RITTGERS - Key Persons
Charles H. Rittgers is Past President of the Ohio Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, Past President of the Warren County Bar Association , and a Founding Member of the National College of DUI Defense. He is also a member of the Million Dollar and Multi-Million Dollar Advocates Forum (groups limited to lawyers who have won million and multi-million dollar verdicts and settlements), and a member of the Ohio Association for Justice and the American Association for Justice. Mr. Rittgers is a Fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers which is recognized as the preeminent organization of trial lawyers in North America, dedicated to maintaining and improving the standards of trial practice, professionalism, ethics and the administration of justice. Admission into the College is by invitation only.
Edward Perry is a premier criminal defense attorney with over twenty years of experience defending people who have been accused of crimes throughout Ohio. Over his career, Ed has successfully resolved cases for thousands of criminal defense clients including over a dozen Cincinnati Bengals players. When a favorable plea bargain cannot be achieved, Ed is willing to proceed to trial where he has received over one hundred not guilty verdicts in cases ranging from low level misdemeanors to some of the most serious crimes. As an example, Ed received not guilty verdicts for a man charged with striking a pedestrian with his vehicle. And, in a separate case, Ed used the defense of self-defense to successfully defend a man charged with murder.
When Ed was young, he was predisposed to criminal defense. His father, James Perry, was a distinguished criminal defense lawyer in Cincinnati for more than thirty-five years. Ed joined his father's law practice after working for a short period of time as a staff attorney in the Hamilton County Public Defender Office. Ed is a graduate of St Xavier High School, Xavier University and Capital University Law School.
Ed has handled hundreds of criminal trials in Hamilton County Juvenile, Municipal, and Common Pleas courts. He also has a significant practice representing clients in Brown County, Butler County, Clermont County, and Warren County. As a result of Ed's record of success, he has been named to Best Lawyers in America for several consecutive years.
Education
Capital University Law School, Columbus, Ohio
J.D.
Xavier University, Cincinnati, Ohio
B.A.
Ellen Rittgers is a talented and experienced litigator with a history of good results spanning nearly 40 years.
Eric P. Allen has a track record of success representing injury victims and disabled persons for over twenty years. Eric has been representing injured and disabled individuals since graduating from law school at the University of Toledo in 1987. As a skilled negotiator, Eric has achieved thousands of successful settlements for his clients. When settlements cannot be reached, Eric has aggressively litigated numerous cases to favorable jury verdicts.
Eric has also won claims for Social Security Disability and SSI benefits for thousands of disabled persons since 1987.
Eric is licensed to practice law in Ohio and Kentucky. He is involved in the Ohio Association for Justice, American Association for Justice, N.O.S.S.C.R., and many local bar associations including the Cincinnati Bar Association. Eric has successfully argued in numerous appellate courts including the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals. He has also argued before the Ohio Supreme Court.
As a result of his experience, dedication, and success, Eric has been asked to speak about the law to various groups and has served on local legal panels.
In his spare time, Eric enjoys spending time with his wife and three children.
Education
University of Toledo College of Law, Toledo, Ohio
J.D. - 1987
Gus is a trial lawyer with extensive jury trial experience. Gus's litigation experience includes cases as a prosecutor, criminal defense attorney, civil defense attorney, and plaintiff's attorney---in short, he can see a case from all angles.
As a member of the Rittgers Rittgers & Nakajima, Gus represents injured individuals and families who lost loved ones too soon. He channels his passion, energy, skills and experience toward making his clients whole. An injured person often feels like the deck is stacked against them, but Gus strives to help his clients balance the scales and challenge bigger, more powerful defendants such as insurance companies and large corporations.
Gus spent most of his life in the Cincinnati area, graduated from Kings High School, and Miami University before attending law school at Ohio State where he was named one of top trial advocacy students in the nation.
Outside the courtroom, Gus was recently elected to the Metropolis Council for the Greek Orthodox Diocese of Detroit. The Metropolis Council advises the Metropolitan of Detroit, who oversees parishes in the states of Michigan, Arkansas, Kentucky, and parts of Indiana, Ohio, Tennessee, and Upstate New York.
Gus enjoys spending his free time with his wife and family.
Education
Ohio State University Michael E. Moritz College of Law, Columbus, Ohio
J.D.
Honors: George A. Spiegelberg Award for Nation's Top Oral Advocate (Awarded by the American College of Trial Lawyers)
Jake Cropper is an Ohio native from Georgetown, Ohio. Jake attended the University of Mount Saint Joseph where he graduated as a double major in both History and Legal Studies. Jake was awarded Legal Student of the year at graduation, which is given out to the first ranked student in the Legal Studies major.
Following Mount St. Joe, Jake attended the University of Dayton School of Law. During his time at Dayton, Jake earned two CALI awards which recognizes excellence achievements by law students in their studies. In Jake's final year of law school, he took the opportunity to work for the civil clinic where he represented indigent juvenile clients in the courtroom.
