The former mayor of Cincinnati, Charlie Luken, has helped launch the downtown office of the law firm Calfee, Halter & Griswold LLP, according to Cincinnati.com. The firm works in the business industry and has been ranked among the best firms in the state of Ohio by U.S. News & World Report.
Luken joined the Columbus office of Calfee in January of 2006 after he decided against running for a another term in office as mayor. Luken noted that now is the perfect time for the firm to open its office in Cincinnati. One of the clients of the firm, Rock Gaming/Caesars, is scheduled to open the Horseshoe Casino Cincinnati in the spring.
“We’re really bullish on what’s going on in Downtown right now,” said Luken, 61. Luken became the first directly elected mayor for the town in 2001.
Luken was the chair of the Ohio Jobs and Growth Committee, helping win the Issue 3 ballot initiative in November of 2009. That ballot issue legalized casinos in Cincinnati, Toledo, Cleveland and Columbus.
Calfee Strategic Solutions was launched by the firm to help with public affairs and government services. Meghan Glynn has also been added to the firm to head the Calfee Strategic Solutions department as its director of government relations and public affairs.
“There are certainly opportunities in the government-relations space in Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky,” said Glynn. “Calfee sees that, and we look forward to exploring those opportunities on a variety of fronts.”
“Meghan gives us the opportunity to be involved (in Kentucky),” Luken said. “We believe we’re well-positioned to play a role.”
The office for Calfee in Cincinnati is in the First Financial Center and it is headed by John Mongelluzzo. Matthew Parrish, an entertainment lawyer, has also been hired by the firm. Richard Finan, the former president of the Ohio Senate, has moved from the Calfee office in Columbus to the Cincinnati office. The firm is going to add 30 attorneys and was founded in 1903. There are currently 150 attorneys working at the firm’s locations in Columbus, Cleveland and Cincinnati.