Steve Magas
I came out of the University of Cincinnati in 1979 with a Math Degree and an Education degree. While at UC I thought I would become a Math Teacher and probably coach baseball and volleyball. I was a member of Theta Chi Fraternity and also played on UC’s Men’s Volleyball Team. Can you find the future BikeLawyer in this photo of the Volleyball Team from the winter of 1978-79?
I also played some music at UC – first in the UC Marching Band. The highlight there came early – in October 1975 the Band played the Star Spangled Banner at Game 4 of the Reds v Red Sox World Series. We got to stick around and watch the game from some folding chairs set up WAY out in left field. It was AMAZING! As a long time Cleveland fan, I was excited to see Luis Tiant pitch. As a new Reds fan well… it was just an out of body experience… A few days later, after the Reds Game 7 win, I hitched a ride to Fountain Square and hung out with all the Crazies to celebrate… a FUN time for an 18 year old kid!
As a long time baseball nerd I had to buy a program and keep score…adn as a long time packrat…er… HISTORIAN… I kept that program for safekeeping. I’m still a CLE/CIN baseball fan. We are in a Reds season ticket group!
Later in my UC days I put a small jazz group together to play at some local events. The All Star Blues Pit Band was a big hit…er… OK… we had fun… the Blues Brothers Band had just released an album and we pulled a LOT of horn charts off that album…
I ended up choosing to go Columbus and attend The Ohio State University College of Law. From 1979-1982 I developed from knowing ABSOLUTELY NOTHING about “The Law” to… well… knowing a little. Turns out my Math degree provided an OUTSTANDING background for researching the law. “LEXIS” – the computerize legal research tool – was just being finalized when I started at Ohio State. Our class was testing it. Computerized Legal Research was unheard of up that point but it was clearly the wave of the future and required search queries using Boolean Logic, something drilled into us during Math and Computer Programming classes!
At Ohio State the law school was …old… like 1930s WPA construction, with a dingy student locker room in the basement. People tended to bond QUICKLY as “1L’s” – 1st year law students. We were all part of “The Paper Chase” era based on the popular movie. A key scene involves Professor Houseman calling the star to the front of room where he says…”Sir, here is a dime… go call your mother and tell her there is serious doubt that you’ll ever become a lawyer….” We definitely had some “Houseman” style law professors.
Thankfully I met some FANTASTIC people from our OSU Class of 82… we had some VERY smart folks and what not, but we were also known as a group that had FUN together… once email was invented several of us started an email group, centered mostly on complaints about our favorite baseball teams. That group continues to this day & we still have a great turnout at class reunions every 5 years or so…
As a law student I clerked for Wolske & Blue, a personal injury firm in Columbus. I worked for W&B running the Cincinnati Office a couple decades later and learned so MUCH about managing and operating a statewide practice focusing on injury and death claims. I used to joke that working with Cy Wolske & Jason Blue was like working with Columbo and Henry Fonda. Both were VERY effective trial lawyers, especially in front of a jury, but each had their own very distinct style and sense of humor.
After law school my 1st job was working as a Law Clerk for The Honorable Richard N. Koehler in Ohio’s Twelfth Appellate District. This was a PERFECT gig for me. I reviewed trial transcripts from verdicts which had been appealed, I also evaluated Motions granted or denied which had been appealed. I read the briefs filed by the parties, assessed the legal issues raised and arguments presented, researched the legal questions and attended oral arguments. I wrote Draft Opinions for my boss Judge K to review. Often my “Draft Opinions” went out to the world with Judge K’s signature just as I wrote them. I learned so much by reading trial transcripts and having the opportunity to participate in discussions with the three appellate court judges, all of whom had extensive litigation experience… some of the trials involving top notch trial lawyers and some…well… you could tell they were really winging it just by reading the transcript. Some lawyers knew how to write briefs and some had their briefs torn to shreds by one particular judge who did NOT tolerate errors in spelling or logic… Judge K wanted, first and foremost, for us to get the RIGHT answer, which meant extensive research and writing for me. I loved it!
