Overview
Maggie has nearly 30 years of experience representing clients in a wide variety of matters including estate and trust litigation; estate planning; probate; and estate and trust administration.
She provides counsel to clients at every stage of life, from recently married couples and young families to business owners and retirees. Maggie has extensive experience in estate planning as well as wrongful death matters, will contests, trust disputes, and obtaining guardianships for both minors and adults. She also serves as a mediator for the Cuyahoga County Court of Common Pleas Probate Division.
Maggie serves as chair of Frantz Ward’s Women’s Initiative, which prioritizes the recruitment, promotion, and mentoring of women attorneys through leadership training, networking, and community involvement.
Representative Experience
- Successful resolution of litigation involving a multimillion-dollar trust.
- Successful resolution of a disputed family trust.
- Successfully obtained a court order vacating an arbitration award in favor of an employee against her employer.
- Successfully represented executor and settled a will contest action brought by disinherited heirs of the decedent.
- Successfully defended the executor in a dispute amongst the heirs of a decedent’s estate.
- Successfully represented trustee in multimillion-dollar divorce matter in which the wife ineffectively attacked the validity of the trust in an attempt to increase the value of the marital estate.
- Successful trial and appellate work regarding a high-profile post-decree custody dispute where the court awarded sole custody of the children to her client.
Education & Admissions
Education
- Cleveland State University College of Law, J.D., 1995
- Hiram College, B.A., 1987
Bar and Court Admissions
- State of Ohio
- U.S. District Court, Northern District of Ohio
- U.S.. District Court, Southern District of Ohio
- U.S.District Court, Western District of Pennsylvania
- U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Arkansas
- U.S. District Court, Western District of Arkansas
- U.S.. Court of Appeals, Third Circuit
- U.S.. Court of Appeals, Sixth Circuit
Involvement
Professional Affiliations
- Ohio State Bar Association, Member (1995 – Present)
- Ohio Women’s Bar Association (2023 – Present)
- Cleveland Metropolitan Bar Association, Member (1996 – Present)
- Cuyahoga County Court of Common Pleas, Probate Division, Mediator (2022 – Present)
Community Involvement
- Hospice of the Western Reserve Planned Giving Advisory Council, Member
Firm Involvement
- Women’s Initiative, Chair (2023 – Present)
- Mentor (2020 – Present)
- Event Planning Committee, Member
Awards & Honors
- Recognized by Crain’s Cleveland Business as Notable Woman in Law (2024)
- Recognized by The Best Lawyers in America® in Family Law and Trusts and Estates (2024 – Present)
- Named to the Ohio Super Lawyers List (2025)
Publications
- “Different Trusts Exist for Different Needs,” Cleveland Jewish News (June 2024)
- “Postnuptial Agreements Are Now Allowed in Ohio,” Frantz Ward Client Alert (March 2023)
- “The case for a durable general power of attorney,” Crain’s Cleveland Business (October 2021)
- “The Necessity of Advance Directives,” Crain’s Cleveland Business (October 2020)
- “Your Estate Plan – One More Way to Protect Your Family During the COVID-19 Pandemic,” Frantz Ward Client Alert (April 2020)
- “The nuts and bolts of estate planning,” Crain’s Cleveland Business (October 2019)
Presentations & Lectures
- “Prenuptial Agreements: Divorce Planning v. Estate Planning and the Pitfalls of Drafting for Second Marriages,” Center for Principled Family Advocacy (August 2021)
- “When Closely Held Businesses Are Held Too Closely?” Association of Corporate Counsel, Cleveland, OH (August 2021)
- “COVID-19’s Impact on Estate Planning,” Association of Corporate Counsel Webinar (October 2020)
- Maggie is a frequent panelist and speaker at various mass tort litigation conferences held throughout the country, including San Diego, CA; New York, NY; Chicago, IL; and Dallas, TX.
Media Coverage
- Mentioned in, “Lawyers, Firms Receive Recognition,” Cleveland Jewish News (January 2021)
Representative Experience
- Successful resolution of litigation involving a multimillion-dollar trust.
- Successful resolution of a disputed family trust.
- Successfully obtained a court order vacating an arbitration award in favor of an employee against her employer.
- Successfully represented executor and settled a will contest action brought by disinherited heirs of the decedent.
- Successfully defended the executor in a dispute amongst the heirs of a decedent’s estate.
- Successfully represented trustee in multimillion-dollar divorce matter in which the wife ineffectively attacked the validity of the trust in an attempt to increase the value of the marital estate.
- Successful trial and appellate work regarding a high-profile post-decree custody dispute where the court awarded sole custody of the children to her client.
Education & Admissions
Education
- Cleveland State University College of Law, J.D., 1995
- Hiram College, B.A., 1987
Bar and Court Admissions
- State of Ohio
- U.S. District Court, Northern District of Ohio
- U.S.. District Court, Southern District of Ohio
- U.S.District Court, Western District of Pennsylvania
- U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Arkansas
- U.S. District Court, Western District of Arkansas
- U.S.. Court of Appeals, Third Circuit
- U.S.. Court of Appeals, Sixth Circuit
Involvement
Professional Affiliations
- Ohio State Bar Association, Member (1995 – Present)
- Ohio Women’s Bar Association (2023 – Present)
- Cleveland Metropolitan Bar Association, Member (1996 – Present)
- Cuyahoga County Court of Common Pleas, Probate Division, Mediator (2022 – Present)
Community Involvement
- Hospice of the Western Reserve Planned Giving Advisory Council, Member
Firm Involvement
- Women’s Initiative, Chair (2023 – Present)
- Mentor (2020 – Present)
- Event Planning Committee, Member
Awards & Honors
- Recognized by Crain’s Cleveland Business as Notable Woman in Law (2024)
- Recognized by The Best Lawyers in America® in Family Law and Trusts and Estates (2024 – Present)
- Named to the Ohio Super Lawyers List (2025)
Publications
- “Different Trusts Exist for Different Needs,” Cleveland Jewish News (June 2024)
- “Postnuptial Agreements Are Now Allowed in Ohio,” Frantz Ward Client Alert (March 2023)
- “The case for a durable general power of attorney,” Crain’s Cleveland Business (October 2021)
- “The Necessity of Advance Directives,” Crain’s Cleveland Business (October 2020)
- “Your Estate Plan – One More Way to Protect Your Family During the COVID-19 Pandemic,” Frantz Ward Client Alert (April 2020)
- “The nuts and bolts of estate planning,” Crain’s Cleveland Business (October 2019)
Presentations & Lectures
- “Prenuptial Agreements: Divorce Planning v. Estate Planning and the Pitfalls of Drafting for Second Marriages,” Center for Principled Family Advocacy (August 2021)
- “When Closely Held Businesses Are Held Too Closely?” Association of Corporate Counsel, Cleveland, OH (August 2021)
- “COVID-19’s Impact on Estate Planning,” Association of Corporate Counsel Webinar (October 2020)
- Maggie is a frequent panelist and speaker at various mass tort litigation conferences held throughout the country, including San Diego, CA; New York, NY; Chicago, IL; and Dallas, TX.
Media Coverage
- Mentioned in, “Lawyers, Firms Receive Recognition,” Cleveland Jewish News (January 2021)
