Former Ohio Supreme Court Justice Michael P. Donnelly Joins Vorys
Michael P. Donnelly, who most recently served as a justice on the Supreme Court of Ohio, has joined Vorys in the firm’s Cleveland office. At Vorys, he will provide mediation and arbitration services and strategic legal counsel to the firm's clients.
“Vorys is a highly respected law firm with an outstanding reputation in Ohio,” said Donnelly. “I’m most eager to get to work in the firm’s mediation and arbitration practice. I enjoy helping people find resolution to the conflicts in their lives.”
At Vorys, Donnelly will take on the mediation and arbitration of complex cases throughout the United States. In addition, he will work with firm clients in a variety of areas, including litigation and appellate work.
"Justice Donnelly’s extensive trial and appellate experience will strengthen Vorys' nationally recognized litigation practice, allow us to better serve our clients and be a great addition to our firm," said Michael Martz, Vorys’ firmwide managing partner.
Prior to joining the Supreme Court of Ohio in 2019, Donnelly served as a judge on the Cuyahoga County Court of Common Pleas, General Division for 14 years. Before serving as a member of the local judiciary, Donnelly was an assistant Cuyahoga County prosecutor and a civil litigator in private practice.
“In Cuyahoga County and throughout Northeast Ohio, Justice Donnelly is widely known and respected as a leader in the legal industry,” said Bryan Falk, managing partner of the Vorys Cleveland office. “We are excited to welcome him to Vorys and fully integrate him into our firm’s work in the region and throughout the state.”
Donnelly served on the Ohio Supreme Court’s Commission on Professionalism from 2007 to 2012 and chaired the commission during his final year. During his tenure on the commission, he helped establish the highly successful Lawyer to Lawyer Mentoring Program, which has received national accolades. He also spent more than a decade personally mentoring new lawyers.
Donnelly has spoken on numerous occasions on comprehensive data -driven criminal and civil justice reform, as well as ending wrongful conviction in Ohio. He is a nationally recognized leader on the subject of plea-bargaining reform. In February 2025, he was appointed to the Board of Advisors to the National Plea Bargain Institute located at Belmont University,
Donnelly also serves as an adjunct professor at Cleveland State University College of Law. He teaches two courses: Power and the American justice system and The Ohio Court Watch Program.
About Vorys: Vorys was established in 1909 and currently has nearly 375 attorneys in 10 offices in Ohio, Washington, D.C., Texas, Pennsylvania, California, London and Berlin. Vorys currently ranks as one of the 200 largest law firms in the United States according to American Lawyer magazine.