My first law firm job after clerking was on the west side of Cincinnati in a small suburban firm. It was a well established firm of many names – Carroll, Bunke, Henkel, Haverkamp & Smith. My mentor there was a highly respected trial lawyer – a former AUSA – who had several “big” cases percolating at any time. I was able to work on huge injury and death cases, legal malpractice claims, a big police shooting case, and the more typical litigation that small suburban firms engage in. This trial practice was my real passion as a young lawyer and I was able to get extensive experience in the courts surrounding Cincinnati.
In the late 1980s my boss was appointed Special Prosecutor for the purpose of investigating the County Auditor’s office. An audit by the State Auditor had turned up irregularities in the way the Auditor was assessing the value of real estate. Many properties had their values LOWERED, with resulting tax savings to the owner, by some unknown process. Many of these lowered properties had the initials “FOJ” circled on the paper property card in the file. The rumor was that this meant “Friend Of Joe,” referring to Joe DeCourcey, the Auditor…
I was able to run the grand jury. We had to set up an early version [late 1980s] of a data management program to catalog data points from 1000s of properties. We called 100s of witnesses to the grand jury. Eventually a 200-count indictment was delivered by our special grand jury & the Auditor plead GUILTY to 5 counts – one for each category of crime we had charged, including “Theft in Office” which effectively barred him from ever holding office again.
One of the last cases I worked on was a complex police shooting case. A psychiatric patient had walked away from Rollin’s, then a psychiatric institution housing patients. He left with his sister on a 3-hour pass and didn’t want to go back. He was later found by family hiding under his covers in his apartment and police were called. What happened after that was the stuff of bad movies- facts you would never believe to be true… Police arrived and set up outside the door of the apartment & outside a window. The fellow, suffering from schizophrenia, thought police were out to get him… they were. Cincinnati Police had instituted a “Barricaded Persons” policy but the sergeant in charge ignored all of that & called for a battering ram. Before that arrived he just kicked the door in. The victim had a kitchen knife. He was Tasered by police – which seemed to enrage him and he charged and ran in-between them. Police opened fire in a cross fire situation. The fellow fell down the stairs. Various accounts were told – not at all consistent – and at least two more series of multiple shots, and many more Taser firings, occurred before he died… My boss and I took 60+ depositions and lined up a world class expert but the case was tossed out by the District Court. We appealed to the 6th Circuit. I was assigned the oral argument. We were allotted 15 minutes per side but the questioning from the court went on and on for over an hour. Eventually we won a 2-1 decision. That case became known as one of the very first appellate court cases to discuss the use of a TASER device. The Enquirer’s Courts reporter, Ben Kaufman, was in the court that day and did a nice write up of the case.
I left that firm for a job as in-house trial counsel for CIGNA Insurance. This job was ALL litigation all the time. We had cases throughout southern Ohio – from Columbus to Portsmouth and Bellefontaine to Marietta. It really opened my eyes to the VERY different ways different judges handled their dockets. Ohio has 88 counties and 88 different sets of county court rules! My boss usually took the local cases and I ended up driving to Portsmouth, Marietta, Dayton or Bellefontaine! It was a fantastic job and excellent training for my current job as it allowed me to work INSIDE an insurance company. I worked every day with CIGNA’s adjustors on big claims. I learned how insurance carriers “Think” and make decisions.
BIKE LAW
Throughout the 1980s and 1990s I was always a cyclist and I picked up my first “bike” cases early in my west side practice. I started writing about Ohio’s Bike Laws in the mid-1980’s. I also began collaborating with the League of American Wheelmen [now the League of American Bicyclists] as well as the Ohio Bicycle Federation and the Cincinnati Cycle Club. At first I wrote for the local club newsletter, then expanded that to other Ohio club newsletters. Eventually, I had a regular column for many years in the LAW’s “BIKE USA” publication as well as Bike Ohio, Bike Midwest and numerous local club newsletters and publications.
I was able to keep some bike cases percolating throughout the 80s, 90s and 2000s. Even while working with the insurance company I was permitted to have a few personal cases going as long as they didn’t conflict with my “real” job. This allowed me to further develop my Bike Law chops. I wrote about Bike Law, spoke about Bike Law and engaged in real life and online about Bike Law.
