Kristen Kraus

Kristen Kraus www.dworkenlaw.com/attorneys/associates/kristen-kraus/ graduated magna cum laude from Bowling Green State University in 1997 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Journalism. She was awarded her Juris Doctorate cum laude from Cleveland-Marshall College of Law in May of 2001 and was admitted to practice law in the state of Ohio in November of 2001.  In 2002, Ms. Kraus was admitted to practice in the United States District Court, Northern District of Ohio.

Ms. Kraus is an active member of the Lake County Bar Association.  She served as chairperson for the Lake County Bar Association Settlement Week program where she organized dozens of volunteer mediators in an effort to assist the Lake County Court of Common Pleas in reaching out-of-court settlements.  She served in this capacity from 2006-2009.  Ms Kraus continues to serve as a mediator for the Lake County Court of Common Pleas Mediation Program.  She also a member of the Ohio Association for Justice.

Ms. Kraus has extensive experience in handling civil jury trials.  She has litigated cases in nearly every county in Northeast Ohio.   Her current practice is primarily focused in the areas of  personal injury and  workers' compensation.

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.