Our Team:
Attorneys
Paralegals
Meet Our Team
Attorneys
Steven M. Ott
Steven.ott AT ottesq DOT com
Steven M. Ott concentrates in several areas of law in Ohio and California, including real estate, condominium/homeowners association law, general business and corporate law, construction defects and Internet law. He also represents businesses and many community associations as general counsel.
Steven has extensive experience with community association law. His experience in this area of law, which began in 1988, includes litigation on behalf of condominium and homeowners associations in all northeast Ohio county common pleas and appellate courts. Steven’s practice also includes the preparation, review and rewrites of governing documents, contract reviews and preparation, collections, enforcement, developer/construction litigation, board of revision taxation hearings/complaints and many other issues faced by community associations. He also frequently attends and runs annual meetings for community association clients.
His practice includes counseling and advising clients, as well as prosecuting and defending claims and lawsuits in all the above-mentioned areas of law. Steven also represents corporate international clients in general business and real estate transactions.
Steven has served as a speaker in numerous seminars for the Cleveland-Marshall Law Alumni Association, the Cleveland Metropolitan Bar Association, the National Business Institute, the Community Associations Institute and the Ohio State Bar Association. More recently, he lectured at the National Business Institute Seminar entitled “Advanced Issues in Real Estate Law” regarding condominium and homeowners association-related issues.
As the leader of the Ott & Associates Co., LPA, team, Steven facilitates the informational seminars for the firm’s community association clients. He often runs these seminars with a panel format with other attorneys from the firm, and welcomes input or inquiries from board members and property managers in attendance. Recent topics at our seminars include “The Planned Community Act,” “Board Member/Officer Liability” and “Enforcement of Decs and Bylaws: Assessments, Hearings & Remedies.”
In November 1980, Steven was admitted to the practice of law in the State of Ohio. Steven is licensed to practice law in the States of Ohio and California, in Federal District Court for the Northern District of Ohio, the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals and the United States Supreme Court. He is a member of the Cleveland Metropolitan Bar Association (formerly serving on the Grievance Committee), the Ohio State Bar Association, the American Bar Association and the Community Associations Institute. Steven is also a member of the Lakewood Chamber of Commerce and Lakewood Community Progress, Inc. (LCPI). He is an active volunteer with the Greater Cleveland Boy Scouts of America and is currently a Scout Master. Steven has received numerous commendations over the years for his dedication to the Boy Scouts.
Steven earned an undergraduate degree in 1977 from Ohio Weslyan University, where he majored in Government and Politics. He earned a Juris Doctorate in 1980 from the Cleveland-Marshall College of Law at Cleveland State University. Steven was certified by the Ohio State Bar Association as a Residential Real Estate Specialist in 2008.
Kimberly M. Sutter
ksutter AT ottesq DOT com
Kimberly M. Sutter is a licensed attorney with the State of Ohio and an Associate with Ott & Associates Co., LPA. She concentrates her practice in the areas of residential real estate, community association, and probate law.
Since joining the firm in February 2004, Kimberly supervises the collection matters for the Firm, including filing liens, filing and participating in foreclosures, filing claims in bankruptcies, small claims actions, bank attachments and garnishments. This includes collection matters for the community associations that the Firm represents, collection matters for our corporate clients and the collection of judgments on behalf of our clients.
Kimberly’s involvement in representing the Firm’s community association clients includes governing document analysis, collections, amendment preparation, policy and resolution drafting and enforcing community association documents. She frequently attends various association meetings that arise throughout the year and she works extensively on community association development and conversion projects. Kimberly drafts the Firm’s bi-monthly Community Association Newsletter, has published several articles on community association issues, and has spoken at seminars in the Greater Cleveland Area oncommunity association-related topics. She also represents the needs of our probate clients by administering and probating estates, including handling land sale proceedings and insolvency proceedings when necessary.
Prior to joining Ott & Associates Co., LPA, Kimberly gained experience in the legal field at Kolick & Kondzer Co., LPA. As a law clerk, she learned the inner workings of the local courts and obtained extensive experience in drafting and in researching various legal issues that arose for the firm. While obtaining her undergraduate degree, Kimberly also gained valuable courtroom experience while working for the Athens County Municipal Court.
In November 2003, Kimberly was admitted to the practice of law in the State of Ohio. She is admitted to practice in the Federal District Court and Bankruptcy Court for the Northern District of Ohio. She graduated from Cleveland-Marshall College of Law in May 2003. Currently, Kimberly is member of the Cleveland Metropolitan Bar Association (also Vice-Chair of the Real Estate Section of the CMBA) and the Community Associations Institute. Kimberly is also a member of the Olmsted Falls Chamber of Commerce.
In June 2000, Kimberly obtained her Bachelor of Arts degree from The Ohio University in Athens, Ohio with a major in Sociology/Criminology. Kimberly graduated from Cleveland-Marshall College of Law at Cleveland State University in May 2003. Kimberly was certified by the Ohio State Bar Association as a Residential Real Estate Specialist in 2010.
Justin M. Ritch
jritch AT ottesq DOT com
Justin M. Ritch is a licensed attorney with the State of Ohio and an Associate Attorney at Ott & Associates Co., LPA. He concentrates in the areas of real estate law, community association law, business law, corporate law, probate law, and litigation.
