Diane Menashe is a trial lawyer who has tried more than 100 criminal and civil cases to jury verdict.
Recent 2022 jury trial wins include full acquitalls for clients in the following cases: State v. Dr. William Husel, where the jury found the client, an ICU intensivist, not guilty of 14 counts of murder (all related to patient care at end of life); State v. Matheau Moore, where the jury found the client not guilty of two counts of murder (both counts related to death of Moore's wife); and State v. Kenny Phillips, where, on retrial, the jury found the client not guilty of 14 counts of attempted murder and felonious assault after the 8th District Court of Appeals reversed the case in 2021, finding that the state had withheld exculpatory evidence at the original 2007 trial.
Diane's trial work includes not only high-level criminal defense in state and federal courts but complex civil litigation as well. In May of 2022, she was lead counsel for a plaintiff in a civil case securing a verdict of $3.1 million dollars for the client, who sued their financial advisor for breach of fiduciary (an appeal of the judgment is pending).
In addition to her trial work, Diane also handles internal investigations, parole hearings, judicial release motions and juvenile criminal defense. Earning favorable jury verdicts, which Diane has done many of times, is of equal importance as negotiating the absolute best pretrial outcomes for clients.
Diane serves as the Vice Chair of the firm's Litigation Practice Group. She is also the firm’s Director of Litigation Training and Pro Bono Activities. With Diane at the helm, Ice Miller ensures that junior lawyers learn the necessary litigation skills to become effective advocates and trial lawyers for its clients. Not only does she conduct in-house training and oversee the firm’s long standing Mock Trial program, but she marries litigation training with the firm's significant engagement in pro bono work.
Diane is as a faculty member of Harvard Law School's Trial Advocacy Workshop where she teaches alongside of some of the best trial lawyers and judges in the country. In recognition of her experience as a trial lawyer, Diane is a fellow in both the American College of Trial Lawyers (ACTL) and the International Academy of Trial Lawyers (IATL).
Diane, a four-year collegiate rower, coached the Tulane Law School varsity women’s rowing team while attending law school at the university. She brings the team approach to her work at Ice Miller.
Representative Clients
Reported and Representative Cases
Murder/Manslaughter
- State v. Gustave Sapharas, 17 CR 119
- State v. Nickolas Traylor, 17 CR 647
- State v. Bobbi Proehl, 16 CR 424
- State v. Russell Littrell, 16 CR 565
- State v. John McClain, 16 CR 240
- State v. Trevon McCreary, 15 CR 2418
- State v. LeeAnn McClain, 16 CR 157
- State v. Joseph Knott, 15 CR 596
- State v. Sullivan, 15 CR 22
- State v. Martin
- State v. Spears
Death Penalty
- State v. Brian Golsby, 17 CR 912
- United States v. Lance A. Green, 2:14-cr-217
- State v. Willie Dumas, 14 CR 2806
- State v. Danny Hensley, 12 CR 566
- United States v. Iradell Crumpton, 07 CR 487
- United States v. Henderson 2;06-cr-36
- United States v. Daryl Lawrence, 2:05 cr 211
- State v. Martin Baxter
- State v. Richard Robinson
Federal Cases
- United States v. David Ayotte, 2:17-cr-72
- United States v. Lance A. Green, 2:14-cr-127
- United States v. Doug Hampton, 2:13-cr-180
- United States v. Thomas Jackson, 2:14-cr-106
- United States v. Sean Clark, 2;11-cr-253
- United States v. Thomas Henderson, 2:06-cr-39
- United States v. Daryl Lawrence, 2:05 cr 211
Felony Cases
- State v. Robert Shaffer, 17 CR 678
- State v. Charles Chandler, 17 CR 280
- State v. Kevin Clouse, 17 CR 157
- State v. Davis, 17 CR 503
- State v. Brandon Edmonds, 16 CR 95
- State v. Adam Alexander, 16 CR 478
- State v. Joseph Pond, 16 CR 684
- State v. Roy Fritts, 14 CR 659
- State v. Dustin Fisher, 14 CR 667
- State v. Roderick Davis, 14 CR 647
- State v. Dacian Cabiness, 14 CR 55
- State v. Logan Terry, 15 CR 220
- State v. Zakery Neldon, 12 CR 571
- State v. Kip Klages, 11 CR 1775
- State v. Donald Moore, 10 CR 197
- State v. Byler
Firm Publications
News
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1/5/2023 - Ice Miller Announces Eight Lawyers Named 2023 Ohio Super Lawyers
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9/27/2022 - Ice Miller Team Secures Not Guilty Verdict for Wrongfully Convicted Cleveland Man
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8/30/2022 - Menashe Secures Not Guilty Verdict
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8/18/2022 - 108 Ice Miller Attorneys Listed in The Best Lawyers in America® 2023 Edition
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8/17/2022 - Ice Miller Forms Post-Roe Task Force
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8/9/2022 - Diane Menashe Profiled in Columbus Monthly: "Columbus Attorney Diane Menashe on Defending William Husel and Other High-Profile Clients"