In 2009, after 27 years of working for or with others I started The Magas Firm. We are located at 7850 FIVE MILE ROAD, Cincinnati, OH 45230. The practice of law has changed DRAMATICALLY since I started typing up my own pleadings on an IBM Selectric back in 1982. My MATH degree came in handy as did the classes I took in Computer Programming as an undergraduate. Many lawyers found the transition to a digital world difficult but I have always been an Early Adopter … of word processing, of faxing, of computers and digital data. This has allowed me to have a small personal law practice, and still compete with the bigger firms throughout Ohio.
As the years have passed I have also found that clients do not really enjoy “going to see their lawyer” in some downtown office. I have had my office in a suburban setting for decades. As time has move on, I have found that clients prefer to meet in their homes, at work ,in a restaurant or even in the hospital! WE will come to YOU!
I can always be reached for a FREE CONSULTATION at 513-484-BIKE or on my contact page.
I love to get your comments and questions and I try to return every call and email the day it is received. I really don’t have “hours” and find that returning emails and calls into the evening is a lot easier today than it was 20 years ago!
I am an avid bicyclist, motorcyclist and Ohio trial attorney based in Cincinnati, Ohio. When I purchased my first home computer back in the early 1990’s I had to pick an email name. My “bike law” practice was in full swing even back then and I chose “BikeLawyer@aol.com.” When I switched from PCs to Apple/MAC products I added BikeLawyer@me.com and now we have our website at www.OhioBikeLawyer.com and you can reach me at Steve@OhioBikeLawyer.com. I am still ALWAYS available at 513-484-BIKE/2453.
I rode bikes as a kid – we ALL did. We rode everywhere. My 1st “real”bike was a 10 speed Schwinn Continental that I purchased with money I earned working for my Dad’s buddy – drilling holes in marble for bowling trophies using a huge drill press. I was 15 and… I imagine… OSHA really wasn’t a thing at that point! :D.
That bike took me through high school, college and law school until it was stolen during my third year. In 1977 or so I took the Continental on a bike tour with a high school friend, Jim Black. We had none of those fancy “panniers” – just heavy backpacks holding our gear and CANNED FOOD. Ok, we were a bit clueless. We started in Sandusky- took the Peele Islander across Lake Erie to southern Canada & thought we would ride along the coast of Lake Erie & camp on the “beaches” of Canada… the Royal Canadian Mounted Police had different thoughts – NO CAMPING… we still had a blast!
[Helmets weren’t really a THING at that point!]. We did learn ONE big thing – big trucks are SCARY. We apparently went during tomato harvesting season and semis with one or two long trailers loaded with tomatoes passed us every few minutes! We also learned that Canada has HUGE Mosquitos… Mosquitos so big they’ll drag you out of the tent and into the woods… well… OK, maybe not …but you get the picture.
TOSRV was/is the Grandaddy of all the Acronym Rides… It started in Columbus, Ohio back in 1962. I rode TOSRV the 1st time during the early 1990s on a Schwinn Le Tour Luxe with my high school buddy Terry Gaunt. Terry was a STRONG rider – I hung on for dear life! HA! Helmets were a NEW thing by then & we were early HELMET adopters! I did a little touring on the Le Tour also – a fun ride indeed.
Some lawyers handle a few “bike” cases over the course of their entire career. Today, many will advertise for them or have a “bicycle” page on their website. If those pages look similar it’s because they are – they’re often cookie cutter pages designed by a marketing firm to attract your views while lacking the depth of someone who LIVES it.
I come to “Bike Law” as a RIDER first – not a racer, but someone who has used the roads and trails for DECADES to ride for fun, fitness and transportation. My clients appreciate the fact that I “get it” – I understand their passion for cycling – the rides – the gear – the experiences on the road when you encounter obnoxious or careless motorists!
My Bike Law practice has continued to grow and I have now handled some 500 “Bike Cases” over the years — representing injured cyclists and the families of those killed on the road!
