Office: Franklin County – Court of Common Pleas, General Division
Age: 48
Residence: Columbus, OH
Email: caveni@cpmlaw.com
Website: http://www.carlaveni.com/; https://www.facebook.com/carla
veniforjudge/; https://www.cpmlaw.com/people/carl-a-aveni-ii/
Occupation: Partner and Co-Chair of the Litigation Department,
Carlile Patchen & Murphy, LLP
Education: J.D., Boston University School of Law, 1996, cum laude;
Editor, Boston University Law Review
Work Experience: Litigation and Trial Lawyer for 21 years before
Ohio’s Courts of Common Pleas, Courts of Appeals, and the Ohio
Supreme Court
Family: Married, with two children.
Affiliations: Member, Maple Grove United Methodist Church, Columbus, Ohio (Chair of the Investment Committee); Member, International Association of Defense Counsel (State Membership Chair; Vice Chair of Programming for Trial techniques and Tactics Committee and Business Litigation Committee); Associate Editor, Litigation News, American Bar Association Section of Litigation; Former Den Leader (6 years), Cub Scout Pack 74, Simon Kenton Council.
Endorsements: Franklin County Democratic Party
(http://www.fcdp.org/myballot.html); Stonewall Democrats of Central
Ohio (https://stonewalldemsohio.org/endorsed-candidates/)
Bar Association Ratings: The Bar Association has not yet performed its
evaluation at the time of this submission. Will supplement after the Bar
Association has performed its screening.
(1) List your judicial experience (courts and years):
Until now, my 21 year legal career has been devoted primarily to
representing clients in litigation before Ohio’s Courts of Common
Pleas, Courts of Appeals, and the Supreme Court of Ohio. I also have
significant experience litigating in the federal court system, as well as
before state administrative and regulatory agencies, and through
private arbitration.
(2) What about your non-judicial legal experience qualifies you to be a
judge?
A large part of my practice has been representing first and second
generation family run businesses in “bet-the-company” litigation. The
kinds of disputes where everything is on the line, and a bad outcome
might change the trajectory of an entire family for decades. I have sat
with my clients around the kitchen table the night before trial, listening
to their fears and offering advice, support and counsel.
Over the course of two decades, I have seen litigants, witnesses, and
their families on some of the most difficult days of their lives. I have
seen the toll that our system takes on them, all regardless of outcome.
My legal experience has prepared me to serve our community, with the
aim of pairing legal scholarship with humility; bringing legal rigor and
impartial dispassion, but also a healthy measure of compassion,
respect, and, where appropriate, mercy.
(3) Why are you running for this particular court seat?
There is no greater calling than public service in support of a fair and
free society. And there is no higher duty than to ensure justice for the
disenfranchised as much as for the powerful. My legal career has
allowed me to help families on the best and worst days of their lives.
The simple fact is that the Court of Common Pleas is where Americans
intersect most directly with their government, and they rightly expect
our judges to match the requisite impartiality, scholarship and trial
skills with a sense of basic decency. I believe I have something to offer
our community in service of those goals.