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4/21/2022 - Diane Menashe Helps Secure Not Guilty Verdict for Columbus ICU Doctor Charged with Murder of 14 Patients
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4/18/2022 - Diane Menashe Featured in Columbus CEO: "Diverse Leaders in Law: How to Fight Racism Pro Bono"
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1/12/2022 - Diane Menashe Featured in Super Lawyers Magazine: "Promoting Pro Bono"
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11/30/2021 - Diane Menashe Quoted in The Columbus Dispatch: "Dr. Husel Attorneys Want 25 Murder Charges Dismissed, Say 'False Narrative' Led to Indictment"
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11/30/2021 - Diane Menashe Quoted in Law360: "Ohio Panel Nixes Challenge To State's Local Telework Tax Law"
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10/6/2021 - Diane Menashe Quoted in Columbus Dispatch: "Do Commuters Who Worked from Home during COVID Deserve a Tax Refund? Ohio Municipal Income Tax Case Appealed"
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8/19/2021 - Ice Miller Attorneys Recognized by Best Lawyers® as 2022 “Lawyers of the Year,” "Best Lawyers in America" and "Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch in America"
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6/28/2021 - Diane Menashe Featured in Columbus Dispatch: "Can a Spreadsheet Improve Fairness and Justice in Sentencing in Ohio Courts? Some Judges Say Yes"
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6/24/2021 - Diane Menashe Quoted in Soapbox Media: "Ambitious Data Collection Project to Advance Criminal Justice in Ohio"
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5/28/2021 - Diane Menashe, Daniel Anderson and Mark Richards Mentioned in Law360: "Ohio Appeals Court Asked to Undo City's Telework Tax Powers"
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4/29/2021 - Diane Menashe, Daniel Anderson and Mark Richards Mentioned in Law360: "Ohio Court Rejects Challenge to City's Telework Tax Powers"
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1/26/2021 - Diane Menashe Featured in Law360: "Judges on Race: Lack of Data Deters Criminal Justice Reform"
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12/8/2020 - Ice Miller Announces 10 Attorneys Named 2021 Ohio Super Lawyers
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10/22/2020 - Diane Menashe Mentioned in Columbus Dispatch: "Husel's Lawyers Seek Dismissal of Murder Charges, Alleging Prosecutorial Misconduct"
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9/11/2020 - Diane Menashe, Daniel Anderson and Mark Richards Mentioned in Law360: "Ohio City Must Face Telework Tax Suit, State Think Tank Says"
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9/2/2020 - Diane Menashe Mentioned in Court News Ohio: "Striving Toward Justice with Data"
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8/6/2020 - Diane Menashe Mentioned in Columbus Dispatch: "Who's Who in Push to Reform Columbus Police"
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6/17/2020 - Diane Menashe Mentioned in City of Columbus Press Release: "Mayor Ginther, Chief Quinlan, City Attorney Klein and Council President Hardin Announce Chief's Advisory Panel and Strict Limits on Use of Tear Gas, Pepper Spray"
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3/16/2020 - Diane Menashe Quoted in The Washington Post: "Ohio Governor Says State Will Order Primary Polls Closed Tuesday, Citing 'Health Emergency' From Coronavirus"
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3/11/2020 - Diane Menashe Quoted in Columbus Dispatch: "In Rare Ruling, Potential Juror in Death-Penalty Case Faces Jail for Lying"
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1/29/2020 - Diane Menashe Featured in OWA Press Release: "Ice Miller Welcomes Diane Menashe, Director of Litigation Training and Pro Bono Activities"
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1/28/2020 - Ice Miller Welcomes Diane Menashe, Director of Litigation Training and Pro Bono Activities
Blog Posts
Speaking Engagements
- ACTL: Anatomy of a Trial, February 4, 2021
- Moody Nolan: Walk the Talk: Mass Incarceration Panel Discussion, December 4, 2020
- The Chief Justice Thomas J. Moyer American Inn of Court: Pro Bono Engagement in the Legal Profession, October 14, 2020
- Purdue Alumni Webinar: Careers in Law, September 29, 2020
- Ohio State Bar Association Death Penalty Defense CLE, August 14, 2020
- "Racism: Where Do We Go From Here? Judicial Reform," Columbus Metropolitan Club, July 29, 2020
- HER614 Charting Your Career, May 1, 2020
- WELD Executive Women's Series, April 17, 2020
- OWBA Leadership Institute Panel Discussion, March 6, 2020
- OACDL Annual Death Penalty Seminar, November 21, 2019
- OSLSA Advocacy Skills Training Seminar, August 8, 2019
- OACDL Annual Death Penalty Seminar, November 16, 2018
- ACTL Trial Skills Boot Camp, September 6, 2018