Practice
Civil litigation, employment, government and public-entity defense, § 1983 and civil-rights matters, public records, open meetings, and appellate work.
About the writer
About Ami
Hi, I’m Ami Imbrogno. I’m an Ohio lawyer who spends a lot of time thinking about what government may do, what it must do, and what happens when those two get confused.
My practice includes government tort liability, § 1983 and civil-rights litigation, public records and open-meetings issues, employment law, and appellate work. I practice at Gallagher Sharp LLP in Cleveland, where a significant part of my work involves representing public entities and public officials when something has already turned into litigation.
I also like the part of the job that happens before that. Sometimes the useful answer is that the entity has a strong defense and should stand behind what it did. Sometimes the answer is that something went wrong, the exposure is real, and the better course is to resolve the problem and change what caused it. Representing government does not require pretending government is always right. It requires figuring out what the law actually requires and giving advice that is useful once the real facts are on the table.
Why I started Ohio Government, Actually
There is no shortage of commentary about government. Some of it is useful. Some of it is very confident.
I wanted a place to write about Ohio public law from the perspective of someone who actually works with these issues: what a new case changes, what it does not change, where a public entity may be creating avoidable exposure, and where criticism of government depends on a misunderstanding of what the law actually says.
The goal is not to replace a law director, prosecutor, or other counsel. Quite the opposite. I want this site to help people recognize the issue, understand why it matters, and know when it is time to get counsel involved.
Professional background
Magistrate
Part-time Magistrate, Willoughby Municipal Court, handling civil matters and criminal and traffic arraignments.
Certification
Certified by the National Board of Trial Advocacy as a Civil Practice Advocate.
Government-law involvement
Steering Committee member of DRI’s Governmental Liability Committee and Co-Chair of its Partnering with Industry initiative.
Admissions
Ohio; U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Ohio; U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Ohio; U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit; and Supreme Court of the United States.