Justin’s practice in the area of community association law includes attending/presiding over annual meetings, governing document drafting and review, attending foreclosure mediations, and enforcement actions.
Justin was licensed to practice law in Ohio in 2009. Before joining Ott & Associates, his experience included working as a law clerk for Kolick & Kondzer Co., LPA, in Westlake, Ohio, where he primarily focused on civil litigation, real estate and business law issues. He also worked as an associate for LexisNexis legal research while attending law school. Justin has extensive expertise and experience utilizing techniques designed for both basic and complex legal research needs. Justin is currently a member of the Cleveland Metropolitan Bar Association and Ohio State Bar Association and the Rocky River Chamber of Commerce.
Justin graduated from Ohio University in 2006 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science, cum laude, with a minor in Sociology. Justin earned his law degree from Cleveland-Marshall College of Law at Cleveland State University in 2009.
Paralegals
Beth Pfeiffer
bpfeiffer AT ottesq DOT com
Beth Pfeiffer is a Certified Paralegal and the Office Manager for Ott & Associates Co., LPA. Not only does she handle the general administrative responsibilities of the Firm, but also assists with the Firm’s business, corporate and real estate matters.
Beth has been working in the legal field for more than 11 years. Before joining Ott & Associates in 2005, Beth served as a legal secretary for the firms of Corsaro & Associates Co., LPA, UAW Legal Services (MI) and Beauchamp, Kelly, Whipple, Zick and Keyes, Hulewicz PLLC (MI). As a legal assistant at Corsaro she concentrated on corporate matters, such us the preparation of corporate minutes, share ledgers and journals, tax preparation, preparation of IRS qualified retirement plans (including 401(k), cash balance and cross-tested plans), various patent work, etc. At UAW (a non-profit legal service) she developed experience in various residential real estate transactions, probate matters and the preparation of various pleadings. Beth regularly attends Continuing Legal Education seminars concerning Real Estate Law, Estate Planning, and Probate Law.
She is currently an active member of the Ohio State Bar Association, Cleveland Metropolitan Bar Association, Cleveland Association of Paralegals and the National Association of Paralegals. Beth acts as the Membership Coordinator and the CMBA Liason for the Cleveland Association of Paralegals.
Beth earned her Associate Degree in Applied Arts and Science: Legal Office Administrative Assistant, cum laude, from St. Clair County Community College in 1999. In 2009, Beth became credentialed as a Certified Paralegal (CP) through the National Association of Legal Assistants (NALA).
Lindsey A. Wrubel-Kaliszewski
lkaliszewski AT ottesq DOT com
Lindsey A. Wrubel-Kaliszewski is a Certified Paralegal and Marketing Coordinator for the firm of Ott & Associates Co., LPA. She offers support to the Firm by managing collection and foreclosure files, working with community association and corporate clients, and handling general real estate matters. Lindsey also administers marketing programs and conducts business analysis on the Firm’s behalf.
Before joining Ott & Associates Co., LPA in April 2006, Lindsey worked with the Common Pleas Court and the Clerk of Courts in Seneca County. She assisted with jury trials, drafted plea agreements and jury instructions, administered restitution programs, and handled case files. Lindsey also worked at a Fortune 500 financial institution where she focused on 30-60 day collections as well as customer risk assessment and credit reporting. Lindsey is also licensed through the State of Ohio as a Real Estate Salesperson. Lindsey regularly attends Continuing Legal Education seminars concerning Real Estate Law, Contract Law, and Foreclosures.
Lindsey is a member of the National Association of Women MBA’s (NAWMBA), the National Association of Legal Assistants (NALA), the Ohio State Bar Association, and the Cleveland Association of Paralegals (CAP). She currently serves as the Newsletter Editor for the Cleveland Association of Paralegals for the 2010-2011 fiscal year.
In May 2005, Lindsey earned her undergraduate degree magna cum laude from Heidelberg College (now Heidelberg Univeristy) with a major in Business Administration and a minor in Legal Studies, and was also a member of the Honors Program. In June 2007, she graduated cum laude from Cleveland State University with a Master of Business Administration. In 2009, Lindsey became credentialed as a Certified Paralegal (CP) through the National Association of Legal Assistants (NALA). She is currently a student at the University of Akron School of Law pursuing a juris-doctorate, with a projected graduation of 2014.
Stacia L. Bubb
sbubb AT ottesq DOT com
Stacia is a Legal Assistant for the firm of Ott & Associates Co., LPA. She offers invaluable assistance to the Firm by handling all correspondence, scheduling, filing of court documents, and assisting with collection matters, as well as the general administrative duties for the Firm.
Before joining Ott & Associates Co., LPA in 2010, Stacia previously worked as a paralegal intern with the law firm of Harris Reny Torzewski in Toledo, Ohio. As an intern, she gained experience with the preparation of estate tax returns, preparation of exhibit binders, file management, assisting with Ohio Civil Rights Commission investigations and performing legal research. Stacia has been in the customer service industry for several years, where she gained hands-on experience with customer satisfaction.
Stacia is currently a member of the Cleveland Association of Paralegals (CAP).
Stacia earned her Bachelor of Science degree in Paralegal Studies in December 2009, graduating cum laude from the University of Toledo’s American Bar Association-Approved Paralegal Studies program.
