Overview
Beau’s litigation practice extends across the country—from Hawaii and California in the west, to Minnesota and Illinois in the north, as far south as Alabama, Florida, Puerto Rico, South Carolina, and Texas, and reaching as far east as New Hampshire, New Jersey, and New York. He’s also represented clients in the U.S. Virgin Islands. He began his career with one of the premier trial firms in Cleveland, winning multiple bench and jury trials, including one within months of obtaining his license. He has multiple wins at the appellate level as well.
In his diverse practice, he’s handled complex commercial litigation matters for sophisticated investor groups with approximately $600 million in assets throughout the United States and Europe. He’s led a statewide practice group, and has represented large businesses and insurance companies in high-value cases in various practice areas.
He writes for national publications, as an author for the American Bar Association’s authoritative Survey of Federal Class-Action Law. At the request of the Department of Defense, he has also prepared a memorandum addressing the jurisdiction of military commissions to preside over trials of enemy combatants at the Guantanamo Bay Naval Base—a topic debated nationally in many forums, including on NPR.
Although a transplant, Beau loves Cleveland, helping raise money for Cleveland Clinic Children’s Foundation, and works closely with Team NEO, a Cleveland-based economic development organization dedicated to promoting business expansion & job creation throughout Northeast Ohio. He has served with the Cleveland Hearing and Speech Center, the nation’s oldest freestanding speech center that is Northeast Ohio’s only non-profit organization directed solely to serving those with special communication needs. He has also participated in Big Brothers of America.
Recently, Westminster College selected Beau to serve on its Alumni Council; he focused on alumni relations and donations through the Council’s Annual Giving Committee, a committee the College selected Beau to chair. While at Westminster, he worked for the school’s sports information department and interned for the sports section for two local newspapers.
He’s a 2006 graduate from Case Western Reserve University’s School of Law. While there, he was a research assistant for two nationally published professors (who became Deans of their respective schools).
Beau lives in Pepper Pike with his wife Blair and two boys Maverick and Walker. Blair leads the account executives in Ohio for Aon, a global professional services firm, and serves on the Board of the City Mission and the Women’s Recovery Center. Although initially a military brat, Beau grew up outside of Pittsburgh—but as a Cleveland sports fan, celebrating his first Father’s Day and the Cavs title on the same day. He helped assist a local high-school basketball team, and coaches his sons’ sports teams as well. He enjoys golfing and serves on the board for his golf club that has hosted 13 major championships, is only the second club to host all five of the men’s rotating major championships, and is home to the 1938 Masters champion’s jacket, one of maybe five not currently kept at Augusta.
Representative Experience
- Served as lead counsel in multiple class cases, including, for example, in Ohio state and federal courts (e.g., cases involving healthcare contracts; oil-and-gas royalties; motor-vehicle insurance policies; Fair Labor Standards Act and wage-loss claims); Michigan (breach-of-contract case involving national shipping company); Minnesota (off-the-clock employment case involving national fitness facility); New Jersey (two consumer cases involving national car-rental companies); Oklahoma (administrative-fee contract case concerning rental-car company); South Carolina (price-fixing in ready-mix concrete market in Coastal South Carolina and Georgia); and Wisconsin (antitrust matter involving manufacturers of automobile parts).
- Handled a commercial dispute between a manufacturer of tunnel boring machines against former directors and officers of the company.
- Represented CEO and shareholder in a closely held company involving shareholder purchases.
- Represented lender in Cannabis space, requesting receiver for cannabis company for the first time in Ohio.
- Resolved a dispute for a local motor vehicle franchise before the Ohio Motor Vehicle Dealer Board.
- Briefing and discovery counsel for Title IX matters involving sexual allegations.
- Handled FSLA claims in the U.S. District Court for Puerto Rico.
- Granted judgment on pleadings for defendants in residential property dispute.
- Obtained judgment on the pleadings and affirmed by Eighth District for nursing home related to a patient’s involuntary commitment to a hospital for psychiatric care.
- Awarded dismissal of multiple civil-rights cases across Ohio for national food vendor against prison inmates.
- Granted summary judgment for restaurant entities against the estate of deceased motorist under Ohio’s Dram Shop Act and then affirmed on appeal by Fifth District.
- Obtained summary judgment for a general contractor under active-participation doctrine against allegations of serious bodily injuries.
