Attorney Kathi Schear has had a long and storied career at Legal Aid of Southeast and Central Ohio, formerly The Legal Aid Society of Columbus, working in nearly every practice area since she joined the organization in 1980.
Schear has coordinated legal aid’s pro bono efforts and worked in housing, family law, unemployment compensation, reentry, and driver’s license reinstatement. She is now back to practicing family law and handling probate matters. It’s safe to say she’s an expert in helping low-income Ohioans resolve civil legal problems, and thousands of Ohioans have benefited from her help over the years.
She also happens to be an expert in Columbus’ professional sports teams, the Blue Jackets and the Crew, where you’ll often find her helping fans after her day job. With close to two decades with the Blue Jackets and 15 years at the Crew, Schear relishes the opportunity to decompress as a guest services worker for both teams.
“It’s my safety valve,” she said. “I go, enjoy myself, scream my head off, have a good time, and then go home. It helps keep my stress level from getting too crazy.”
Schear has made friends with all types of sports fans, from retirees to truck drivers to fellow nonprofit employees. It’s the same genuine warmth she extends to her clients, who have come to rely on her legal expertise and ability to help people with all sorts of challenges.
“One thing I’ve learned is that practicing law is a small part of being a legal aid lawyer,” Schear said. “I’m helping a client with a divorce, but that’s just a small part of everything I do for her. You’re developing a person as an individual to go forward.”
Her ability to stabilize lives is transformative for the people she serves. As one of the founding members of Legal Aid of Southeast and Central Ohio’s reentry practice, Schear helped coordinate and lead the first driver’s license reinstatement and criminal record sealing and expungement clinics in Franklin County. Hundreds of central Ohioans sought help at each clinic, where legal aid and volunteer attorneys helped people reinstate their licenses and seal or expunge their records to access better employment opportunities and brighter futures.
“I remember getting people’s records expunged and people crying because they were so happy with the outcome,” she said. “It has been so rewarding to see these individuals just blossom.”
She’s also helped domestic violence survivors and their children access safety and security, ensuring they have the financial resources to start new lives.
“Some of my best work in family law has been making the client as whole as possible,” she said. “In one divorce case, I was able to get a $76,000 judgment because we were able to show that the husband had been sending money out of the country. We got that money back, plus an order of custody for the client.”
Reflecting on that divorce case, she added a characteristically humble thought.
“That one really sticks out to me,” she said. “It was just a real win-win for all of us.”
The Ohio Access to Justice Foundation is the largest funder of civil legal services in Ohio. A gift to the Foundation supports legal aid’s work.