Moritz Award Recognizes Jim Daniels '78 and Frank Woodside '69 for Commitment to Public Service
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| Margaret and Jim Daniels with Dean Nancy Rogers |
For Jim Daniels ’78 and Frank Woodside ’69, public service is a passion. Both men recognize injustice when they see it, and have sought to remedy it, each in his own way. For their contributions, the college awarded them with the 2006-2007 Moritz Public Service Award.
Jim Daniels has spent the better part of 30 years working in public interest. Currently the deputy director of the Ohio State Legal Services Association, Jim has spent most of his career serving disadvantaged persons in Ohio, particularly those in the economically depressed Appalachian foothills of Southeastern Ohio.
According to Gene King ‘83, last year’s Public Service Award winner, “Jim has said that in legal services we should shine a light into the dirtiest, darkest corners of society and then try to fix what’s wrong. Jim’s professional career has been dedicated to fixing what is wrong.”
He has served on the boards of the Clark County Community Action Agency, the Springfield Community Housing Enforcement and Resource Board, Big Brothers/Big Sisters of South Central Ohio, and the Ross County Department of Jobs and Family Services Advisory Council.
He has served as chair of the Ross County Family Violence Council, where he oversaw development and implementation of countywide domestic violence protocols and training of law enforcement. He was awarded the county's Coalition Against Domestic Violence Advocate of the Year Award in 1996.
Jim would be the first to point out that public interest is a difficult field in which to work, with very limited resources. In order to address that problem, Frank Woodside helped the college to create the Pro Bono Resource Group (PBRG).
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| Son Chris and his girlfriend Katie Wernke, Frank Woodside and his wife Julie, and son Patrick and girlfriend Katie Timmons |
As the first entirely student-run organization of its kind in the nation, PBRG donates more than 1,000 hours per year of legal research to support attorneys working in public service. Practical writing and research experience gained by PBRG research fellows gives valuable support to legal aid organizations throughout Ohio, and can also lead to post-graduation employment.
Beyond offering hours of direct service to attorneys, the PBRG also strives to educate the public. Their annual Frank C. Woodside III Speaker Series has addressed topics such as welfare reform, serving America's working poor, and housing rights.
Frank began his legal career at Dinsmore & Shohl, where he focuses his practice on mass tort litigation in areas such as pharmaceuticals and medical devices; drug, medical device and tobacco product liability cases; and the defense of health care providers in medical malpractice litigation.
Now a partner in the Cincinnati office, he created the firm’s Public Defender Program, which places young attorneys in Hamilton County Public Defender’s Office where they provide nearly 3,000 hours per year defending indigent clients. Public Defender Lou Strigari calls the program “a win-win situation for all involved. It saves taxpayers the expense, provides excellent representation to indigent clients, and gives young attorneys a real lesson in how the court system functions.”
Frank is a clinical professor of pediatrics emeritus at the University
of Cincinnati’s College of Medicine, from which he received his
medical degree. For many years, he has served Children’s Hospital
Medical Center in Cincinnati, both as a member of their Board of Trustees
and as corporate counsel.
Jim Daniels’ career has focused on the rights of the working poor in Ohio. Frank Woodside’s creation of important support programs increase access to justice for Ohio’s citizens. Together, they are recipients of an award that highlights for us the call to help others.
