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elizabeth l. perla Judge ray headen through the Key Building. If I hadn’t stopped her on
that one day, we would never have seen each other
again. Moral: Go for it!
Firm/Company: The Perla Law Firm Firm/Company: 8th District Court of Appeals –
Title: owner Cuyahoga County
CMBA Join Date: 2008 Title: Judge Where did yOu gO On yOur
hOneyMOOn?
undergrad: The ohio State University CMBA Join Date: 2019 We went on our honeymoon to Puerto Vallarta,
Law School: The ohio State University Moritz undergrad: Williams College, Williamstown, Mexico on November 9, 2002, a few weeks after the
College of Law Massachusetts then second most severe hurricane to hit the west
Law School: University of Pennsylvania Law School coast of Mexico. Our resort had just re-opened
WhaT dO yOu lOve aBOuT yOur JOB? but many tourists had cancelled. We had concierge
I love meeting with people and helping them solve their WhaT dO yOu lOve yOu aBOuT
problems. Working in elder law in particular, my job is as yOur JOB? service during our honeymoon!!
much about compassion and empathy as it is lawyering. Having been a public finance and economic
It truly feels like I am in a helping profession. development attorney for over 30 years, I am a stickler WhaT adviCe WOuld yOu give TO
for precision in the drafting and rendering of my legal a laW sTudenT?
The most important lesson I can share with a law
Tell us Why yOu lOve Cle. and bond counsel opinions. I’ve been bond counsel on student is to set your own path. I believe my career is
I grew up in Westlake and now reside in Beachwood projects as diverse as the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame,
with my husband and three kids. I love my community, the “Q,” the main campus facilities of both university an example of the diversity of experience a new lawyer
the schools, the cost of living, proximity to big city Hospitals and the Cleveland Clinic and many other can have as part of his or her career. I was an associate
amenities and the minimum traffic. It’s hard to imagine state and local projects over many, many years. at Squire, Sanders & Dempsey (now Squire Patton
many other places that can offer what Cleveland offers. What I have been pleased with and to be quite Boggs), a partner in a three-person minority-owned
honest pleasantly surprised by is how easily my law firm (Carter, Headen & Haygood), the first general
Where did yOu gO On yOur training, background and years of experience as bond counsel to the State Treasurer of Ohio, a partner at
Thompson Hine & Flory (now Thompson Hine), a
hOneyMOOn? counsel has prepared me for service as an appellate
We spent a few weeks touring all the historical sites in jurist. High quality transactional attorneys should partner and chair of the public finance practice at
Israel. My most vivid memory is walking in the Old City definitely consider serving the public as a judge for a Schottenstein, Zox & Dunn (now Ice Miller), of counsel
of Jerusalem near the Western Wall and hearing both portion of their careers if there is a calling. at Bricker & Eckler and for the past seven years a solo
the Muslim call to prayer and church bells. It felt like we My colleagues on the bench are knowledgeable, practitioner, often in co-counsel relationships with other
were in the center of the world. capable and caring. What I’ve loved most about my lawyers who have experience at large firms.
job is that “justice” is now an element to the types For any young lawyer, my advice is to get training.
WhaT adviCe WOuld yOu give TO a of opinions I am writing as part of the 8th District After you get training, you have to decide the type
laW sTudenT? Appellate bench. of law firm experience you want (public, private,
Take a business class. For lawyers who are solo big, small, medium, solo, etc.) and just as importantly,
practitioners or part of small practices, knowing how hOW did yOu MeeT yOur spOuse? the type of lawyer you want to be within any of the
to run and grow a business is as important to your I use the story of how I met my wife of 16 years — aforementioned contexts — and it not only okay, but
professional success as being a good lawyer. Miesha — as a lesson for others still looking for love. I maybe preferable to have your choices evolve over time.
was a partner at Thompson Hine in December 2001. Of utmost importance is not to disappear from
One fun faCT aBOuT yOu? Around 1 p.m., I had just finished working out at the our professional responsibility to serve the public
In college, I was a psychology major and worked at gym at the Club at Key Center. I was walking in the and our community. Having a diverse career is very
the now obsolete Ohio State Chimpanzee Lab, where lobby of the Key Building to go back to work when rewarding. Do not be afraid to try new things!
chimpanzees and monkeys were the subjects of I noticed a beautiful woman I had never seen before
problem solving and language experiments. The baby walking through the lobby. Of course, I had to speak to WhaT’s On yOur BuCkeT lisT?
chimpanzees loved to be tickled. her. I was later told by Miesha that she was put off by As a law student in the 1980s, I always thought it would
my approach. However, when she saw a bead of sweat be nice to end my law career as a law professor or
judge. One down!! Can anybody help me with the
on my forehead, she found it very attractive that I was
nervous enough about approaching her that I was other? Further the past seven years as a solo and small
firm lawyer has opened my eyes to new ways to deliver
sweating. Thank God for lunch time work outs!!
The lesson for those looking for love is to go for legal services through technology. It is also part of my
it when you see someone you want to meet. Miesha bucket list to improve our delivery of judicial and legal
services to the public through technology. Lastly, I hope
and I were married within 11 months of our first
date. However throughout our dating, we never to be an advocate for private practice career lawyers to
consider judicial service as part of their career paths.
again randomly ran into each other just walking
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