Page 11 - November 2019 BarJournal

Katherine A.

Friedell
Ken Liffman Firm/Company: Rosenthal Thurman Lane, LLC

Title: Of counsel
Firm/Company: McCarthy, Lebit, Crystal & Liffman CMBA Join Date: 1992
Co., LPA College: The University of Michigan
Title: Managing Principal Law School: Case Western Reserve University
CMBA Join Date: 1989
College: Miami University MOST MEMORABLE CMBA MOMENT
Law School: Cleveland-Marshall College of Law Becoming a participant in 3Rs Program at its
inception. Volunteering for 3Rs is a wonderful way
IF YOU WERE NOT PRACTICING LAW, to give back. I am fortunate as an attorney to have
WHAT WOULD YOUR PROFESSION BE? developed skills and knowledge about the law. Sharing
I would be a salesman. My mother was an interior these plus my experiences as a lawyer with high
designer and my father owned a furniture store so it school students over the years is a benefit to me as
comes second nature to me. well as them. Going into classrooms has also allowed
me to meet a number of teachers in Cleveland high
A RECENT MILESTONE FOR YOU OR schools and to appreciate their challenges and respect
YOUR FAMILY? their commitment to their students.
Allison, my youngest daughter, who is an incredible
Danielle, who is a principal at McCarthy Lebit, both Dairian Heard FAVORITE CLEVELAND HOT SPOT
artist, got married in June. She and my oldest,
The new Van Aken District in Shaker Heights,
lived in Chicago for years and they’re both finally my home town.
back home in Cleveland. Company: CMBA
Title: Front Desk Coordinator WHY DID YOU BECOME A LAWYER?
HOW DID YOU MEET YOUR SPOUSE? CMBA Start Date: August 2019 I had never intended to become a lawyer, never even
In English class in 9th grade. College: Georgetown College (Georgetown, thought about it. After college and then graduate
Kentucky) school at CWRU, where I received a Master’s degree
TELL US ABOUT YOUR FIRST EVER JOB. in English, I taught English for seven years at Hawken
In college I sold door-to-door to help pay for school, CAN YOU PLAY AN INSTRUMENT? School. Hawken was a boys’ private school until my last
but my first and only professional job was with Yes, the flute. I learned in middle school, but I haven’t year teaching. I left teaching when I was pregnant with
McCarthy Lebit. played much since I graduated from high school. my first child. After my third child was in kindergarten,
I began to consider returning to work. I did not want
WHAT’S THE BEST PART ABOUT BEING A EAST SIDE OR WEST SIDE? to go back to teaching for various reasons. One day I
LAWYER? East side read an ad about becoming a paralegal. I happened to
The best part is helping people. It makes me proud say to my mother-in-law that maybe I should consider
to be a lawyer when I know I’m making a difference WHAT DO YOU DO FOR FUN? that. She wisely said, “Well, becoming a paralegal takes
for my clients. Read mystery and thriller novels, write poetry, watch one year. It only takes three to become a lawyer. So
football and YouTube videos about thrifting why wouldn’t you do the latter?” Good advice. I never
looked back.
IF YOU COULD GO TO DINNER WITH A
FAMOUS PERSON, LIVING OR DEAD, WHO WHAT CITY DO YOU LIVE IN, AND WHAT
WOULD IT BE AND WHY? WHAT WOULD DO YOU LIKE ABOUT IT?
YOU SAY TO THEM? I live in Shaker Heights. I grew up there, went to
Langston Hughes because he is my favorite writer who the Shaker Schools. Upon leaving for college, my
also happened to spend a lot of his life in Cleveland. I intention was never to come back. Isn’t that somewhat
would ask him about his experiences as a black writer typical for an 18 year old? However, things worked
during the Harlem Renaissance and how he stayed out differently and I have no regrets. I have the long
inspired and motivated. view about Shaker Heights, how it developed from
a nearly all white suburb to a diverse one, how it
handled and resisted block busting by realtors in
INTERESTED IN BEING certain neighborhoods in the early 1960s, the efforts
FEATURED OR KNOW by the city and the Board of Education to maintain
SOMEONE WHO MIGHT? high standards for the housing stock and education
and the city’s overall beauty and open spaces. Shaker
E-mail Jackie Baraona at: Heights continues to be diverse in every way and is
jbaraona@clemetrobar.org. a welcoming city with residents who care about their
home town.

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