My Bike Law practice has taken me all over Ohio — with cases in Cleveland, Chardon, Youngstown, Akron/Canton, Wooster, Mansfield, Toledo, Bellefontaine, Marietta, Athens, Columbus, Dayton, Troy, Cincinnati, Hamilton, Oxford, Lebanon, Pickerington, Bexley, Upper Arlington, Ironton, Chesapeake, Hillsboro and many, many more. I have even been called into cases in several states in which cyclists have been injured or killed.
On the riding side I’m usually found either on an orange Bike Friday World Tourist or a yellow Independent Fabrication Club Racer. The good folks at Bike Friday also modified my World Tourist a few. years ago and added a rear hub e-motor to make it a Class 1 E-Bike under Ohio’s new Electric Bicycle definitions. The Bike Friday is very unique- it made it into our Logo & Avatar!
I had the Club Racer painted and added our name to the frame.
In addition to “handling” claims I have been the first chair lead trial counsel in cases filed in courts in many counties throughout the four corners of Ohio — including the counties of Hamilton, Butler, Warren, Clermont, Montgomery, Cuyahoga, Medina, Richland, Morrow, Greene, Highland, Adams, Brown, Lawrence, Clinton, Scioto, Pike, Franklin, Licking, Fairfield, Delaware, Darke, Miami, Preble, Clark, Champaign, Logan, Hardin, Defiance, Henry, Fulton, Lucas, Wood, Ottawa, Sandusky, Stark, Mahoning, Athens, Washington and many more.
These “Bike Cases” have ranged from $50 traffic tickets to million dollar brain damage and death cases. My Bike Law cases have included bike crashes with cars, trucks and busses, crashes caused by dogs, crashes caused by component and frame failures, crashes caused by road defects, cases against race/event promoters along with other legal matters such as traffic tickets and insurance issues. In addition to working with riders throughout Ohio, I have been called into bike cases around the country, including cases in Kentucky, Indiana, Florida, Virginia, New Jersey, North Carolina, Maryland and Pennsylvania.
My interest in the two-wheeled world of bikes and motorcycles extends far beyond the “9-5″ job handling injury and wrongful death claims for cyclists or writing about Ohio’s Bike Laws. I have written many articles on legal topics of interest to cyclists for more than 30 years. I was asked to be the national legal columnist for Bike USA and wrote a bi-monthly column for several years. I have also contributed regular columns to Bike Midwest & Bike Ohio as well as many local club newsletters.
I have sat on the Board of the Ohio Bicycle Federation for a couple decades. The OBF is the statewide bicycle advocacy group in Ohio. In 2006, OBF prepared a set of proposed changes to Ohio Law. We found some friendly legislators to support us and, eventually, the changes we proposed were adopted into Law by a unanimous vote of the Ohio legislature! I was able to travel to D.C. several times as an OBF Board member, representing Ohio at the National Bike Summit. We attended conferences and spoke with every Ohio representative and Senator, or their top transportation people, seeking change at the federal level to support cycling. We even had members of the Congressional Bike Caucus join us on a ride through D.C.
In 2007, Bob Mionske, an Olympic cyclist-turned-lawyer, was writing a new book on bike law. Bob was familiar with my writing and asked me to contribute several chapters. The book, Bicycling and the Law, is aimed at riders, not lawyers, and garnered wide praise in the Bike World when it was released.
Bicycling and the Law is designed to be a primary resource for cyclists and clubs to consult when faced with a legal question. It provides readers with knowledge to avoid many legal problems in the first place while informing cyclists of their rights, their legal responsibilities and the steps they can take if they encounter a legal problem. While I am certainly not unbiased, I believe it’s the VERY BEST bicycle law book out there for lawyers & cyclists.
I have been an active advocate for bicycling and motorcycling at the local, state and national level for many decades. In the 1980s we tried to get the City of Cincinnati’s attention, but they couldn’t spell BIKE if we spotted them the “B-I-K–” Since then our city, and many in Ohio, have come full circle, supporting cycling on the road and off. I have worked with several Ohio communities on upgrading their “bike” laws and I’ve testified several times before the Ohio legislature in support of laws favoring cyclists. I have been a strong legal advocate for cycling locally, statewide and on a national level. I continue to work pro bono [i.e., for FREE] with local clubs and local governments on a variety of legal issues.
