Jim Grove participates in the firm’s litigation practice, with a particular focus on complex commercial law, employment law and insurance defense matters.

Principal practice areas

• Employment law
• Complex commercial litigation
• Bad faith insurance defense
• Physician and executive contracts
• Discrimination litigation
• Trade secrets
• Unfair trade practices
• Director and officer liability
• Insurance defense

Representative experience

• Litigation of harassment, wrongful discharge and discrimination claims involving race, gender, disability and age
• Counseling on employment practices, employee handbook preparation and litigation avoidance, including training to prevent harassment and discrimination and training in Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) compliance
• Physician and executive employment contract negotiations
• Complex business litigation in state and federal courts
• Director and officer liability litigation
• Trade secret and unfair trade practices litigation in state and federal courts
• Nonsolicitation and noncompetition enforcement litigation
• Employment litigation at trial and appellate levels and administrative claims before the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) and the Ohio Civil Rights Commission (OCRC)
• Professional practices insurance defense
• Class action defense
• Wrongful death litigation
• Personal injury litigation

Bar admissions

• Ohio Supreme Court (1988)
• 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals (1997)
• U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Ohio (1988)
• U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Ohio (2010)
• U.S. District Court for the Western District of Michigan (1992)

Career and educational background

• Hearing Officer, Ohio Lottery Commission
• Case Western Reserve University School of Law (JD, 1988; editor, Case Western Reserve Law Review, 1988)
• Michigan State University (BS, social science, 1984)

Professional activities

• Member, Federal Bar Association
• Member, Ohio State Bar Association
• Member, Cleveland Metropolitan Bar Association, Labor and Employment Law and Litigation sections

Publications and interviews

• Author, “Sexual Harassment Accusations and Recoveries Have Risen Dramatically,” NGC Legal Insights (Fall 2019)
• Author, “New Cybersecurity Defenses for Data Breach Violations,”NGC Legal Insights (Summer 2019)
• Author, “Emerging law update: Sexual orientation,” NGC Legal Insights (Summer 2017)
• Author, “Judicial Compass Still Spinning on Sexual Orientation Claims,” NGC Legal Insights (Spring 2017)
• Author, “Is Comp Time for Private Sector Employees on the Horizon?,” NGC Legal Insights (Winter 2013-2014)
• Quoted, “North Collinwood” (online version, “A Lot of ‘Ifs’ Surrounds Plans to Redevelop North Collinwood“), Crain’s Cleveland Business (July 22, 2013)
• Quoted, “Before You Snoop Online: What Employers Need to Know about Using the Internet in Hiring Process,” nfib.com (National Federation of Independent Business) (May 2013)
• Quoted, “Onward & Upward” (online version, “How to Quit Your Day Job Gracefully”), Entrepreneur (March 2013)
• Author, “Limiting Exposure to Retaliatory Discharge Claims,” NGC Legal Insights (Fall 2012)
• Author, “How Background Checks Can Backfire,” NGC Legal Insights (Summer 2012)
• Author, “Independent Contractor or Employee?,” NGC Legal Insights (Winter 2011-2012)
• Quoted, “Pitfalls Lurk in IRS Employee Amnesty Plan,” Crain’s Cleveland Business (Nov. 21, 2011)