- Resolved high-value bad-faith claim from fire loss of a commercial building and its contents in southern Ohio’s Gallia County.
- Received summary judgment for transportation company involving Ohio’s common-carrier versus private-carrier issues with Eighth District’s affirming ruling on appeal.
- Represented borrowers in complex litigation spanning three different courts related to a cemetery project in Hawaii.
- Obtained jury verdict in favor of client against the City of Cleveland.
- Defended multiple cases for lawyers in disciplinary proceedings.
Education & Admissions
Education
- Case Western Reserve University School of Law, J.D., Dean’s List, 2006
- CALI Award (Highest Grade) for Trial Tactics
- Paul J. Hergenroeder Scholarship Award for Trial Tactics recipient
- Research Assistant to Peter Gerhart, former Dean of Case’s School of Law and at Ohio State University College of Law and published in leading law journals such as Duke University School of Law, Vanderbilt University School of Law, and the University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School
- Research Assistant to William Carter, Jr., former Dean of the University of Pittsburgh School of Law, four-time Professor of the Year at Case, and published in leading law journals such as Northwestern Law Review, Harvard Law Review, Columbia Law Review, Case Western Reserve University Law Review, and Texas Law Review
- Westminster College, B.A. in English, Dean’s List, 2002
- Merit-based academic scholarship recipient
- Sharon Steel Scholarship Award recipient
- Sports reporter intern for two local newspapers
- Sports Information Department, all-sports aide and statistician
Bar and Court Admissions
- State of Ohio
- State of Illinois (inactive)
- US. District Court, Northern District of Ohio
- US. District Court, Southern District of Ohio
- US. Court of Appeals, Sixth Circuit
Involvement
Professional Affiliations
- American Bar Association, Member
- Survey of Federal Circuit Court’s Class Action Decisions, Author
- Ohio State Bar Association, Member
- Cleveland Metropolitan Bar Association, Member
- Legal Innovator Committee
- William K. Thomas American Inn of Court, Member
Community Involvement
- Northeast Ohio Foundation for Patriotism, Adopt-A-Military-Family Program, Volunteer and Sponsor
- Team NEO (2024), Frantz Ward Liaison
- Greater Cleveland Partnership (2024), Frantz Ward Liaison
- Bluecoats, Inc., an organization serving families of fallen Cuyahoga County safety officers, Member
- Parkside Church, Member
- Canterbury Golf Club, Assistant Secretary to the Board of Directors
- Canterbury Golf Club, Membership Committee
- Cleveland Clinic Children’s Hospital, Philanthropy Chair for Superstars, raising over $200,000
- High School Basketball, special assistant to the Head Coach
- Westminster College Alumni Association
- Giving Committee, Chair
- Towering Titans (athletic department), Liaison
Firm Involvement
- ESI Committee, Leader
- Mentorship Program, Mentor
Awards & Honors
- Named to The Best Lawyers in America® in Mass Tort Litigation/Class Actions (2023–Present)
Publications
- “Survey of Federal Circuit Court’s Class Action Decisions,” American Bar Association (2018, 2019, 2020, 2022, 2023, 2024)
- National Urological Journal, republished by a national online journal with 45,000 monthly readers
- Defense Digest publication, frequent contributor
- Memorandum for Guantanamo Bay trials, Department of Defense
Presentations & Lectures
- Advanced Insurance Fraud Seminar (Selected Speaker), National Society of Professional Insurance Investigators, St. Louis
Representative Experience
- Served as lead counsel in multiple class cases, including, for example, in Ohio state and federal courts (e.g., cases involving healthcare contracts; oil-and-gas royalties; motor-vehicle insurance policies; Fair Labor Standards Act and wage-loss claims); Michigan (breach-of-contract case involving national shipping company); Minnesota (off-the-clock employment case involving national fitness facility); New Jersey (two consumer cases involving national car-rental companies); Oklahoma (administrative-fee contract case concerning rental-car company); South Carolina (price-fixing in ready-mix concrete market in Coastal South Carolina and Georgia); and Wisconsin (antitrust matter involving manufacturers of automobile parts).
- Handled a commercial dispute between a manufacturer of tunnel boring machines against former directors and officers of the company.
- Represented CEO and shareholder in a closely held company involving shareholder purchases.
