About Our Firm

In Ohio, the law often announces itself quietly.

A letter from the unemployment office. A traffic stop on a dark road. A grievance denied by an employer. A court summons. A notice of suspension. A phone call that changes the course of an ordinary day.

For working people, these moments can feel overwhelming. The State of Ohio has lawyers. Employers have lawyers. Insurance companies, government agencies, and powerful institutions have systems built to protect their interests.

The Law Offices of Brian J. Smith was built for the people standing on the other side of those systems.

Brian J. Smith came from a working-class background, and that experience shaped the kind of lawyer he became. His practice has always rested on a straightforward belief: ordinary people deserve extraordinary representation. They deserve an advocate willing to stand between them and the institutions that can affect their work, their licenses, their benefits, their reputations, and their futures.

Smith began practicing law in 2005. Over the years, he represented labor unions and their ERISA plans, guided workers through unemployment appeals, and defended people facing criminal and OVI charges. In 2018, he founded The Law Offices of Brian J. Smith, ltd., creating a firm dedicated to the highest quality legal representation for the working people of Ohio.

From the beginning, the firm's work was practical, personal, and close to the ground. It was found in courtrooms, union halls, administrative hearings, negotiations, arbitrations, and late-day calls from people who needed answers. It was found in the details: the language of a collective bargaining agreement, the sequence of a traffic stop, the timing of an appeal, the evidence in a police report, the facts that could change the outcome of a case.

Attorney John A. Sivinski worked alongside Brian Smith for many years, bringing significant trial experience developed at respected firms including Climaco, Climaco, Lefkowitz & Garofoli and Kelley & Ferraro. His experience strengthened the firm's ability to litigate serious cases, evaluate risk, and prepare each matter with the discipline that effective advocacy requires.

In 2024, the firm entered a new chapter.

Clayreesa Barnes joined as Executive Assistant, bringing invaluable knowledge across nearly every aspect of the firm's operations. In a small firm, every call matters. Every deadline matters. Every client interaction matters. Barnes became central to making sure clients felt seen, heard, and valued, and that their needs were being anticipated rather than merely answered.

That same year, Maria Romito joined the firm as Senior Associate Attorney. Responsive, analytical, and assertive, Romito brought a deep commitment to high-quality representation and a practical ability to move cases toward successful outcomes. Her work reflected the firm's belief that careful preparation and determined advocacy can make an immediate difference in a client's life.

The firm later welcomed Shula Goldstein as an Associate Attorney. A graduate of the Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law, Goldstein brought a background in civil rights, disability rights, and consumer protection. Her practice focuses on OVI and criminal defense, unemployment appeals, and labor union matters, where she applies careful analysis and determined advocacy to protect clients facing difficult and consequential problems.

As the firm grew, it preserved the atmosphere that had defined it from the beginning.

It remained a small firm by design. Not distant. Not impersonal. Not built around volume for its own sake. Every client would receive personal attention. Every case would be discussed, analyzed, and prepared collaboratively. The firm's strength would come not only from individual lawyers, but from a team working together.

Through that approach, The Law Offices of Brian J. Smith has helped thousands of people facing criminal and OVI charges, unemployment appeals, labor disputes, arbitrations, negotiations, and litigation.

Its story is not merely the story of a law firm. It is the story of a belief carried into practice: that working people deserve lawyers who will study the facts, challenge the evidence, confront powerful institutions, and stand beside clients when the stakes are high.

In the end, the measure of a firm is not found only in verdicts, dismissals, settlements, or awards.

It is found in the client who keeps a license. The worker who receives benefits. The union member whose contract rights are defended. The person who walks into court afraid and walks out with a future still intact.

That is the work.

And for The Law Offices of Brian J. Smith, ltd., it remains the purpose.