Joe is one of the most successful and experienced trial attorneys in the Midwest. Over the past several decades, Joe recovered record breaking verdicts in several local counties for victims of medical malpractice and their families - including verdicts of $8.3 million in Hamilton County, $6.5 million in Butler County, and $5.4 million in the Eastern District of Kentucky Federal Court in Kenton County. In two of these three listed cases, other attorneys and law firms declined to pursue the matter because they did not believe they could win the case. In most of Joe's cases, favorable settlements are reached to help families cope with lifelong injury and loss.
Joe is also called upon at times by the Ohio Attorney General (OAG) over the past decade. When he is called in by the OAG, it is to represent the state of Ohio as lead counsel in complicated litigation matters under the designation of "Special Counsel to the OAG". He was appointed in this the role by now Governor DeWine during his term as OAG for eight years and Joe was we re-appointed currently by the new OAG David Yost. In the past decade he recovered more than $6.5M in just two cases alone.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Board of Governors of the Kentucky Justice Association
Justin Sanders focuses his practice on civil litigation with an emphasis on wrongful death and catastrophic injury in car and truck wreck cases. Justin has a long record of success helping families who suffered injury through no fault of their own and extensive courtroom and first chair jury trial experience.
Justin attended the University of Chicago from 1995-1997 and transferred to the University of Kentucky, where he graduated Magna Cum Laude. Justin played on the varsity baseball teams at both schools and earned a spot on the SEC Academic Honor Roll each year while at UK. In 2004, Justin graduated Cum Laude from the Pepperdine University School of Law in Malibu, California.
After law school, Justin joined his family's law practice at The Sanders Law Firm. There, he learned litigation and trial skills from his father, Bob Sanders, one of the premier plaintiff injury trial attorneys in the Tri-state, with several multi-million-dollar jury verdicts throughout Kentucky and Ohio.
Justin gained additional courtroom and jury trial experience as a felony prosecutor in the Kenton County Commonwealth's Attorney's Office, where he worked closely with his brother Rob Sanders, the elected Commonwealth's Attorney. Justin successfully prosecuted numerous felonies including burglary, child abuse, and murder.
Justin is a member of the Board of Governors of the Kentucky Justice Association, a statewide organization of trial lawyers dedicated to protecting citizens' 7th Amendment right to trial by jury. He also serves on the Board of the Kenton Conservancy, an organization dedicated to the preservation of land and waterways in Kenton County, and volunteers as a youth leadership conference facilitator for the American Youth Foundation in Michigan.
Justin is a Northern Kentucky native. He and his wife, Meredith, live in Fort Wright with their two children. Justin has volunteered for years as a youth sports coach. In his spare time, he can usually be found browsing local bookstores, cheering on his hometown sports teams (FC Cincinnati, Reds, and Bengals), or riding roller coasters with his kids at Kings Island.
Kevin devotes his practice to representing people accused of crimes in state and federal courts. He also represents whistleblowers who report fraud under the False Claims Act. Prior to joining Rittgers Rittgers & Nakajima, Kevin practiced at Frost Brown Todd for over a decade.
Kevin has experience and success defending clients in a variety of situations. Some recent examples include:
• Representation of a physician before a state medical board regarding overprescribing opiates. No adverse action taken.
• Representation of a commercial truck driver charged in a vehicular homicide case. Charge dismissed.
• Representation of a physician in an investigation by the Ohio Attorney General's Office related to the prescribing of suboxone. No charges filed.
• Representation of numerous executives before the grand jury investigating false statements in the promotion of Suboxone.
• Representation of a witness in the Congressional Select Committee investigating events surrounding January 6.
• Successfully obtaining Presidential grants of clemency for two individuals who were serving life sentences in federal prison for non-violent drug offenses.
• Representation of a physician in an opiate overprescribing case where the government alleged 4 deaths attributed to overdoses on the medications prescribed by the physician. All the death allegations were withdrawn after extensive pre-trial litigation and a favorable plea agreement was reached with the client receiving a well below guidelines sentence.
• Representation of a CPA charged with aggravated vehicular assault after driving head on into a car while driving the wrong way on the interstate while under the influence. Negotiated favorable plea deal, and client was sentenced to 10 days in jail.
• Representation of former CEO of a company charged with securities fraud, among other offenses, for making false statements in the process of selling the company. The client received a favorable Plea Agreement and received a below-guidelines sentence.
Before entering private practice, Kevin gained experience as both a state and federal prosecutor and as a Special Agent with the U.S. Secret Service. He started his career as an Assistant Prosecuting Attorney in Hamilton County, Ohio. He then served for seven years as a Special Agent with the U.S. Secret Service, where he investigated federal crimes such as credit card fraud, identity theft, mortgage fraud, bank fraud, and other financial crimes. He also investigated threats against the President of the United States and served in the protective mission of the Secret Service.
Kevin served as a Special Assistant United States Attorney in the Southern District of Ohio. He tried several gun and drug cases during his tenure as a federal prosecutor. He supervised investigations being conducted by various federal agencies, including the FBI, IRS-CID, and ATF.
Kevin is on the Grievance Committee of the Ohio State Bar Association and the board of the Cincinnati-Northern Kentucky John Weld Peck Chapter of the Federal Bar Association.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Cincinnati Bar Association
Kourtney P. Brueckner focuses her practice on all family law, divorce, and child custody issues. She is a zealous advocate for her clients using a holistic approach both inside and outside the courtroom. Kourtney employs various techniques including mediation and settlement to give clients the best option for their highly personal situation.