In Trotwood v. Selz, I worked in tandem with the Ohio Bike Federation to protect your right to ride on Ohio’s roads. We secured an important victory for cyclists in Ohio’s Second District court of appeals by getting Steve Selz’s conviction for “impeding traffic” overturned. This appellate decision became part of the changes proposed in the OBF’s 2006 Better Bicycling Bill, which was passed unanimously by the Ohio House and Senate.
In the Motorcycling world, I have written many articles for Roadwheeler, a monthly magazine for motorcycling enthusiasts. I have also worked with the Ohio Right of Way Coalition. This group has sponsored legislation in Ohio to better protect “vulnerable users” of the roadways, such as motorcyclists and bicyclists. I testified in Columbus in support of legislation which would increase the penalties for “minor” right of way violations when those violations result in the death or injury of another user of the roadway. When a Humvee rear-ends a Chevy S-1o pick-up, there are rarely significant injuries. However, when ANY motor vehicle rear-ends a bicycle or motorcycle, the rider can easily be severely injured or killed. Under current Ohio law, the penalties for the motorist for such right of way violations are the same regardless of whether injuries or death result and the Right of Way Coalition is working to change that!
In 2008, my article, “The BLS [Boring Legal Stuff] for the Touring Cyclist,” was chosen for inclusion in the Cyclists Yellow Pages by Adventure Cycling. This article was so favorably received that I was asked to contribute an article on “Bike Law” for the 2009 CYP.
In 2000, I published an extensive article on Bike Law for lawyers in “TRIAL“, the law journal of the Ohio Academy of Trial Lawyers. It was the 2nd article on Bike Law I had published there – the first was way back in 1997 [during The Bearded Bike Lawyer decades…!] I was invited by the Academy to speak at its annual convention as to cases involving “Bicycle Products Liability” claims.
I’ve also written articles for the Cleveland, Columbus and Cincinnati Bar associations.
I’ve been working on Bike cases for decades. WAY back in 1998 a full-page article about my “niche” in the bike world was featured in Lawyer’s Weekly USA. I was also featured in the inaugural issue of
Cincy Business magazine where the article focused on my attempt to maintain such a unique practice in the Midwest. My Bike Law practice was also featured locally in Cincinnati magazine and the Cincinnati Post.
I have developed a Continuing Legal Education class for Lawyers called BIKELAW 101. I talk about the
History of Bike, and cycling advocacy, as well as a detailed look at Bike Laws, problems you encounter, unique problems that can arise in the handling of bike cases, novel ways to develop evidence, using GPS data, security cameras, doorbell cameras, police cruiser/body cams and even the rare dash cam footage you come across. I have given this CLE lecture to lawyers and judges in Cleveland, Columbus, Dayton, Cincinnati and throughout Ohio in dozens of in-person and remote seminars.
KY BIKE LAWYER Chris Carville and I have tag teamed both complex Bike cases and seminar presentations. Chris is licensed in both Ohio and Kentucky and talks about the Kentucky cycling laws while I cover Ohio. We co-wrote an article for the Cincinnati Bar Association a few years ago…
On a personal level, I live in an A-frame in the hilly woods of Anderson Township near Cincinnati with my new bride [married almost 18 years now!]. We have 3 children between us, and 4 grandkids! SO MUCH FUN!
Now, even the GRANDkids are growing up up UP
My beautiful bride & I love bicycling the roads and trails of Southwest Ohio. We have retired the Big Bike, a 2004 BMW R1150RT [although I’m always looking for a good price on an old BMW 650gs…] A few years ago though we took a motorcycle trip north, through a couple hundred miles of rain, and toured the “North Coast” of the Indiana Dunes. We managed to use our early 2000s version of a GPS to guide us to Buddy Guy’s blues club in downtown Chicago for a wonderful night of blues and such from a fantastic band!!
