Our Attorneys

We’re fearless, experienced & dedicated.

You want action. You want to hold someone accountable. You want to be restored financially. And, if possible you want to make sure that what happened to you never happens to someone else. You’ve come to the right place.

Karl C. Kerschner

Karl C. Kerschner is an experienced civil litigator who previously built and sold a successful law practice serving corporate, financial, and governmental clients. As Partner & Chief Operating Officer of Cooper Elliott, he's combining his courtroom and business ownership experiences to advance the firm's business strategy and advise on its many high-profile cases. Karl's experience also includes serving as General Counsel to Reineke Family Dealerships, Inc.; Special Counsel to the Ohio Attorney General; & Commissioner on the Ohio Court of Claims.

Meet the Rest of Our Team

Lori Lindsey Smurr

Lori has been the Office Administrator for Cooper Elliott since its inception in 1995. Lori is responsible for all administrative operations of the firm. In addition to her administrative role, Lori also provides litigation support to the firm and is the primary point of contact for the firm’s vendors and consultants.

Tammy McKinney

Tammy is the firm's Legal Services Coordinator, serving as the primary point of contact for people seeking representation, as well as the primary contact for clients seeking updated information. Tammy also provides administrative civil litigation support to all members of the firm. Before joining Cooper Elliott in 2003, Tammy worked in various business settings.

Kim Cecil

Kim joined the firm in 2019. She has more than 25 years of experience as a paralegal and has spent the majority of her career helping injured victims. Prior to joining Cooper Elliott, Kim worked for a variety of well-respected law firms in Columbus, Ohio preparing legal documents, investigating injury cases and providing litigation and client support to injured victims.

Michael Tonovitz

Michael joined the firm as a paralegal in 2021. He specializes in client relations, investigations, and other litigation support. Michael began his paralegal career in 2016 after graduating with honors from Capital Law School’s ABA-accredited paralegal program. Before that, he worked in the service industry for nearly ten years.

Sommer Donnelly

Sommer joined the firm as a paralegal in 2023. She holds a bachelor of science from the University of Cincinnati, and before Cooper Elliott she worked for several years at a medical malpractice defense firm. Sommer values helping the firm's clients in all respects, which gives her a great sense of purpose in her work and work product.

The following groups have honored one or more Cooper Elliott attorneys by selecting them for membership or by bestowing special recognition:

Our work helps real people & improves the world.

Medicine is better, the environment is cleaner, and cars are safer today, thanks to Americans—represented by trial attorneys—who stood up to wrongdoers and held them accountable. We're proud to be part of that process.

Every day, we help individuals and families get their lives back on track after they’ve or their business suffered devastating harm caused by the negligence, wrongdoing or misconduct of others. We’re committed to ensuring that all people—individuals, families, patients, workers, consumers and small business owners—are able to find justice and accountability.

Tenacious advocates

We take action quickly and fight for the underdog. To date, we've recovered more than $350,000,000 in compensation.

25 years of service

For over a quarter of a century, Cooper Elliott attorneys have helped thousands of people through their tragedies.

Lives made better

In addition to making a meaningful difference in the lives of thousands of clients, we've achieved many corporate changes that make our communities safer.

If your case needs our strength and experience, let's talk.

Contact us to discuss your case, and we’ll respond within 24 hours. There’s no charge for the evaluation, and if we’re not the right fit for your case we’ll provide names of other law firms that can help you.

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