The Greater Dayton Volunteer Lawyers Project (GDVLP) and Thompson Hine’s Dayton office have a long-standing relationship stretching back decades. When GDVLP identifies legal needs in the community, it relies on partners like Thompson Hine to provide volunteer lawyers to help low-income Daytonians resolve their civil legal challenges.
One ongoing bi-monthly project — the landlord/tenant clinic — has been staffed by Thompson Hine lawyers for more than a decade. Each clinic session offers clients personalized legal counsel, empowering them to navigate often complex landlord-tenant issues. The clinic serves an average of 100 clients annually, a remarkable outcome for the community.
For their ongoing commitment to pro bono service and for their outstanding efforts to improve access to justice in Ohio, Thompson Hine is the recipient of the 2025 Ohio Access to Justice Foundation Presidential Award. Summer Hawks, executive director of GDVLP, nominated the firm for the award, an honor she says is much deserved.
“The attorneys at Thompson Hine not only deliver skilled legal guidance, but also demonstrate an unwavering dedication to service, embodying the highest ideals of the legal profession,” Hawks said. “Their work has significantly improved housing stability for low-income individuals and families, fostering greater community resilience and fairness.”
Sean McCormick, partner at Thompson Hine and the firm’s Dayton pro bono coordinator, cites his time as a clinic volunteer as some of the most rewarding interactions of his career.
“I think housing is one of the most basic needs that a person has,” McCormick said. “When people are faced with being thrown out on the street for one reason or another, just being able to provide them with any guidance at all — I think it’s an essential service.”
McCormick credits GDVLP with building a seamless process that makes it easy for Thompson Hine’s lawyers to show up and get to work.
“The folks at GDVLP do all of the prep for us so that when our lawyers walk into the room, it’s all laid out,” he said. “The lawyers have the information they need about what’s going on with the client, and they have any critical documents they need to advise the client.”
The process is so efficient that roughly 12 Thompson Hine lawyers consistently volunteer for the clinic, with many serving for multiple years. Thompson Hine also takes between four to eight clients from the clinic for full representation each year.
“Being recognized with the Presidential Award means a lot to our lawyers who have donated dozens of hours over the last 10 years,” McCormick said. “Sometimes we might get lulled into a sense that everybody does [pro bono] and that it isn’t that big a deal. But for GDVLP and the Foundation to come to us and say, no, this is a big deal, and we really appreciate what you’re doing — that means the world to us.”
The Ohio Access to Justice Foundation will present the Presidential Award to Thompson Hine on May 13. Learn more about the Foundation’s awards.