Posted January 31, 20259:20 am
By Becky Raspe, Kirsten Beard & Lillie Askari
Carole Rendon - BakerHostetler
All the world’s a stage – especially for Carole Rendon, partner at BakerHostetler in Cleveland, who equates time spent in the courtroom to performing in a theater.
This comparison makes sense for her, given that she was an undergraduate theater student at Northwestern University in Evanston, Ill., in the 1980s. She said she intended to be a Broadway actress until one day she realized she “was not as talented as a lot of my peers.”
“I started thinking about what this might actually look like, and if I wanted to be a starving waitress in New York trying to compete with people more talented than myself for a very small number of jobs,” she recalled. “For example, Julia Louis-Dreyfus was in the year ahead of me.”
Faced with her first of what would become many professional pivots, Rendon found herself spending her junior year at Tel Aviv University in Israel. Her time in Israel awoke an interest in Middle East politics, which spurred a degree change to political science.
Following graduation, while still unsure what to do next, Rendon looked to law school because “you can go to law school and do all sorts of things after” – and received a full academic scholarship to Northwestern’s Pritzker School of Law, she said.
“Ultimately, I had an opportunity to do a trial advocacy class where we did a mock trial, and I was like, ‘Oh my gosh, this is like the theater,’” she said. “You have to be a really good storyteller, you have to be interesting to listen to. It was one of those moments like, ‘So, some of the things I love about the theater I can still do.”
After graduation, a clerking job at the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals in Chicago informed much of the next few decades of her career, even if she hadn’t realized it at the time. Working under the late Judge Joel Flaum, she was pushed to apply for the Attorney General’s Honors Program within the Department of Justice by Flaum and his wife, Delilah Brummet Flaum.
After she was accepted, she was assigned to what was meant to be her first rotation, the Organized Crime Strike Force in Boston, “and I loved it there, and never rotated,” she said. The offices were ultimately merged into U.S. Attorney offices around the country, but she stayed through 1997.
Following some stints in private practice and a move back to Cleveland, Rendon found herself once again at a U.S. Attorney’s Office – this time as the first woman to serve as the First Assistant U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Ohio, alongside then-U.S. Attorney Steve Dettelbach, former director of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.
But once Dettelbach moved on, Rendon once again found herself in private practice, until the support of then-member of the U.S. House of Representatives for Ohio’s 13th district, Sherrod Brown, resulted in a nomination and confirmation for her to be the next U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Ohio under the Obama administration from 2016 to 2017.
“(That experience) was just impossible to put into words,” she said. “What a privilege and honor that was. I feel like the work Steve and I did, and the work I did myself, was truly transformative and had the most significant impact I’ve been able to have in my career.”
Now, at BakerHostetler, Rendon said she found herself drawn to the firm because of its “Midwestern values and roots,” enabling her to still be engaged with the community through pro bono work at the Legal Aid Society of Cleveland and the Northern District of Ohio’s Criminal Justice Act Panel, which represents indigent defendants in federal criminal cases.
A congregant and board member of Park Synagogue in Pepper Pike, Rendon said her career has aligned with the “very embedded notion as a Jew” that her primary obligation was to leave the world better than she found it.
“I do feel like my ability to continue to be actively engaged in ensuring the justice system is just – whether that’s my retained clients or indigent clients, and to continue to work in the community – is the way I try to help repair the world,” she said.
And to young lawyers just starting out, Rendon placed emphasis on the fact that your career is “really long” and there is plenty of time to achieve goals.
“I feel like I was a better defense lawyer for having been a prosecutor, and a better prosecutor the second time around for having been a defense lawyer,” she said. “I would not have realized that if I did not have this long arc. You’re going to do this for 40-plus years, and that allows you to do a lot of things. So, whatever makes you happy – you have to make room for that, knowing you have so much time to practice law.”
About Carole
Age: 62
Residence: Solon
Synagogue: Park Synagogue
Undergraduate school: Northwestern University
Law School: Northwestern Pritzker School of Law
Current show you’re watching/streaming: “The Perfect Couple”
Favorite Jewish delicacy: My mother’s homemade gefilte fish.
