Jo Tatarko

Jo Tatarko  www.dworkenlaw.com/attorneys/associates/jo-tatarko/ graduated in 1997 from Miami University with a Bachelor of Arts in Sociology and dual minors in Criminology and Spanish.  She earned her Juris Doctorate from The University of Akron School of Law in 2007, joining Dworken & Bernstein that same year.  While in law school, Jo was an assistant editor for the Akron Law Review. She was admitted to practice law in Ohio in November 2007, and is a member of the Ohio State Bar Association, the Cleveland Bar Association, and the Lake County Bar Association.  She concentrates her practice in the area of workers' compensation.

Prior to entering law school, Jo worked in the public sector, advocating for the rights of individuals who were involved in abusive relationships. She is a member of the Ohio State Bar Association, The Cleveland Metropolitan Bar Association and The Lake County Bar Association.


Dworken & Bernstein www.dworkenlaw.com offers a full range of legal services for businesses, individuals, and families in litigation and transactions with offices in Painesville and downtown Cleveland. Dworken & Bernstein is the largest law firm in the Lake, Geauga, and Ashtabula County area.


Ohio Lawyers Give Back www.ohiolawyersgiveback.org was founded by Dworken & Bernstein Co., L.P.A. to promote the use of cy pres in class action settlements. When a class action is settled, plaintiff and defendant agree to a fund amount to pay all class members. Since many class members have moved, passed-away, or can't be found, millions of settlement dollars go unclaimed. That settlement money is intended to benefit the class—rather than revert to the wrongdoing defendant—so the ancient doctrine is now being used to distribute the unclaimed money to charities and non profits.

Over $22 million dollars has already been distributed, just by the sponsors, a single law firm. If cy pres were used more broadly, hundreds of millions of dollars each year would be available to help charities, non-profits, and the communities where we live. This website is dedicated to advancing the use of cy pres in all class action settlements where a large pool of unclaimed settlement funds is expected.