Page 14 - July August 22 CBA Report

A ward Winners
VOLUNTEER LAWYER OF THE YEAR
Susan Wheatley
The Volunteer Lawyer of the Year Award is given to an attorney or attorneys who have provided exemplary pro bono legal services to one or more low-income clients through the Volunteer Lawyers Project (VLP).
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THE REPORT | July/August 2022 | CincyBar.org
The Volunteer Lawyers for the Poor Foundation is proud to announce Ms. Susan E. Wheatley as our 2021 Volunteer Lawyer of the Year. Wheatley was instrumental in the founding of the “Without a Deed” project with the Volunteer Lawyers Project (VLP) where we assist clients whose home deeds are not titled in their name. In many instances, when a homeowner dies, informal arrangements are made that do not legally pass title of the house. Without a deed, heirs are unable to get loans to make urgent home repairs, transfer the property, or negotiate with lenders to prevent foreclosures. The project goal is to retain home equity and wealth in the hands of low-income clients by preserving home ownership in our community.
To that end, Wheatley also met with the Hamilton County Probate Court, along with legal aid lawyers, to streamline a waiver process for filing fees for cases involving legal aid clients and home equity issues. She continues to serve in an advisor capacity to legal aid in estate matters as well as having accepted ten cases in the last five years.
“Susan has been a leader in helping us tackle ‘tangled title’ issues and is always game to look at difficult cases with us,” said Stacy Purcell, Ohio Access to Justice Fellow/Attorney with the Legal Aid Society of Southwest Ohio. “We are seeing these cases more and more in minority communities, and Susan’s commit-
ment to thinking outside of the box has been a huge benefit in our representation of homeowners.”
Wheatley is a partner at Taft Stettinius & Hollister, working with clients on their estate and business succession planning. Her extensive knowledge of estate planning issues and successful track record are among the reasons why she has received consec- utive honors from Chambers High Net Worth Guide, Ohio Super Lawyers, Leading Lawyers, and Best Lawyers in America.
Wheatley is an elected fellow on the American College of Trust and Estate Counsel and is certified by the Ohio State Bar Associa- tion Specialty Board as a specialist in Estate Planning, Trust and Probate Law. She chaired the Cincinnati Bar Association’s Estate Planning and Probate Committee, served as the president of the Cincinnati Estate Planning Council, and taught both estate plan- ning and alternative dispute resolution as an adjunct professor of law at the University of Cincinnati College of Law.
Involved in numerous community causes, Wheatley has served on boards including the Ohio Justice and Policy Center, the Mercantile Library of Cincinnati, and Ursuline Academy. She was a member of Class 30 of Leadership Cincinnati, a program of the Cincinnati Regional Chamber of Commerce.
Wheatley received her J.D. from the Northwestern University School of Law, where she served on the Northwestern University Law Review, and her B.A. in history from Yale University.