Bucket list musician/concert to see perform: Anyone playing at the Sphere in Las Vegas.
How do you relax: Walking in the Cleveland Metroparks.
If you could have any one superpower, what would it be: Mind reading. It would be great to really understand what other people are thinking (and why).
What one piece of advice do you offer aspiring lawyers: The arc of your career is long, so don’t be afraid to try new things and follow your passions.
If you could travel back in time, what age/time period in your life would you return to and why? My 40s. Although each decade has been magical with its own incredible adventures, challenges and rewards, in my 40s our house was filled with our three boys and their friends. My absolutely favorite role in my life is and has been being a mother; the joy of raising our boys with my husband Michael and having them at home every day was the best. In a recent sermon, Rabbi Joshua Skoff referred to the various golden eras in our lives, which he said we often don’t realize we are in at the time, and he urged us to pay attention to those very special golden eras. The true delight of daily parenting was definitely one of my golden eras.
How do you incorporate Judaism in your daily life: For me, the central obligation of Judaism is tikkun olam, repairing the world. ‘Justice, justice you shall pursue,’ Deuteronomy 16:20, has been an important guidepost for my career. Cantor Laurel Barr explained in a service I attended recently that justice is repeated twice in that passage of the Torah to teach us that we are commanded to pursue justice, even when it is difficult to do so. I have had the privilege of trying my very best to do that every day in my work, for the community, for victims of crime, and for my clients. Helping to ensure that our justice system is as fair as possible is one way in which I try to help to repair the world.
Brad Wolfe - Brad Wolfe Law
When Brad Wolfe of Brad Wolfe Law in Mayfield Heights was in the sixth grade, he knew what he wanted to do with his career – become a criminal defense lawyer and help people by advocating for justice and fairness.
“I’ve always been drawn to problem solving and finding practical solutions,” Wolfe told the Cleveland Jewish News. “And the law allows me to combine those skills with a passion for helping others. Being a lawyer is a career as much as it is a way to contribute to society and uphold principles that matter to me.”
Wolfe credits his Jewish upbringing for shaping his career and values. Through the principles of justice, compassion and ethical responsibility, he said he learned to approach his work with purpose and a sense of duty.
“There are many teachings and stories of Jewish history which I believe instill a strong sense of duty to uphold fairness and advocate for others,” Wolfe said. “Often, these principles inspire me to look beyond the technical side of the law and focus on the human aspect of each case.”
Wolfe said criminal law offers him a unique opportunity to make a real difference in people’s lives, especially during their most challenging moments.
“It’s a practice of law where the stakes are high, and every case has real, tangible consequences for individuals and their families,” he said. “For me, the significance of criminal law lies in its focus on fairness and protecting fundamental rights. It’s very meaningful to stand up for those who might feel powerless and ensure that their voices are heard.”
Over the years, Wolfe has witnessed how advancements in technology have transformed the field of criminal law, particularly through the emergence of cybercrimes, including extortion, hacking, identity theft and online fraud. According to Wolfe, these changes have introduced new challenges and opportunities for criminal defense attorneys.
“Digital evidence and privacy concerns have become even more central issues in investigations and courtrooms, especially with recent, consumer-friendly uses of artificial intelligence,” he said. “During the COVID-19 pandemic, Zoom and other video conferencing platforms revolutionized how law is practiced, and many local courts continue to use these efficient technologies today.”
Wolfe said the ability to seek and create real change for individuals facing difficult circumstances drives him to continue his career in criminal defense law.
“Helping to protect freedoms, uphold fairness and offer clarity during uncertain times gives my work a sense of purpose,” he said. “Every matter presents a chance to advocate for someone in need.”
Outside of his professional life, Wolfe said he values and prioritizes spending quality time with his wife, children, family and friends. He also is an active member of several legal organizations, including the Cleveland Metropolitan Bar Association and the Ohio Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers.
When time permits, Wolfe enjoys being a DJ, a hobby which began during his junior year at Mayfield High School. The hobby has had a cross over with the legal community, including at The Legal Aid Society of Cleveland’s Jam for Justice and the CMBA’s Halloween Run for Justice, both in 2024, he said.