- Represented lender in Cannabis space, requesting receiver for cannabis company for the first time in Ohio.
- Resolved a dispute for a local motor vehicle franchise before the Ohio Motor Vehicle Dealer Board.
- Briefing and discovery counsel for Title IX matters involving sexual allegations.
- Handled FSLA claims in the U.S. District Court for Puerto Rico.
- Granted judgment on pleadings for defendants in residential property dispute.
- Obtained judgment on the pleadings and affirmed by Eighth District for nursing home related to a patient’s involuntary commitment to a hospital for psychiatric care.
- Awarded dismissal of multiple civil-rights cases across Ohio for national food vendor against prison inmates.
- Granted summary judgment for restaurant entities against the estate of deceased motorist under Ohio’s Dram Shop Act and then affirmed on appeal by Fifth District.
- Obtained summary judgment for a general contractor under active-participation doctrine against allegations of serious bodily injuries.
- Resolved high-value bad-faith claim from fire loss of a commercial building and its contents in southern Ohio’s Gallia County.
- Received summary judgment for transportation company involving Ohio’s common-carrier versus private-carrier issues with Eighth District’s affirming ruling on appeal.
- Represented borrowers in complex litigation spanning three different courts related to a cemetery project in Hawaii.
- Obtained jury verdict in favor of client against the City of Cleveland.
- Defended multiple cases for lawyers in disciplinary proceedings.
Education & Admissions
Education
- Case Western Reserve University School of Law, J.D., Dean’s List, 2006
- CALI Award (Highest Grade) for Trial Tactics
- Paul J. Hergenroeder Scholarship Award for Trial Tactics recipient
- Research Assistant to Peter Gerhart, former Dean of Case’s School of Law and at Ohio State University College of Law and published in leading law journals such as Duke University School of Law, Vanderbilt University School of Law, and the University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School
- Research Assistant to William Carter, Jr., former Dean of the University of Pittsburgh School of Law, four-time Professor of the Year at Case, and published in leading law journals such as Northwestern Law Review, Harvard Law Review, Columbia Law Review, Case Western Reserve University Law Review, and Texas Law Review
- Westminster College, B.A. in English, Dean’s List, 2002
- Merit-based academic scholarship recipient
- Sharon Steel Scholarship Award recipient
- Sports reporter intern for two local newspapers
- Sports Information Department, all-sports aide and statistician
Bar and Court Admissions
- State of Ohio
- State of Illinois (inactive)
- US. District Court, Northern District of Ohio
- US. District Court, Southern District of Ohio
- US. Court of Appeals, Sixth Circuit
Involvement
Professional Affiliations
- American Bar Association, Member
- Survey of Federal Circuit Court’s Class Action Decisions, Author
- Ohio State Bar Association, Member
- Cleveland Metropolitan Bar Association, Member
- Legal Innovator Committee
- William K. Thomas American Inn of Court, Member
Community Involvement
- Northeast Ohio Foundation for Patriotism, Adopt-A-Military-Family Program, Volunteer and Sponsor
- Team NEO (2024), Frantz Ward Liaison
- Greater Cleveland Partnership (2024), Frantz Ward Liaison
- Bluecoats, Inc., an organization serving families of fallen Cuyahoga County safety officers, Member
- Parkside Church, Member
- Canterbury Golf Club, Assistant Secretary to the Board of Directors
- Canterbury Golf Club, Membership Committee
- Cleveland Clinic Children’s Hospital, Philanthropy Chair for Superstars, raising over $200,000
- High School Basketball, special assistant to the Head Coach
- Westminster College Alumni Association
- Giving Committee, Chair
- Towering Titans (athletic department), Liaison
Firm Involvement
- ESI Committee, Leader
- Mentorship Program, Mentor
Awards & Honors
- Named to The Best Lawyers in America® in Mass Tort Litigation/Class Actions (2023–Present)
Publications
- “Survey of Federal Circuit Court’s Class Action Decisions,” American Bar Association (2018, 2019, 2020, 2022, 2023, 2024)
- National Urological Journal, republished by a national online journal with 45,000 monthly readers
- Defense Digest publication, frequent contributor
- Memorandum for Guantanamo Bay trials, Department of Defense
Presentations & Lectures
- Advanced Insurance Fraud Seminar (Selected Speaker), National Society of Professional Insurance Investigators, St. Louis