Kourtney is an active member of the Cincinnati Bar Association. She is on the CBA Community Service Committee. She was awarded with the 2018 Community Service award for her impact on the Cincinnati community. Kourtney is also a member of the American Bar Association, ABA Family Law Section, Ohio Bar Association, and the Cincinnati Bar Association, and Domestic Relations Committee. Kourtney also gives back to the Cincinnati community through pro bono work with the Volunteer Lawyers Project.
Kourtney earned two Bachelor of Arts degrees in Political Science and International Affairs from the University of Cincinnati and her J.D. from Ohio Northern University. While in law school, she served as the Symposium Editor of the Law Review.
Education
Ohio Northern University Pettit College of Law, Ada, Ohio
J.D.
Matt Nakajima is a sought-after trial lawyer focusing his practice on wrongful death and catastrophic injury cases. His passion and dedication to clients drive his results. In the last 8 years, Matt has obtained over $50 million in verdicts, judgments, and settlements on behalf of his clients. In 2022 alone, Matt has successfully resolved cases for $7 million, $3 million, $3 million, $2 million, $2 million, and numerous $1 million policy limit settlements.
Matt does not shy away from difficult cases and is known for obtaining extraordinary results under the most challenging circumstances. For example, in 2021, Matt and Lindsay Lawrence entered a case two weeks before trial and obtained at $825,000 jury verdict in Warren County, Ohio, on behalf of a woman who suffered an ankle fracture. The top offer before their involvement was $90,000 as the defense was disputing liability and causation. In 2019, Matt and Charlie Rittgers obtained a $3,000,000 jury verdict in Hamilton County, Ohio, on behalf of a 71-year-old woman who suffered a fractured knee cap. The top offer before trial was a mere $25,000. Matt accepted the case after multiple law firms had turned it down believing the case to be too difficult to win against a multi-billion-dollar corporation. In 2018, Matt and his client had a top offer of $20,000 from a large insurance company after a shoulder tear injury. He, his co-counsel, and his client refused the offer and went to a jury trial. The verdict was $1,028,317 and one of the largest for a non-death case in the history of Campbell County, Kentucky. Matt, along with Kyle Salyer, successfully pursued the company on a bad faith action following the verdict.
As a result of his track record of success in the courtroom, Matt is often asked to speak to trial lawyer organizations across the country on trial advocacy, litigation, and injury law. Respected by his peers, Matt has been a recipient of the prestigious "Super Lawyer" and/or "Rising Star" awards by Super Lawyers every year since 2013.
Education
Northern Kentucky University, Salmon P. Chase College of Law, Highland Heights, Kentucky
J.D. - 2008
Job Titles:
- Lawyers Association, Member, 2014 to Present
Steve Kilburn is a Warren County native who lives with his wife in Morrow. He graduated from Eastern Kentucky University in 2010 magna cum laude as an honors scholar. He attended the University of Dayton School of Law on an academic scholarship where he served as a staff writer and comment editor for the University of Dayton Law Review in the 2011-2012 and 2012-2013 school years, respectively. While in law school, Steve clerked at Warren County Juvenile & Probate Court under Honorable Judge Michael Powell. He graduated from the University of Dayton School of Law in the spring of 2013 and was admitted to the practice of law that same year.
After law school, Steve acquired experience in personal injury and medical malpractice. In 2014, however, Steve joined the Rittgers firm and discovered his passion for representing clients facing criminal, traffic, and juvenile delinquency charges. His practice at Rittgers Rittgers & Nakajima is focused nearly exclusively on criminal, traffic, and juvenile delinquency defense in Southwest Ohio.
Steve has a strong record of success when defending suspects involved with criminal investigations or defending individuals charged with criminal, traffic, or juvenile offenses. For instance, he has resolved many cases favorably for clients who were facing various non-violent and violent misdemeanor and felony convictions, lengthy jail and prison sentences, OVI/DUI convictions, embarrassing sex offender registration requirements, and burdensome driver's license suspensions. In countless situations, he has either successfully prevented criminal charges from being filed against his clients, has minimized the severe impact of charges, or has achieved a not-guilty verdicts for his clients following bench trials and jury trials.
Because of his experience as a criminal defense lawyer, Steve understands the government often over-charges individuals and can rush to judgment, make unfair assumptions, and rely upon non-credible information when charging folks with crimes. He also understands that frequently, people make bad decisions due to a mental health issue or stress, a substance abuse issue, or just being at the wrong place at the wrong time. Regardless of the situation, Steve understands that every person who is either facing or is charged with a crime is a human being who needs and deserves a competent, skillful, and hard-working lawyer on their side.
Steve is thorough, treats every case as though it is own, and is willing to go the extra mile for his clients. He feels fortunate to be able to help people during what is often the most scary and uncertain time of their lives.
Education
University of Dayton School of Law, Dayton, Ohio
J.D. - 2013
Eastern Kentucky University
B.A. - 2010