About Brad
Age: 34
Synagogue: The Shul
Undergraduate: The Ohio State University
Law School: Cleveland State University College of Law
Current show you’re watching/streaming: “Your Honor”
Favorite Jewish delicacy: My bubbie’s brisket
How do you relax: Exercise
If you could have any one superpower, what would it be: The ability to go without sleep.
What is one piece of advice you offer aspiring lawyers: Strive to be prepared and polite.
Susan Morgenstern
Beachwood tax attorney Susan Morgenstern said she is excited to face minus 40-degree temperatures in rural Alaska to provide free tax return preparation services to Inuit communities.
In fewer than five days in 2024, she and two others, carrying up to 40 pounds of belongings and food while traveling on propeller planes, prepared 177 tax returns for residents of two Alaskan villages, she said. Morgenstern said she plans to return in February to the state to prepare returns with five others who were invited by the Alaska Business Development Center on a service trip organized and partially funded by the American Bar Association Section of Taxation.
Morgenstern’s “transformative” Alaskan trip was not the first time she gave tax help for free. She said she has dedicated her life to social justice.
“I knew I wanted to do legal services work,” Morgenstern, who applied only to legal aid programs for employment, said. “There was no question ... it’s been a gift.”
Morgenstern said she moved to Cleveland after graduation from The Catholic University of America in 1986 to work at the Legal Aid Society of Cleveland, where she stayed for 27 years.
In 2001, she was instrumental in starting a Legal Aid tax services initiative with then Cleveland Legal Aid Director C. Lyonel Jones, whom she called an innovative “gem.”
“It felt like this was the right thing for Legal Aid, for our clients,” Morgenstern said of the program, which allowed Legal Aid attorneys to “provide comprehensive services to our clients” by representing or advising them in multiple legal areas.
According to Morgenstern, she learned tax law as she practiced, having taken just one tax course in law school at The Catholic University of America, where she enrolled to follow in the footsteps of one of her mentors.
“(I was) really lucky to have been able to have learned side by side some of the leaders in Cleveland’s tax lawyering community (which was) a big gift,” Morgenstern said.
Heading to the Taxpayer Advocate Service, an independent organization within the Internal Revenue Service, after Legal Aid in 2013, Morgenstern said she felt “like a kid in a candy store.”
“I thought I knew substantive tax law, but I learned so much, it was just exhilarating to be exposed to all these issues and to figure them out and to determine ... what is the finish line and how do you get there?”
Morgenstern also worked for the Center for Taxpayer Rights and Temple University Beasley School of Law, and has served on the American Bar Association section of taxation council and the American College of Tax Counsel board of regents.
She said she has “tried to retire three times,” but the Cornell University School of Law adjunct professor still volunteers once a week preparing tax returns for free for The Cuyahoga Earned Income Tax Credit Coalition, which she helped create.
Morgenstern, the American Bar Association Section of Taxation 2021 Janet Spragens Pro Bono Award winner for her tax work, said she is “lucky” to have had the opportunity to pursue this work.
About Susan
Age: 67
Residence: Beachwood
Synagogue: Kol HaLev
Undergraduate: Clark University
Law School: The Catholic University of America’s Columbus School of Law
Current show you’re watching/streaming: “All Creatures Great and Small”
Favorite Jewish delicacy: Kasha varnishkes.
Bucket list musician/concert to see perform: Anything including my son who’s an oboist with the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra.
How do you relax: Knitting, reading, walking.
If you could have any one superpower, what would it be: The ability to thank everyone individually who has, continues to, and who will engage in pro bono work.
What one piece of advice do you offer aspiring lawyers: Think big, think creatively, and give generously of your time to pro bono work.
If you could travel back in time, what age/time period in your life would you return to and why: My happy place is the family times we spent together vacationing in northern Michigan. I reach for these memories whenever I need to pause from stress or something negative. I would like to travel back to those times for the tangible fun and relaxation of that time together.
How do you incorporate Judaism in your daily life: Through morning reflection.
Source - The Cleveland Jewish News:
Carole Rendon | BakerHostetler | Profiles
Brad Wolfe | Brad Wolfe Law | Profiles
Susan Morgenstern | Profiles