chatgpt-ai-cheating-college-blue-books-5e3014a6.
4 See Am. Bar Ass’n, ABA Issues First Ethics Guidance on a Lawyer’s Use of AI Tools (July 29, 2024), https://www.americanbar.org/news/abanews/aba-news-archives/2024/07/aba-issues-first-ethics-guidance-ai-tools; ABA Comm. on Ethics & Prof’l Responsibility, Formal Op. 512: Generative Artificial Intelligence Tools (July 29, 2024), https://www.americanbar.org/content/dam/aba/administrative/professional_responsibility/aba-formal-opinion-512.pdf.
5See Jason Michael Perry, Issue #76: Today’s AI Is the Worst It Will Ever Be, https://jasonmperry.com/newsletter/issue-76-todays-ai-is-the-worst-it-will-ever-be/; Ryan Baum, “This Is the Worst AI Will Ever Be,” Says Ryan Baum, Managing Editor (Jan. 10, 2024), https://managingeditor.com/this-is-the-worst-ai-will-ever-be-says-ryan-baum/.

A FAVORITE DAY: Welcoming New Americans


By Judge Jack Zouhary

Some of my favorite days as a judge don’t happen in the courthouse. They happen in high school gymnasiums, college auditoriums, metroparks, museums, or neighborhood community centers – places where we gather to welcome new Americans. 
 

All federal judges agree that it’s the best part of the job. 
 

Once a month, we pause our usual docket – motions, sentencings, trials – and take our show on the road to celebrate a different kind of legal milestone: citizenship. It’s a moment when the formality of court gives way to something deeply personal and profoundly American.
 

The room is normally filled with quiet anticipation. Students recite poems. A choir sings. Families lean forward, phones in hand, ready to capture the moment. And dozens of new Americans, from all over the globe, step up to take an oath that changes their lives forever. For many, this journey started years, or even decades, ago. The process ends here, in the Northern District of Ohio, surrounded by strangers who are now their neighbors – fellow citizens.
 

These ceremonies are a reminder that immigration is not just policy or politics – it’s people. A teacher from Cameroon. A factory worker from Venezuela. A mother from Iraq. They stand beside one another, reciting the same oath, reminding all of us that citizenship is both a privilege and a promise.
 

We often tell our new citizens that this is just the beginning. Naturalization is not only a legal status – it is an invitation to participate: to vote, to serve on juries, to help those in need. We encourage them to see themselves not just as beneficiaries of American democracy, but as its stewards. As Benjamin Franklin lamented when asked what he and his fellow delegates had accomplished that summer in 1787: “A republic, if you can keep it.” 
 

As John F. Kennedy famously said: “Ask not what your country can do for you  ask what you can do for your country.” These words are part of the American spirit. And though decades old, they still resonate – especially when spoken to a room full of new Americans who know what it means to choose and commit to this country.


These ceremonies are a live lesson in civics. They remind all of us, whether we were born here or chose to be here, that citizenship is an active role. It asks something of us. And in return, it offers an opportunity to help shape American democracy.
 

So yes, the courtroom is the scene of many solemn moments – of winners and losers. But once a month, at a local school, county courthouse, or outdoor mall, we are reminded that what unites us is stronger than what divides us. These new citizens understand that the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution are now theirs too. And the past victories, and struggles, they have now inherited are a path to the bright promises of future.