Community Service

Volunteering gives us the opportunity to learn about each other while making a difference in the Greater Cincinnati Community.
Community involvement goes beyond individual attorney participation on area boards at Graydon Head & Ritchey.  In 1996, the firm launched a community service initiative that provides all employees opportunities to get involved in the community.  The GH&R Community Service Team, made up of partners, associates and staff, was created to make volunteer opportunities in the Greater Cincinnati area available to GH&R employees and their families.  The activities – which, in the past, have ranged from donating blood and sponsoring teams to participate in charitable walks and runs, to answering phones for Channel 48's Action Auction or building a house for Habitat for Humanity – give employees the opportunity to learn more about each other while making a difference in the Greater Cincinnati community.

Recently, a large number of the attorneys and staff have volunteered their time as Cincinnati Youth Collaborative (CYC) mentors and tutors for Washington Park Elementary, one of Cincinnati’s inner-city schools where the need is great.  The firm formally adopted Washington Park as its Partner in Education in 2001 and, since then, have spent countless hours with the children there. The attached articles help to explain our commitment to mentoring. (Graduating Mentees Honored at Awards Dinner, How Mentoring Can Shape a Life)

In 2006, the attorneys and staff exceeded even their own expectations when they "adopted" more than 120 abused or neglected children on behalf of ProKids for the holidays.

GH&R can trace its long tradition of civic involvement in the Greater Cincinnati community to its inception when attorney Lawrence Maxwell became a founding member of the Cincinnati May Festival Association in the early 1900s.  Following the example of the firm's founders, each generation of GH&R attorneys has taken the lead in charitable and community endeavors. 

A firm-wide commitment to leadership and involvement in our community has become one of the defining traits of GH&R's culture.

Members of the firm are active on boards that span across the Greater Cincinnati region, including: American Cancer Society, American Red Cross, Brighton Center, Children’s Hospital Medical Center, Cincinnati Horticultural Society, Cincinnati Youth Collaborative, Crayons to Computers, Healthpoint Foundation, ProSeniors, Inc., Taft Museum of Art, United Way of Greater Cincinnati, and the Cincinnati Zoo, to name a few.

Community Service Recognition

  • Volunteer Lawyer of the Year – Legal Aid Society
  • Community Service Award – Ohio State University
  • Hometown Hero – Cincinnati Enquirer
  • Great Living Cincinnatian – Greater Cincinnati Chamber of Commerce
  • Outstanding Affiliate Leader – American Bar Association/Young Lawyers Division
  • Firm Wide “Helping Hands Award” – American Red Cross
  • United Way New Century Award for Improving Our Community
  • Rotary Heart in Hand Award
  • Ohio Senior Citizens Hall of Fame
  • Friend of Mental Health Award – Hamilton County Community Health Board
  • Rock of Ages Award – LifeSphere, Inc.
  • Trustee’s Award for Outstanding Service – Cincinnati Bar Association
  • Leader and Advocacy Award – Arc-Hamilton County