Office: For Judge of the Franklin County Court of Common Pleas, General Division
Full Term Beginning 1/1/2021
Age: 51
Residence: Columbus
Email: caveni@cpmlaw.com
Website: http://www.CarlAveni.com
Social Media:
Occupation: Attorney. Partner in the Litigation Department and Chair of the Ethics Committee, 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 24 years across Ohio’s Courts of Common Pleas, Courts of Appeals, and the Ohio Supreme Court
Family: Married, with 2 children.
Affiliations: Board of Directors, Kaleidoscope Youth Center; Columbus Ohio; Board of Trustees, Rickenbacker Woods Foundation; Member, Maple Grove United Methodist Church (former Chair, Investment Committee); Member, International Association of Defense Counsel (former State Membership Chair; Vice Chair of Programming for Trial Techniques and Tactics Committee and Business Litigation Committee); former Associate Editor, Litigation News, American Bar Association Section of Litigation, former Den Leader (6 years), Cub Scout Pack 74, Simon Kenton Council
Endorsements: Adelante Democrats; Baptist Ministerial Alliance (rated “Full Support”); Franklin County Democratic Party (https://www.fcdp.org/2020-candidates-and-issues.html); Columbus Building Trades Council (https://columbusconstruction.org/2020-general-election-political-endorsements/); Columbus Labor Council/AFL-CIO; Columbus Firefighters, IAFF Loc. 67; AFSCME Council 8; AFSCME Retiree Chapter 1184; Franklin County Council of Education Associations.
Bar Association Ratings: “Highly Recommended”, Columbus Bar Association, Judicial Screening Committee, 2020; Identified as the Preferred Candidate by 85.5% of votes in the Columbus Bar Association Judicial Preference Poll.
(1) List your judicial experience (courts and years)
Until now, my 24 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.