Jack Phillips Goes Back to Court by Kevin Diehl
A while back I wrote about the United States Supreme Court decision in Masterpiece Cakeshop v. Colorado Civil Rights Commission. That case involved Jack Phillips, a baker in Denver, Colorado, who refused to design a custom-made cake for a same-sex wedding because doing so would violate his sincerely held religious belief that marriage is between […]
First Steps to Organizing Your Finances in a Divorce Proceeding
Step 1 Organize Your Finances One of the first things to do after you decide that divorce is in your immediate future is to organize your finances. The first step may actually involve becoming knowledgeable about your monthly household finances. Often times in my practice, I notice that one spouse is usually designated as the […]
The Supreme Court, The Baker, and The Wedding Cake by Kevin Diehl
A couple of weeks ago the United States Supreme Court issued its ruling in a high-profile case called Masterpiece Cakeshop, Ltd. v. Colorado Civil Rights Commission. Jack Phillips, the owner of Masterpiece Cakeshop, creates custom cakes for special occasions. But when Phillips refused to make a cake for a same-sex wedding because he believed that […]
Red Kettles at Christmastime by Kevin Diehl
The red kettles and ringing bells of the Salvation Army have been a fixture on the landscape of the Christmas season for so long, no one alive remembers when it wasn’t so. How those red kettles came to occupy their spots on city sidewalks is a story that has its origin in 19th century America. […]
A Home for the Holidays by Kevin Diehl
The Christmas season is upon us, and this year – as usual – there are several new Christmas movies in the cinemas. One of them has a rather pretentious title: The Man Who Invented Christmas. It’s the story of Charles Dickens and his most famous book, A Christmas Carol. The movie title might seem like […]
Kneeling & The 1st Amendment by Kevin Diehl
With the kneeling and the protests underway throughout the NFL, the First Amendment is getting a lot of press lately. So let’s take a closer look at what that amendment actually says and what it means. The First Amendment is one of the ten amendments that make up the Bill of Rights. When the Framers […]
Divorce Struggles? Adoption Fears? Laurel’s Experience and Passion for Family Law Can Help!
When I worked for Justice Paul Pfeifer at the Ohio Supreme Court, he used to say that the saddest cases we handled were the ones that had the same name on either side of the “v” – as in “Smith v. Smith,” or “Taylor v. Taylor.” Those case name designations usually indicated a divorce or […]
Laurel’s Journey to the Nee Law Firm by Kevin Diehl
Laurel Stein didn’t grow up thinking she wanted to be a divorce lawyer. Probably no one does. In fact, she didn’t grow up thinking she wanted to be a lawyer of any kind. But, in high school, Laurel discovered she had a knack for research and writing, and when a teacher told her that someday […]
Matt Nee Arrives at the Ohio Supreme Court by Kevin Diehl
In the summer of 1998, Matthew M. Nee arrived at the Supreme Court of Ohio. He was a second-year law student at Ohio Northern University College of Law, and the law school faculty had selected Matt to serve as an extern to a Supreme Court justice. Matt couldn’t have known it at the time, but […]
Mr. Nee Goes to Columbus by Kevin Diehl
In January of 2003, Matt Nee returned to the Ohio Supreme Court. By that time, he had graduated from law school, passed the bar, was a lawyer in good standing with the state of Ohio and had served a couple of years as a law clerk for Judge Patricia Ann Blackmon at the Eight District […]